Computer games have not been adequately theorized within the humanities. In this paper a brief history of computer games is presented as a starting point for developing a topology of games and a theory of computer games as rhetorical artifacts suitable for critical study. The paper addresses the question of why games should be treated seriously and suggests a theoretical approach based on Backh...

Computer games were conceptualized as a potential mode of entry into computer-related employment for women. Computer games contain increasing levels of realism and violence, as well as biased gender portrayals. It has been suggested that aggressive personality characteristics attract people to aggressive video games, and that more women do not play computer games because they are socialized to ...

Computer games are no longer just a trivial activity played by children in arcades. Social networking and casual gaming have broadened the market for, and acceptance of, games. This has coincided with a realization of their power to engage and motivate players. Good computer games are excellent examples of modern educational theory [1]. The military, health providers, governments, and educators...

This experimental study investigated whether computer games help in teaching Mathematics to children with mental retardation and whether computer games help equally both boys and girls. The quasi-experimental two-group pre & post test design was used for the study. The results obtained through ANCOVA were in favor of Computer games for both boys and girls. However, boys seemed to benefit more f...

Do computer simulation games display emergent behavior? Are they models of complex systems or ‘life’ systems? This paper aims to explore and investigate how games studies can use complexity models and emergent behavior to critical analyzes the computer simulation game. (God Games, Real-Time Strategy Games, and City Building Genre) The developments in and from the natural sciences (Complexity, E...

As computer games become more complex and consumers demand more sophisticated computer controlled agents, developers are required to place a greater emphasis on the artificial intelligence aspects of their games. One source of sophisticated AI techniques is the artificial intelligence research community. This paper discusses recent efforts by our group at the University of Michigan Artificial I...

As the contemporary heirs of popular music or cinema, computer games are gradually taking over the markets of entertainment. Much like cinema and music, computer games are taking the spotlight in another front – that which blames them for encouraging unethical behaviors. Apparently, computer games turn their users into blood thirsty zombies with a computer game learnt ability of aiming with dea...

As computer games become more complex and consumers demand more sophisticated computer controlled opponents, game developers are required to place a greater emphasis on the artificial intelligence aspects of their games. Our experience developing intelligent air combat agents for DARPA (Laird and Jones 1998, Jones at al. 1999) has suggested a number of areas of AI research that are applicable t...