E3 2017 WOWS THE WORLDMore than 68,000 people convened at the Los Angeles Convention Center June 13-15 to attend E3, the world’s largest and most anticipated video game event. Billions more watched E3 2017 online as nearly 300 exhibitors showcased thousands of new products, including more than 150 never-before-seen products and titles. The show also featured a record 126 exhibitors with virtual, augmented, and mixed reality products and will be remembered for its fan-focused approach. For the first time, E3 welcomed 15,000 video game fans and the new E3 Coliseum gave those fans direct access to leading figures in video games and entertainment, such as Director of Kojima Productions Hideo Kojima, 343 Industries Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, founder of Double Fine Productions Tim Schafer, actor Jack Black, television writer and producer Gennifer Hutchison, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. E3 Coliseum quickly became a favorite fan spot, taking attendees and millions of online viewers around the world behind the scenes of E3 2017’s biggest announcements. “You play with these people all the time but to see how big the gamer community really is. It’s kind of mind-blowing,” said gamer Emily McIntosh of Nebraska, who was amazed by E3 2017. With more than 15 million E3-related posts across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the show dominated conversation on social media. Also at the show, Ringling College of Art and Design’s Phonetica was selected as the winner of the 2017 E3 College Game Competition. “I am honored to have been able to showcase my project on such a public stage and am humbled by its warm reception,” the game’s creator and recent graduate Trent Sivek said. Relive the best moments from the show floor with this action-packed recap. VIDEO GAMES COULD HELP REFUGEE CHILDREN THRIVEVideo games could serve as effective tools to improve educational outcomes and mental health in refugee children, say researchers at the New York University, the City University of New York, and Turkey’s Bahcesehir University. The researchers recently conducted a pilot study in Urfa, Turkey, to test the effectiveness of an online, game-based learning intervention for refugee children called Project Hope, which uses video games to improve Turkish language proficiency, executive functions, and coding skills among Syrian refugee children while also decreasing their sense of despair. Children who participated in Project Hope for the study took part in four weeks of daily, two-hour sessions that included video games like Minecraft and Turkish language instruction via the adaptive learning technology platform Cerego. The researchers found that young Syrian refugees who regularly played Minecraft felt significantly less hopeless. By providing the children an opportunity to imagine and build their dream houses and dream schools, Minecraft helped the children imagine a better future for themselves and significantly lowered their sense of hopelessness. Other games and game-based programming produced positive results in improving the children’s cognitive skills and coding skills as well. "Play is a universal way of learning,” said Bruce Homer, associate professor of educational psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and a Project Hope investigator. “In taking a game-based and playful approach to learning, we created an intervention that was not only effective, but also one in which the children were engaged and wanted to continue doing.” AUTHORITATIVE INTERNET TRENDS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS, IMPORTANCE OF VIDEO GAMESVideo games are foundational to all online services, optimizing engagement and learning, says respected venture capitalist Mary Meeker in the most recent edition of her influential annual report on the state of the internet. Considered “the most anticipated report in Silicon Valley,” the Internet Trends report for 2017 singled out interactive video games as "the motherlode" of ideas for tech innovation and evolution. The report highlights how digital badges, interactive storytelling, messaging, live camera angels, and the concept of “leveling up” all originated in video games and have been adapted by other online industries in mobile messaging apps, ride-sharing apps, and streaming services. Meeker also touts the ability of video games to engage audiences and hold their attention. Today, people spend more of their day playing video games than they do on Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram. “Video games are the most engaging form of social media,” said Meeker during her presentation of the report. “It demands your attention in ways nothing else will." The extraordinary rise of the video game industry shows no signs of slowing.
Meeker’s data shows the industry generated $100 billion globally in 2016, a 9 percent increase from 2015. The industry also boasted 2.6 billion consumers in 2017, a dramatic spike from 100 million in 1995. To explore the many ways video games are changing the online environment, read Meeker’s full report here. "The most attractive, fastest-growing part of entertainment is interactive entertainment, video games." Read ESA President and CEO Michael D. Gallagher's recent interview with VentureBeat. TREATING INATTENTION WITH VIDEO GAMESResearchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have found that video games can serve as effective treatment options for children suffering from Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). SPD is a condition affecting the brain’s ability to normally process environmental stimuli. Patients suffer from intense sensory overload in response to environmental stimuli, such as loud noises and bright light. The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One, used a small sample size to determine if video games like Project: EVO improved attention in the test group. Project: EVO is specifically designed to help strengthen how the brain processes and prioritizes thoughts and external stimuli by having players navigate the game’s avatar along winding paths filled with obstacles. Thirty-eight children with SPD, 20 of which also met the criteria for ADHD, were asked to play Project: EVO for 25 minutes per day, five days a week for four weeks. Their attention spans were measured against a control group of 25 “typically developing” counterparts of the same age and gender. The researchers found that seven (33 percent) of the 20 children with SPD and ADHD showed improvements in cognitive function and attention span. “Key to the success of this study is that the EVO game is designed to train players to selectively attend to target stimuli and ignore distracting stimuli,” said Aaron Seitz, director of the University of California’s Riverside Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Wellbeing. While the sample size in the experiment was small, researchers are hopeful advancements in video games will allow for greater opportunities to improve the wellbeing of patients with SPD and ADHD. EXPANDING THE FRONTIERS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEAs researchers work to advance the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, they are finding video games to be an invaluable tool. There are numerous applications of video game technology in the development of AI systems. Video games provide AI a safe training ground for adapting to the real world, repeatable learning environments, and the ability to transfer lessons learned. For some, games even hold the key to developing a proper theory of artificial intelligence. Last year, AI researcher Artur Filipowicz of Princeton University was trying to find an appropriate algorithm for autonomous vehicles to recognize stop signs. He quickly realized he need only look to Grand Theft Auto V. By making small modifications to the game, he was able to develop software that could navigate the traffic and read stop signs, saving him time and resources in the process. The repeatable nature of video games can also be beneficial in helping machines improve their learning skills. Google-owned AI firm DeepMind exposed its AI agent to Atari games without first teaching it how to play. The DeepMind program was eventually able to master all the Atari games it played, showing how the repeatable and controlled environment of video games can enable AI agents to learn on their own. In addition to their existing contributions, video games are recognized for their potential to enable knowledge transfer, which will be key to advancing AI. Currently, AI agents can learn to play one game at a time and have to start from scratch when they are mastering a different game, unable to transfer learning from one task to another. Katja Hoffman, head of Microsoft’s Project Malmo, argues that video games are the perfect platforms to test a systematic approach to constructing useful artificial intelligence, including transferring lessons learned in one area to another and enabling machines to understand high-level concepts. STATISTIC OF THE MONTHThere are 2.6 billion gamers in the world today compared to 100 million in 1995. (Source: 2017 Internet Trends) IN THE NEWS QUOTE OF THE MONTH“I have four kids, and I've played video games with every one of them. It's given me a way to bond with each of them in a unique way. Thanks to video games, I've learned more about each of my sons and daughters, and about myself as a father.” – Brian Mazique, Columnist, Mic.com (Source: Mic.com) CONTACT US
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