Justin Hall

UWRIT 1102
Thomas
9/20
Annotated Bibliography 1
The Benefits of Playing Video Games, Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger
C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
American Psychologist 2014, Vol. 69, No. 1. electronically accessed 9/19
The world of scientific research has had a one sided view on the impacts of video games
until recently, a negative one at that. Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger Engels, authors of
The Benefits of Playing Video Games appeared in the printed American Psychologist, a scientific
journal of the American Psychological Association. Their take on the issue of the video game
debate (positive vs. negative) is a positive one, with their target audience being future
researchers as well as the general public. They encourage further research and shed a positive
light on a topic that has a lot of negative controversy surrounding it. Within this literary review
of contemporary studies, the authors with strong credentials within psychology, Granic
(Developmental) Lobel (Behavioral) Engels (Family), have completed this review in order to
encourage more scientific studies based towards the positive impacts that video games have on
children and adults. They cite many sources of on going studies, previous studies, and speculate
on future studies that should be conducted on the impacts of video games. Their article breaks
down into eight different topics on the aspects of gaming. They are as follows: The Function of
Play, Cognitive Benefits of Gaming, Motivational Benefits of Gaming, Emotional Benefits of
Gaming, Social Benefits of Gaming, Serious Games in Health Education, Challenges in Future

Research Directions and Implications for Mental Health Intervention. They argue that the side of
positive thinking towards video games has not been explored, video games have changed so
much over the past twenty years that the complexity within them leads to problem solving skills,
improved social skills, increased creativity and a new view on in the face of failure. When
faced with failure, players are highly motivated to return to the task of winning, and they are
relentlessly optimistic about reaching their goals.(71) The idea that a new skill can be learned
and implemented into real world situations is a core principle in their journal. This is just one
example of how video games can have a positive affect on those who play them, although the
consensus is that there just isn't enough research to to say with one-hundred percent certainty
that video games are inherently good or bad due to the differing views on them. By
dichotomizing video games into either good or bad, violent or prosocial, psychologists
are largely (with the exception of media psychologists) overlooking the complex new
playground of contemporary video games and the varied landscape of virtual interactions taking
place in those games.(74)

Given this vast diversity in video games, a single definition may not be useful. In fact,
top scholars in the field have declared, One can no more say what the effects of video
games are, than one can say what the effects of food are (68)

Further, game designers often provide very little instruction about how to solve in-game
problems, providing players with a nearly blank palette from which to explore a huge
range of possible solutions based on past experience and intuitions. (69)

Over 70% of gamers play their games with a friend, either cooperatively or competitively
(73)

Perhaps the most celebrated success story of a game that had a significant impact on

health-related behaviors is the case of Re-Mission a video game designed for child
cancer patients (73)

Analysis: This research explores a rather new corner in the field of video game research,
the positive side. Most scientific studies conducted involving video games attempt to measure
the negative effects that engaging in a video game can have. Just recently have scientists been
tasked with observing and learning about the positive affects they can have on people. The text
and style was engaging, informative and has a moderate difficulty. It did a good job balancing
the positive outcomes without forgoing the negative views. The vocabulary was kept to a good
medium, it established their educated and credible voice through constant citations of previous
studies and good use of vocabulary, while keeping the average educated person hooked. The
piece did a nice job giving adequate background information and solid definitions to allow new
readers a chance to follow along accordingly. This is a good source for those that are looking for
a different view from the long list of scientific studies that show negative views on video games
as it brings up constant good points on the fact of the complexity of video games today and their
social and cognitive benefits. The research fits well into my paper because it not only has a lot of
backed research to expound upon, but also a look into fields that normally aren't talked about,
such as the games for cancer patients, or the future of video game research.

Reflection: This was the first annotated bib that I completed, I wanted to start off strong with
scientific backed information. This happened to be perfect in that it gave a large overview of
where we are today in understanding video games and what could/should be explored more in
the field.

Justin Hall
Thomas
UWRIT 1102
9/22
Annotated Bibliography 2
The evolution of video game music Rachel Martin, NPR, April 13, 2008 2:46 PM ET,
Electronic, Accessed 9/21/2015
National Public Radio (NPR), the renowned media giant did a segment on their All
things considered radio broadcast, on the music within popular video games. Video games have
a profound effect on peoples emotions, whether it be filling them with rage, sadness, or love, one
thing is for certain, the music makes the game. The segment focuses on how video game music
has changed throughout the course of time, early in video game history the music was composed
of very basic 8-bit tracks compared to the full symphonic orchestras we hear within todays
popular titles. Although synphonies are the norm these days, the old school tunes are not easily
forgotten, "It just sounded like sounds to me. However, you know all the tunes. It's so funny. The
bleeps and bloops, they kind of invade your brain." This quote is referencing the Super Mario
Bros theme song, which many people can still hum along to. Super Mario Bros or Mario for
short, is the classic flagship platformer ( genre of video game) of the Nintendo corporation, and
it still remains as one of the most iconic games in the mainstream view today. Martin briefly
discusses how video game music has evolved over the course of the past thirty years, its purpose
within the games themselves, and the idea of music affecting the player. Tommy Tallarico
(interviewed in the segment), a composer, as well as the figurehead for Video Games live (a

traveling orchestra that plays popular video game soundtracks in classic concert halls) brings in
the example of Space Invaders. Space Invades uses music that increases in pace as the monsters
get closer, in turn your heart rate is brought up, yet without the music, the game does not elicit
the same reaction. Tallarico's example is how the increased speed in space invaders made the
player feel more anxiety when faced with his/her approaching defeat, matching the time
signature with the players heart rate gave the game an increased immersion experience and real
feeling of distress. With increasingly better technology, video games are able to incorporate full
professional symphonic orchestra. One of the most famous music composers of all, Nobuo
Uematsu, the creator of the Final Fantasy soundtracks has gained immense fame from his
various musical scores. Martin also references how Uematsu's music started the trend of video
game music being played by a live orchestra in front of a large paying audience. While Uematsu
is not the only famous composer, he is the most well known and can be accredited for starting
the music revolution of sorts, inspiring others to create amazing soundtracks to accompany the
video game experience. This eventually led to what we see as the popular aforementioned Video
Games live grand success across America.

Tallarico explains that video game music isn't a passive experience, but an integral part
of the foreground. "It's for this reason that I've always said that if Beethovan were alive
today, he'd be a video game composer."

In May 2004, a composer named Nobuo Uematsu joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic
for a single performance of his most famous work. The show sold out in three days. In
fact, there was almost a riot at the box office when people couldn't get tickets.

The music creates drama, tells a story, makes things more exciting, it's as much of a

picture as you're seeing visually. In fact, in Wagner operas, the music tells a lot more
about whats going on emotionally than the words do.

Analysis: This topic was a very unique find as music within video games is rarely
discussed. Video games do not only hold amazing immersible worlds and stories to get lost in,
but fantastical musical scores that will last in peoples memory forever. Commonly, video game
music is given little thought when it comes to music that has inspired or even been brought up
when referring to classics. These titles are reserved for movie themes or songs from popular
bands. Examples of this would be the Jurassic park theme, Star Wars opening credits, or the
Power Of Love (music that is iconic within the back to the future series.) All of these songs can
be considered classics, yet when compared to video games, the skill put into video game
soundtracks are considered sub-par. This idea is non-sense, video game soundtracks have
reached and inspired millions of people around the globe, and with the undeniable success of
Video Games Live, its a wonder that more people do not give credit where credit is due. The
songs within games have become iconic with the memories of the stories they tell as well as the
emotions they invoke. Also to be stated is a return of the orchestra, kids, young adults and the
like have flocked to venues across the USA to hear their favorite songs come to life in person.
The increased interest in the orchestra is a great way to get them to experience just how beautiful
a full orchestra can be, considering the dying breed of most classical music with my generation.
A way to incorporate this into my paper would be the benefits of the younger generation
returning to the orchestra, long lasting nostalgia to better times, and a show of dedication to how
serious video games are to people. Overall, this is an easy read that most people would have no
trouble comprehending. It also serves as a great starter to the tip of the iceberg in understanding

how far people will go to support their favorite video games as well as the music complexity
within modern titles. It is very applicable to my question, while not directly science based, the
fact that music appeals to powerful emotions in people is something to consider. I have seen
musical scores bring people to tears before, a sight to behold. Music allows people to connect
with something outside of themselves and keep memories forever that are invoked just from
hearing a song. It is just a testament to the impact that a video game can have on people, people
underestimate or do not understand the full depth of video games and how immersive and
meaningful they can be to people.

Reflection: After completing a science heavy bib I wanted to focus on something that had a bit
less strong research to it, but was still relevant and used voices from a field that was successful.

Justin Hall
UWRIT 1102
Thomas
9/27
Annotated Bibliography 3
Shute, Valerie J., Matthew Ventura, and Fengfeng Ke. "The Power of Play: The Effects of
Portal 2 and Lumosity on Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills." Computers & Education 80
(2015): 58-67. Myweb.fsu. Elsevier, 30 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
Valerie J. Shute, a scientist and professor at Florida State University recently conducted a
study to compare Portal 2 (a popular video game that forces you to solve complex puzzles) and
the internet popular Luminosity (a website that claims to improve certain brain functions) to see
which medium was more beneficial for the human brain. While being interviewed on the study,
Shute states, While I was playing it (Portal 2), I was thinking, I'm really engaging in all sorts of
problem-solving."Thus the idea to research it was born, which eventually began the comparison
test. The research went as follows, she took two groups of people and gave them baseline tests to
accurately measure their abilities before and after the game play. These tests were built around
their problem-solving skills, dimension analyzation, and perseverance, in her own words,
problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence. The participants then played eight hours of
either Portal 2, or Luminosity. After this set period of time, she administered another test in
order to create results. The Results show that the Portal 2 players performed better in every field
as compared to the Luminosity players. Shute cites a quote that resonated with her, Researchers
need to compare any game/treatment condition with a similarly-active control group that has the

same expectations of improvement as the experimental group referencing research that was
conducted with games that are not similar in the way they effect the brain. An example of such
would be, Super Mario Bro's compared to Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. Super Mario is a
simple platformer while Keep talking and nobody explodes is a tense team based bomb
diffusional game. Therefore, Shute fills the gap with this study that compares two different
games that offer the same brain exercises to the player in very different ways. Her findings show
that video games can have an immediate and direct effect on our brain cognition and its
functions. Her study states we found significant differences between conditions for all three of
our primary constructs: problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence, all showing an advantage
for Portal 2 over Lumosity This was just one of the many results that came from the study, but
it further backs up the idea of positive effects of video games on the brain.

The results of this study suggest that playing Portal 2 can have a noticeable impact on
certain important cognitive skills relative to a control group that explicitly claims to
improve cognitive skills (Portal 2 makes no such claims)

based on participants' responses to the statement about enjoying their assigned game, for
Portal 2 participants, enjoyment M 4.32; SD 0.93, while for the Lumosity
participants, M 3.50; SD 1.05. The difference between the two groups' enjoyment is
significant, with a strong advantage for the Portal 2 group

Researchers have long argued that a central point of education should be to teach people
to become better problem solvers

Analysis: The read was a bit highbrow at times, losing the reader when they incorporated
too many numbers and acronyms into the findings. Although, this was an official scientific

research study so I expected nothing less, that is not to say that all of it was hard to read though,
her purpose, hypothesis/conclusions as well as her discussions of these conclusions were clear to
the average college educated person. While I do not care whether or not specifically Portal 2 is
better than luminosity, the fact that it shows a solid correlation between playing video games and
improvements in brain functions/skills is a very good study to incorporate into my paper. I could
include more specifically her hypothesis' and her results of such in my paper if a more formal
voice is needed to give myself credibility as someone who was done his research. Her depth of
sources cited in the beginning can lead me to a lot of other sources that involve my topic of
positive affects of video games on people.
Reflection: This is my 2nd scientific article, I believe a good balance of science backed research
along with my own insights and others non strictly scientific findings will be good too include in
my paper. Although, I do not want to sound unlike myself (too science-y) In my own paper nor
do I want to sound like a I know everything with no form of substantial evidence.

Justin Hall
Thomas
UWRIT 1102
9/26
Annotated Bibliography 4

Cole, Helena, and Mark D. Griffiths. "Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online
Role-Playing Gamers." Economics and Social Conflict (2013): n. pag. Ocw.edu. Cyber
Psycology and Behavior. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

The study conducted by Helna Cole and Mark D Griffiths, part of Nottingham Trent
University's Social Sciences department, more specifically their International Gaming Research
Unit, was focused on finding the depth of social interactions and their effects on players within
the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) category. It was a voluntary
study in which people from USA, Canada, and the UK took a survey online and the results were
collected. Only fully completed surveys were accepted. All kinds of people took the quiz, with
the age group being 11-65 and the gender percentages coming out to be 70/30 male and female
respectively. The study gathered information on who/what/when/where/why, friends within a
game, topics discussed, category the gamer felt they fit into the best, and how introverted versus
extroverted they believed themselves to be. The results of the study found that most people, male
and female, of all age groups, played with people they knew in real life as well as made good
friends within the game as well. Not only did participants report that they made friends, but the
world of gaming offered certain people a different outlet besides just playing for fun. Some

gamers used the MMORPG world as a mainly social tool to interact with other people, The
virtual world that these games offer allows players to express themselves in ways they may not
feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, age, or other
factors. The research also breaks down other stereotypes of gamers besides the anti-social one,
with females becoming a more and more prevalent force within the gaming community. Another
stereotype debunked is the age myth, that only kids play video games, the study proves this
false, with the average age of gamers being twenty-three. This means that the majority of gamers
were not adolescent, but in fact well into adulthood.

Previous research has made assumptions that gamers are socially inactive. However, the
study showed that 76.2% of male and 74.7% of female players had made good friends
within the game.

The study showed that 42.8% of participants had met with online friends in real-life
situations, again suggesting that online gaming is a social activity or facilitates social
activity.

The appeal of discussing issues such as sexuality lies in the ease and anonymity with
which online seekers can obtain advice and reassurance, particularly regarding sensitive
topic.26

Yet another interesting finding was that some players felt more themselves during
game play

Analysis: Compared to the Shute study, this scientific article had a medium difficulty, at
some points, I found myself rereading the same paragraph a few times before moving on. Unlike
the Shute article though, the numbers had a constant reference attached to them, so keeping up

with all of the information was much easier if you took your time. I really enjoyed this study
and I can most definitely use it in my inquiry. It relates because of the social aspect that many
people seem to overlook. I met two of my best friends online whilst playing World of Warcraft,
one is actually the captain of my flag football team here at UNCC. A personal note is that we
made it to the quarter finals in the competitive league last year and are currently undefeated this
year, who says that gamers have to be anti-social sloths? I've already made reference to how
WoW has impacted my life in my paper, so this very well could back it up in that regard
specifically. Moreover, the general findings of how people felt more at home online talking
about important issues, gaining confidence, friends, and allowing for increased expression are all
things that people value in the grand scheme of life. Our generation has become more
technological and we have often been accused of letting technology take away from real social
interaction, but this study proves that this is not the case. This is a very positive effect on people
as it allows for social growth of people and an easy way for those with similar interests to meet
up via gameplay where sometimes playing video games, especially MMORPGS are taboo.

Reflection: Another one in the scientific study field, I enjoyed this one a bit more than the
previous ones because the findings were very straight forward and the results were from players
themselves, not something to be proved within a lab.

Justin Hall
Thomas
UWRIT 1102
11/10
Annotated Bibliography 5
Tassi, Paul. "Evil Geniuses Take Home Record $6.6M First Prize In Valve's 'Dota 2'
International." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 09 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.
Paul Tassi, Forbes' magazines very own video game and technology expert writes
briefly on the Dota 2 (Defense Of The Ancients) tournament held in Key Arena, in Seattle
Washington. The winners of said tournament was the team from U.S.A, Evil Geniuses, this
was the first time in history that an American team won the international tournament. This
tournament, which was televised on EPSN shows a very large step in the direction of E-sports.
The continued growth of The Internationals prize pool is yet another sign of the times that
interest in eSports is growing, not waning. Tassi goes on to explain Valves (game creator)
marketing plan for Dota 2 as well as the current competition within the scene of MOBA's
(Mobile Online Battle Arenas) as well as the amount of viewers the tournament received online.
The great part about the prize pool of eighteen million dollars is that it was not fully funded by
valve, but rather the players. Valve, rather than paying out an enormous sum by themselves, has
had the rather ingenious idea of selling Compendiums for Dota 2 in the lead up to The
International. 25% of the money from compendiums went into the Dota 2 prize pool, showing
just how much the players support this game and its community.

In an age where eSports is still struggling with profitability, it seems Valve has things
pretty well figured out.

The record prize pool and first place award means each of the members of the team get
$1.32M, making each of them instant millionaires
Analysis: The article itself was not very long, although it used words and terms that could

be tricky to follow if the reader was not versed in the world of Dota 2. The point of this article is
to show just how much people care about video games. My topic is how video games have
positive effects on people, while this is not a scientific article, it does serve a purpose within my
paper. Going into my topic, many people who do not know much about video games and its
culture will be shocked at just how big the community has grown within the past few years. I am
anticipating readers to scoff at video games and the scientific research, so placing this example
in the paper will be able to show just how big of a deal video games are to people, as the saying
goes, Money talks.Eighteen million dollars were raised by people all over the world to see a
video game played in a packed arena that holds seventeen-thousand people on site and with over
four and a half million people tuning in to watch it online via stream, as well as ESPN
broadcasting it on cable television, it is hard to ignore just how popular video games are. I will
be able to bring in this example as well as a Starcraft example within South Korea, as the Esports scene is much bigger there. People seem to underscore the impact of video games as well
as how many people play it, with it being a social taboo even by popular kids frat kids ect. I
will be using this article to show just how many people just one video game can reach and how
The International is on its way to rivaling the Superbowl within the video gaming community.
I can show this by giving the social aspect, competition, job market, merchandise, ect as to how
much this really effects the community and what is born from this sensation. Perhaps one day
The International will be autocorrected to capitalize the first letters in its name if it gets
popular enough.

Reflection: I have quite a few scientific papers at this point, this is an example as to just how big
video games have gotten in recent years. I feel that it is important to show readers this specific
example because they more than likely have never heard of it yet it is just such a big spectacle. I
suspect that readers will often go throughout my paper how many people do these games
actually reach using this article I believe will really show them just how big the video game
scene is and perhaps encourage them to join.

Justin Hall
Thomas
UWRIT 1102
11/10
Annotated Bib 6
ESA, Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry. Entertainment
Software Association, 2014. Theesa. Web. 8 Nov. 2015
The Entertainment Software Association or ESA for short, is a coalition of major gaming
companies such as Blizzard, Bandai, Capcom, Disney, Sony, and Square-Enix just to name a
few. Every year, these companies gather information into a small infographic in order to measure
various things about the video game industry. Using the information gathered from these
sources, we know the information in the report can be trusted, as it is gathered directly from the
major contributors in the gaming industry. This is in comparison to, for example, a random
blogger from the internet. The statistics shown in this infograph show many different statistics,
ranging from gender discrepancy in games, age range, top selling games of the year, types of
games played (genres), and parental involvement within the process.

People of all ages play video games. There is no longer a stereotype game player, but
instead a game player could be your grandparent, your boss, or even your professor.
Jason Allaire, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State
University and co-director of the Gains Through Gaming Lab

62% of gamers play games with others, either in-person or online

59% of Americans play video games

Analysis: The ESA's yearly infographic is very easy to read, it is meant for consumer use
as is evident in the way the information is displayed as well as the language used. Anyone that is
literate enough to read numbers can comprehend the text within the report. This was done in

2014, this year is important to me because the information is up to date. The entire reason for my
paper is to show the positive effects of video games, thus, using outdated numbers just will not
do. These graphs and numbers will lend credibility to my voice and in conjunction with the Dota
2 bib on just how far and influential video games are to people. In order for people to be effected
of influenced by a game, they must of course play said game. Thus, by displaying real figures of
video game players and the games importance to them/ their dedication to said game is critical in
convincing and physically showing the reader that the points I am making are valid. Creating
validity is not done through just pure numbers or graphs, but it cannot hurt at all to be backed by
credible number values. One of the biggest things I feel that I will run into is my reader not
believing my points when it comes to the positive effect video games have on people due to the
amount of negative press the video game community receives. Thus, this infograph.

Reflection: This is a very large pool of information that I can pull from, there are many, many
statistics that I can pull and use in my paper. Once again, not a scientific study, but rather pure
facts. This will help give my paper credibility and not seem so much of a literary review of
scientific studies done, spun to my viewpoint.

Justin Hall
Thomas
UWRIT 1102
11/10
Annotated Bib 7

Curry, Shirley. "SKYRIM Eps 1." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
Shirley is the self titled grandma of gaming. In this video she takes us along with her on
her first ever recorded session of what is colloquially refereed to as a Lets Play. Lets play is a
genre on youtube that has recently become popular. In these segments the youtuber narrates their
experiences within the game, each one bringing to the table their own personality that gains the
attention of the viewer. Grandma Shirley brings her own charm of being an older member of the
video game community which really shows as she progresses throughout the game. She moves
slowly as she moves from room to room, inspecting each detail the game throws at her. This
goes on she comically dispatches the enemies as she goes. Through her adventure she solves
puzzles, learns how to pick a lock, and gains loots from exploring the surroundings. She has
received very positive community feedback as everyone is excited to see such a different gamer
on the scene of Lets Plays. Her inadvertent humor stems from her novice ability within the
game that is paired with her commentary of whats going on in the world. After finding a dead
body on the road, she checks the pockets of the victim and finds alcohol, which she leaves,
stating I dont intend to get drunk so I dont need that. Watching Shirley play is a very
different gear from what is normally placed on youtube, the ranting, cursing, vulgar humor of
most Lets Play gamers. Shirley brings to the table an air of youthful innocence, figuring the

game out as she goes, just watching her giggle with glee as she finds new items laying around or
figuring out a puzzle that lets her move on is quite satisfying, much like watching a kid explore
his surroundings for the first time, you wait patiently for them to figure things out for themselves
and cant help but smile when they finally get it.

What I really enjoy most about the game is traveling across the country, looking in all
the caves, discovering places, fighting, killing things and looting, thats my preference.

Well that was easy enough wasn't it?

Now are those...what I'm supposed to do? Or are those telling me where to do it...Oh
that didnt sound right, -laughs-

Analysis: This video is a different change in pace compared to my other sources. It was a
very fun video to come across as aforementioned Shirley brings quite the different view into the
gaming scene. I could fit this as an example into my paper about ways that video games can
affect all people, no matter the age. A lot of elderly find that they run out of things to do, perhaps
video games can be the entry way into an enormous amount of fantastical worlds that could
sweep them away into endless adventures. More than anything, this was an amazing find that I
just have to include in my paper. Shirley is quite the outlier and perhaps she can influence others
to pursue video games in the same manner that she does. I think that with just the broad amount
of ground that my bibs cover, I will be able to appeal to a wide range of views and question
regarding my question, its validity, and its importance in general.

Reflection: This was something that was way out there in terms of sources to use. Something

like this is just rare to come across, I have gathered adequate enough information at this point
that adding another scientific journal or crap blogger didn't seem necessary. Shirley adds a
refreshing view to my paper.