Managing Stress Through Enjoyable Games
Managing Stress Through Enjoyable Games
Stress is the opposite of relaxation. It is not limited to the negative aspects of our lives. Even the most positive events such as: promotion, jubilation, the birth of a newborn, and the union of marriage, can be very stressful. Thankfully, there are enjoyable games in which you can experiment to relieve you of your stress.
Say Goodbye To Stress In A Flash
From shooting cows falling from the sky to fun word games, the possibilities are seemingly endless with Flash games available in the Internet today. There are thousands for flash games to relieve your stress and most are free to play.
The best way for you to fill your anti-stress game collection is by doing few simple searches for “Flash Games” or “Free Flash Games” and saving these sites in your bookmark folder. The next time you feel the urge to play, it will be easy as pie. Just look into some of your bookmarked Flash games and you’re ready to go.
To Connect Or Not To Connect
If you do not want to connect to the Internet, there are a few built-in games that Microsoft Windows had included in their operating system. Solitaire, Minesweeper, Pinball, FreeCell, and Hearts are great ways to relieve you stress. These games do not require search engines or bookmarks and they are accessible anytime at your own disposal.
If you get tired of those games, several Internet sites offer computer games that are free time-trial versions. These games are normally shareware and may take a few minutes to download depending on your Internet connection. The variety of these computer games is virtually endless. You can choose from Puzzle Games, Word Games, Action Games, Shooting Games, Racing Games and many more.
The advantage of computer games downloaded from the Internet is that once you install them, they do not require Internet connection to play. Additionally, by the time your free trial is over, you have the option to either purchase the game or uninstall it to completely erase it from your computer by using the uninstaller included in the game.
In the world of Internet gaming, there are also several different online games called MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). They combine enjoyable gaming experience and player interaction. This is a good stress reliever for the extroverts and some of them offer free registration and play. A few hours of monster-bashing and strategic questing will surely lessen the stress that you feel.
Why Online If You Can Go Offline
If you are sitting all day at a computer, or if the stress you are feeling comes from the computer, sometimes the best way is to get up and just walk away. Poor Internet connection and computer crashes can become sources of stress too. There are games that are fun, enjoyable and will not only relieve your stress but also stretch you brain muscles.
Get a deck of cards and play a quick game of solitaire the old-fashioned way. You might also consider purchasing a book about Solitaire Games or Card Games along with your deck. There are several books published for Solitaire-loving players and offers hundreds of game variations.
If you have a Slinky, use it and bounce it back and forth from hand to hand to put you focus on the toy and feel the stress and problems slip away. Playing darts can also be a good stress reliever. Hitting a target or even targeting a photo of someone or something that caused your stress can reduce the stress that you feel. Just make sure that you clear other furniture from the vicinity because damaging them may add to your stress.
Brain exercises will not only relieve your stress but also practice your spatial and non-verbal intelligence. The Rubik’s Cube has been available for decades. You only need to take a few minutes of your time to match the color on one side since trying to match the colors of each side of the cube can be stressful.
Crossword Puzzles are fun activities that can help you say goodbye to stress. Many crossword puzzle books include mazes, word-find games and other pencil puzzles. Purchase some that have puzzles ranging from easy to hard to engage in them according to your mood and stress level. Some newspapers and magazines also provide crosswords puzzles and sudoku games.
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History of Arcade Games
History of Arcade Games
The first arcade game started from Pong, but then moved on to become one of the biggest rages of the time. The games where mostly simple in design, but gave you plenty of raw game time.
With the newer arcade games, you will find that it made use of intense leaps in technology and now uses some of the best graphic technology on the market. The arcade games were designed to be played with a group of friends in pubs, malls and restaurants.
These days arcade games are more than isolated gaming sessions. Keep in mind that arcade games have plenty of followers and now have built communities and even cults that are committed to the tradition of playing.
Then the arcade game came into the home, thanks to the home console gaming units.. They started out as redemption games, pinball machines and video games.
The reason that arcades began to shut down was because they were labeled as very sinister places and they became known for being unsafe. They saw resurgence with the advent of the “two players fighting each other” games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Killer Instinct.
But, then, again the game consoles and PC’s with 3d accelerator cards successfully dwarfed the advantage arcade games enjoyed. When it comes to the success of arcade games, you will find that it has beat the home computer game popularity and also it has become available on many systems so that you can get new games with better quality graphics and also you’ll be able to use better sound cards so that the experience of the game is better.
The steep decline ensured that they could no longer fund their technologies.
Then, the decline of the arcade hit hard in the last 1990’s, because the internet made things a bit worse. With help from the internet the competition between players got a lot more serious.
This is why most of the arcade games have been changed into PC games or home console gaming units. Today the online arcade games have a huge fan following with thousands of tournaments being held online every year.
As for the online arcade games, you will find that it is a very fast pace world that allows the arcade become more virtual and the graphics are a lot better. When you think about arcades, you have to realize that there is a new type of future for these games.
Online Arcades And Office Life
Online Arcades And Office Life
There are different types of online games that fall under the categories of action, sports, adventure and shooting. You can download free online games and play them at leisure as per your convenience. Alternately, you can be online and play action games like Sonic and Mario against several other players, compete with them, as you shoot them down, and keep scores. You can chat with them online under different aliases. All you need is a Pentium or a compatible computer with latest software and a fast Internet connection.
Register at any online gaming site like Real arcade, www.free-arcade.ws, and start playing your favorite action and adventure games. You will usually compete against thousands of other players and online gaming can take the shape of a continuous tournament. The aim of online action games is to increase your arsenal, shoot the enemy, and increase your points. These games are richly animated and may have a storyline. Some common online action games include Space Escape, Indiana Jones, Pearl Diver, Gem Mania and Hacker.
Strategy games are more challenging and you have to gather resources like men and weapons and defeat the enemy. They support multiple players. Some of the all-time favorite games include War craft 3 and Age of the Empires 3. Many PC based games let you download updates of the game where the mouse & keyboard function as the joystick in these games. A maximum of twelve players can play strategy games at a time. You can form your own group of interested players and create rankings within your group.
Sports enthusiasts can play a variety of games from football to soccer to car racing and tennis. Car racing supports many players while football or golf will support a maximum of two players. Most people are familiar with the rules of the game and this makes sports games one of the most popular category of online games. You can have different levels of difficulty in the games and even play alone against the computer. The popular online sports games include FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed and Madden Football among others. You can play better flash versions of these games at our website. A variation of sports games are fantasy sports leagues where you have an ideal team, play matches against other teams and see how your team fares against them.
All of you bored with your monotonous lives out there have a chance to refresh yourself with the best free online games available at Free-Arcade.ws
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History of Video Game Systems: Knowing About What Started it All
History of Video Game Systems: Knowing About What Started it All
Video games have come a long way in terms of graphics and sound technology. Although video games didn’t exist a hundred years ago, the enhancement in graphics and sound technology revolutionized on what people think of video games today.
Unlike what you see in video games today that has amazing 3D and realistic graphics and sounds, it all started out with a video game called the Computer Space. This video game was released by Nutting Associates in 1970 and was the first coin-operated arcade video game.
In 1972, the Odyssey 100 video game system was introduced. This particular video game can be attached to a standard television to display the graphics and play the game. In the same year, Atari launched Pong. This is a coin operated machine and is played with two short vertical lines that you move up and down to avoid letting the “ball” pass.
The real video game revolution began in the late 70’s. Atari introduced the Video Computer System or the VCS (renamed Atari 2600 later). This system uses cartridges and delivered colored graphics and sounds through the television. The game was played using a joystick or paddles.
The Atari 2600 were the most popular gaming systems ever invented in its time. The system was always in demand that retail stores constantly ran out of stock, especially on the holidays.
However, in early 80’s, more and more video game manufacturers began coming out. An example would be Nintendo. Nintendo’s Family Computer was a worldwide success and sold over 500,000 units all over the world for a short period of two months. In 1985, Nintendo released a similar system in the United States called the Nintendo Entertainment System.
With the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US, it also released the Super Mario Bros. video game that was a total hit. The Super Mario Bros. game reportedly had a worldwide sale amounting up to 40.24 million dollars and was declared as the best-selling game of all time.
In the late 80’s more and more video game manufacturers began releasing their latest video game systems. Sega Enterprises released the Genesis home video game system in the US and was a total hit. It generated sales amounting up to 14 million dollars.
In 1995, Sony Electronics released the 32-bit CD-ROM game system called the PlayStation in the US. It was a phenomenal hit and this was the beginning of the Sony PlayStation legacy.
The popularity of Sony PlayStation paved the way to more advanced graphics system and other video gaming systems manufacturers began to follow suit. The CD-ROM technology to be integrated in a video game system is now the most popular way to play a video game.
Sega Enterprises and Nintendo followed with a similar concept of using a CD-ROM to play its games instead of using cartridges.
Sega released the Dreamcast video game system in Japan in 1998 with features like a 200 MHz processor, 12X speed 1 Gigabyte CD-ROM drive and a 56 kbps modem. However, it arrived too late to threaten the Nintendo 64 and the much anticipated PlayStation 2.
In the year 2000, PlayStation released the PlayStation 2 with great success. About 1 million units were shipped from Japan on the first weekend and have been one of the most popular video game systems ever released since Atari.
Other companies also followed. Nintendo released the GameCube video game system and Microsoft released the Xbox game system in the United States. The Xbox had features that no other gaming system had. It had an 8 Gigabyte hard drive, 733 MHz Pentium III Processor and a 250MHz nVidia graphics coprocessor. Also, it was capable of being connected into a broadband internet connection.
In 2005 Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 video game system in the United States. It has a wireless controller, headset and a 20 Gigabyte hard drive.
As you can see, video game systems are rapidly advancing in graphics and sound technology. You can only wait and see what Sony, PlayStation, Nintendo and other video game system manufacturers can think of next in the near future. Sony even announced the release of the much anticipated PlayStation 3 on mid November 2006 in North America.
The Wonders Of Video Games And The Internet
The Wonders Of Video Games And The Internet
Of children in the US, 79% play computer or video games on a regular basis. While most people think of video games as the pastime of the pre-adolescent, and not without reason, since children between the ages of seven and 17 play for an average of eight hours per week. However, industry research suggests that the commitment to video gaming may not end when students leave high school.
Industry research suggests that college student’s game even more than pre-adolescents. It seems the typical college student spends a bit less than two hours a day gaming, and the US military uses war gaming—for everything from modeling high-level international command coordination, to introducing raw recruits to weapons. Taking their lead from the Department of Defense, some university instructors have introduced game-based learning into their curricula. These educational video games introduce a fantasy element in order to engage players in the storyline, while making sure that their mastery of the course material is essential to students’ scoring and winning.
Some competitive exercises pit students against one another; others give them the opportunity to challenge themselves. Inter-university consortia—while they can’t compete with the DOD for research and development budgets—are able to develop higher level of resources from member universities, in order to improve educational outcomes. One example is MUVEES, a cooperative venture of Harvard University, George Mason University, the Smithsonian, Boston public schools, Gunston middle school, along with an industry partner, Thoughtful Technologies. With additional funding from the NSF, the project is finding engaging ways to teach science that draw on curiosity and play.
Of course, there are dramatic differences between the teaching styles scientists frequently use, and video games. For example, science classes usually present materials verbally, taking concepts step-by-step. Video games, however, are about pictures, and the player decides the order of play. For another example, a science teacher or science professor usually develops their class or lecture on their own. Video games, however, draw on the talents and skills of graphic artists, animators, and programmers working as a group. Leading universities’ research and development boards—and the DOD–aren’t the only institutions that have noticed complementarily between gaming and learning.
Public policy activists are also concerned that players learn from video games, and question whether what players are learning is useful. For example, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association together have concluded that research evidence demonstrates a cause and effect relationship between television violence, and the acts of those who watch it. Based on this link, activists suggest that players are often required to take the point of view of the perpetrator of violence; that video games require active participation; that repetition increases learning, and that video games are based on a rewards system that increases learning even more.