Video Games in Our Life!
PAPATHANASSIS DIMITRIS
PANTAZIS PAVLOS
TRAKAS ILIAS
PANTAZIS LAMBROS
Supervisor: Yannis Kotsanis
May 2013
TheEvolutionofVideoGameControllers,

Contents
Project Goals
Definitions
Game Categories
Game History
Game Research
Conclusions

 Define terms about gaming (e.g. video-game, gamer,
console, types of gamers, categories of games etc.)
 Study the history of video games and construction of
a history timeline
 Investigate interests and attitudes of our classmates
about video gaming
 Conclude the impact of video games in students life
Project Goals

Definitions
gaming
“Gaming is the running of specialized applications known as electronic games,
especially on machines...”
WhatIs.com
video game
“any of various games that can be played by using an electronic control to move
points of light or graphical symbols on the screen of a visual display unit”
The Collins English Dictionary
gamer
“a person who plays computer games or participates in a role-playing game”
The Collins English Dictionary
console (game)
“an electronic device used in playing computer games on the screen of a television to
which it is connected”
The Collins English Dictionary
online game
“a video game played over some form of computer network, using a personal
computer, video game console or handheld game console”
Wikipedia
campaign game
“a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same
characters”
Wikipedia

Types of Gamers
Gamer Type Time Types ofgames Consoles Age Characteristics
Casual limited easy various 10-20 for fun
Hardcore significant time spent competitive games pc 20+ competitive,leagues
Midcore
limited(not as high as a
hardcore creative,complex ,diverse nitendo, Wii U 10-20 fun,competitive
Pro
huge amounts of time
spent competitive games pc 20+
sponcored by major
companies,earn money
Newbie limited or huge online games xbox,ps3,wii u 10-20 novice

Game Categories
 Action (e.g. Halo)
 Simulation (e.g. The Sims)
 Driving (e.g. Test Drive)
 Board/Puzzle/Card (e.g. Tetris, Monopoly)
 Role Playing (e.g. WoW: World of Warcraft, LoL: League of Legends)
 Adventure (e.g. Myst)
 Strategy (e.g. Civilization)
 Sports (e.g. FIFA)
 First Person Shooter Games (e.g. CoD: Call of Duty)
 Music/Dance (e.g. Guitar Hero)
Source of Categories: CLASHE Project

Game History
Source: ICHEG

Tic-Tac-Toe
The pencil-and-paper game,
Tic-tac-toe (OXO) is one of the
first known video games. It is
the most famous and historical
video game and, during its 1st
release, the only digital device
you could play it, was the
EDSAC computer in Cambridge
University.
by Sandy Douglas, British professor

Tennis for Two
Another historical game “Tennis
for two”, a two-player
electronic tennis game, “had
separate controllers connected
to an analog computer and an
oscilloscope screen” and only
if you visited the Laboratory
you could play this game.
by Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, Upton, New York

Space Wars
In 1961, a group of MIT
students, start programming
ancestor of arcade games
“Space wars”. The game,
where 2 players try to destroy
the opposite spaceship, could
run only in one computer of the
MIT University called “PDP-1”.
by Steven Russell

Computer Space
Nine years later, in 1971,
“Computer Space" was
released, a one player game,
where a player controls a
“rocket ship”. “Computer
space” was the first coin-
arcade-style game ever and
was placed in taverns, bars
etc, but it never become
famous.
by Nolan Bushnell & Ted Dabney

Odyssey
The home commercial console
was “Odyssey” made by Ralph
Baer in 1972. In this console
you could play only 12 games
but the most known game was
“Ping pong”. After the creation
of his console, Baer became
famous as “the father of video
games”.
by Ralph Baer, German Engineer

Pac Man
The most popular game ever
“Pac-Man” was developed by
one of the most famous
Japanese companies. The
initial name was “Puck-Man”
but the name was changed,
because the Japanese feared
that the Americans would alter
the name of the game into
something more offensive…
by NAMCO Company

Tetris
In 1985 a Russian
mathematician called Alexey
Pajitnov developed a great
game named “Tetris” which is
a simple puzzle game. The
name is derived from the
greek prefix “tetra”. It’s a very
popular game, even today,
with million copies sold.
by Alexey Pajitnov, Russian mathematician

Mortal Kombat
In 1992 the first “Mortal
Kombat” was released. In this
game you fight with one of the
game characters and to win
the game you must kill him.
Also “Mortal Kombat” is
famous from quotes, such as
“finish him” and “fatality”.
by Midway Games Company

Grand Theft Auto 4
Grand Theft Auto 4 was
developed by Rockstar on 29
April 2008. During the first
day of its realise, more than
3.5 million units were sold, and
in 4 first months, the company
shipped over 10 million copies.
The story follows a criminal
named Nico Bellik in his trip to
America, where Nico becomes
a gangster and comes across
various adventures.
by Rockstar Company

Our Internet Poster!
http://game4.edu.glogster.com/game-history

Research issues
 140 of our classmates of 2nd and 3rd grade of Junior
High School participated in this research.
 An initial pilot test was conducted with 25 students
before the final version.
 Questionnaire included 18 questions (most of them
were of “Yes/No” type)
 We decided to deliver it printed (and not electronic),
so as, at the same time, be present during its
completion and secure its direct conduct.

Questions 1-3
90: 64%
50: 36%
Yes
No
Do you play video games?
9: 18%
41: 82%
Yes
No
If not would you like to start?
32: 36%
58: 64%
Started by
yourself
You were
inspired by a
sibling of yours
How did you start to play games?

0 10 20 30 40
less than 1
1-2 hours
2-3 hours
3-4 hors
more than 4 hours
How many hours do you play
Questions 4-6
31: 32%
65: 68%
Online
Campaign
Do you prefer online or campaign?
125:
89%15: 11%
Y
e…
Do you find them interesting?

Questions 7-8
125: 89%
15: 11%
Yes
no
Do your friends play games?
81: 58%
59: 42% Yes
No
Do you discuss with your friends about games?

Questions 9-11
26: 29%
64: 71%
yes
no
Have you made new friends from games?
11: 42%15: 58% yes
No
If you have have you met them;
34: 53%
30: 47%
Is it because
you don’t meet
strangers
it didn't
happen
If not…

Questions 12-13
0 10 20 30
iPhone
iPad
Xbox
Wii
Ds
playstati
on
If you bought a console which would you buy?
0 20 40 60 80
Pc
Wii
Xbox
iPhone
Ds
playstatio
n
iPad
Which consoles do you prefer?

Questions 14-16
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
sims
subway surfers
wrc
pvz
parking mania
fruit ninja
pacman
mario bros
2k
minecraft
saints row
uncharted
fifa
assasign's creed
god of war
Gta
pro
Wow
lol
cod
FAVORITE GAMES?
0 20 40 60 80
saints row
read dead
2k
pro
god of war
wow
gta
assasign's…
fifa
lol
cod
Which games have u have finished?
0 20 40 60 80
2k
minecraft
fifa
gta
assasign's…
pro
wow
lol
cod
Which games you think are popular?

Questions 17-18
76: 54%
64: 46%
yes
no
Do you believe that games give you skills?
32: 23%
108: 77%
yes
no
Do you believe games make you violent?

Digital Games Usage
Source: CLASHE Project
Demographic Data: 189 junior high school students:50,3% Female and 49,7% Male participants

Results of our research
 The percentage of children playing games (64%) is not
particularly high!
 Most children prefer playing alone (68%) and not in
cooperation with others on the internet (32%)
 Over 2 hours per day spend only 30% of children
 The most popular games, for boys are “War” games (CoD) &
”Fantasy” games (LoL/WoW), while for girls are
downloadable applet games (e.g. Fruit Ninja, Subway).
 Most children believe that by playing games they improve
their skills (54%) and they do not become more violent (77%)
 The conclusions of our research do not contradict with other
professional researches (e.g. research of CLASHE project)

Conclusions
 Video games are particularly popular both between our classmates as
well as to the whole world. Despite the fact that not all children play video
games (25-35%), it seems that boys are more attracted to them.
 The evolution of video games is rapid in terms of devices and software.
30 years after the launch of the first commercial video games, their
features have been extremely impressive.
 The most attractive characteristics of games are graphics and action.
These are capable of resulting in million of sales for a very good game
(even in the 1st day of its realease!). And many children (54%) agree that
a good video game helps them develop new skills.
 The features of the most popular games are violence and “war”
characteristics (at least for ages of 12-15 years old). But only to a small
scale (23%), may this affect them in violence (as children say).
 There are many other topics in which we could work, such as: advantages-
disadvantages of games, addiction, educational games, integration in
education, relations with real jobs (e.g. pilots, economists, archeologists).

DIGITAL SOURCES
- Video Game: Wikipedia
- The first site of video game PONG-Story
- History of Video Games: Wikipedia
- A History of Video Game Consoles: Time
- Computer and Video Game History: About.com Inventors
- The Video Game Revolution: PBS
- Video Game History Timeline: The Strong Play Partners
- The 25 Greatest Breakthroughs in Video Game History: IGN
- Top Categories at Games Universe: CD Universe
- The Benefits of Video Games: ABC News
- The Impact of Video Games on Children: Palo Alto Medical Foundationk
- The Effect of Violent Video Games on Teens: Medical News Today
- Continuous Learning Anywhere: Clashe LLP Project
(accessed 15/05/2013)
We would like to thank Mr. Panos Papoutsis, Project Manager of European Project “CLASH”,
for his input in our research and for the translations of some texts.