The Spoon Drawer

When I was 13, I was hooked on a game called Black & White. I was intensely familiar with video games as platformers and shooters, but Black & White was very different; Players took on the role of a faceless, nameless god, and could freely influence the lives of civilisations through their own choices. You could shape societies through your vengeful or merciful rule which would eventually influence all life on Earth and create an open-ended gaming experience. The game is considered one of the progenitors of the modern simulation game genre and influenced a wide range of titles such as The Sims, Spore and Darwinia. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crossmediaweek/  Enter Peter Molyneux, the charismatic and popular game developer who in 1989 created Populous, which is considered to be the first god game. Since then, Molyneux created many other titles including Black & White 1 & 2, the Fable series, Dungeon Keeper and Gene Wars. But as his work ...

Brain games won’t make you a genius, but we all knew that anyway. They have however, been shown to improve working memory and increase fluid intelligence. That’s awesome, considering most of us are just playing them for something to do! I never thought I might be increasing my intelligence while playing Sudoku; I play mind games because they’re fun, challenging and more interactive than watching TV. If you think about it, throughout our whole lives we’ve been increasing our knowledge and using our minds in games. In schools for example, teachers are always trying to find new ways to teach through play.  Professors, Murali Doraiswamy and Marc Agronin say, “we agree there’s huge potential for tapping into your own neuroplasticity (that is, the brain’s ability to change itself by remodeling nerve cell connections after experience) to enhance mental fitness and prevent age-related memory decline.” That sounds pretty beneficial to me. T...

One of the most positive changes from developing technologies in gaming is the growing number of games that keep us moving. No longer does playing a console mean that you or your children are google-eyed and crouched in one position for hours. Not only that, games are becoming more social bringing the family together and encouraging interaction. The massive success of the Nintendo Wii proved the appeal of motion-controlled gaming and competitors are not far behind with the release of Xbox Kinect taking the next step in full body gaming . Active gaming doesn’t stop at consoles – gadget shops and sporting brands are also catching on, developing games that help us to have fun getting fit. For those of you still struggling with your New Year’s resolution to get fit and lose weight, I have the solution. Forget about the exercise and focus on winning! Here are some of my favourite active games available: Xbox Kinect Just Dance This may seem like a girlie choice but I’ve tried i...