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107 Video Game Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Video games have become a popular form of entertainment for people of all ages. From action-packed shooters to immersive role-playing games, there is a video game out there for everyone. With such a wide variety of games to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide on a topic for an essay about video games. To help you get started, here are 107 video game essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing:

• The impact of violent video games on children's behavior
• The evolution of video game graphics over the years
• The rise of esports and its influence on the gaming industry
• The benefits of playing video games for cognitive development
• The representation of gender and race in video games
• The history of virtual reality gaming
• The psychology of loot boxes in video games
• The role of music in enhancing the gaming experience
• The ethics of video game journalism
• The impact of video game addiction on mental health
• The cultural significance of video game franchises like Mario and Pokemon
• The future of cloud gaming and streaming services
• The role of storytelling in video games
• The influence of video games on popular culture
• The relationship between video games and education
• The impact of video game censorship on creative expression
• The portrayal of mental health issues in video games
• The role of social media in video game marketing
• The history of video game consoles
• The impact of online multiplayer games on social interaction
• The evolution of game mechanics in the survival horror genre
• The representation of LGBTQ+ characters in video games
• The influence of Japanese culture on video game aesthetics
• The role of nostalgia in the popularity of retro gaming
• The impact of microtransactions on player experience
• The relationship between video games and violence in society
• The role of artificial intelligence in game development
• The impact of video game streaming platforms like Twitch
• The representation of disability in video games
• The influence of game design on player engagement
• The evolution of mobile gaming
• The role of virtual economies in online multiplayer games
• The impact of video game sound design on immersion
• The portrayal of mental illness in video games
• The influence of Eastern philosophy on game narratives
• The role of user-generated content in game communities
• The impact of fan culture on video game development
• The representation of indigenous cultures in video games
• The influence of literature on game storytelling
• The role of game difficulty in player satisfaction
• The impact of video game piracy on the industry
• The portrayal of war in military shooter games
• The relationship between video games and sports
• The influence of board games on video game design
• The role of player choice in game narratives
• The impact of virtual reality on therapy and rehabilitation
• The representation of historical events in video games
• The influence of film on game aesthetics
• The role of gender stereotypes in video game marketing
• The impact of game mods on player creativity
• The portrayal of mental health professionals in video games
• The influence of tabletop role-playing games on video game mechanics
• The role of game mechanics in promoting teamwork and cooperation
• The impact of game development crunch on industry workers
• The representation of animals in video games
• The influence of science fiction on game narratives
• The role of player agency in game storytelling
• The impact of game difficulty on player motivation
• The portrayal of addiction in video games
• The influence of mythology on game aesthetics
• The role of puzzles in game design
• The impact of game reviews on player purchasing decisions
• The representation of mental illness in horror games
• The influence of architecture on game environments
• The role of game soundtracks in enhancing the player experience
• The impact of game tutorials on player learning
• The portrayal of robots and AI in video games
• The influence of fashion on character design in games
• The role of humor in game narratives
• The impact of game localization on cultural representation
• The representation of environmental issues in video games
• The influence of psychology on game design
• The role of game narratives in exploring complex themes
• The impact of game communities on player engagement
• The portrayal of mental health struggles in indie games
• The influence of mythology on game storytelling
• The role of player feedback in game development
• The impact of game accessibility on player inclusivity
• The representation of gender identity in video games
• The influence of surrealism on game aesthetics
• The role of morality systems in game narratives
• The impact of game tutorials on player retention
• The portrayal of mental health professionals in horror games
• The influence of psychology on game narratives
• The role of player choice in shaping game outcomes
• The impact of game aesthetics on player immersion
• The representation of LGBTQ+ relationships in video games
• The role of environmental storytelling in game design
• The impact of game streaming on player engagement
• The portrayal of mental illness in puzzle games
• The role of player feedback in shaping game development
• The impact of game aesthetics on player perception
• The representation of LGBTQ+ characters in horror games
• The influence of film noir on game narratives
• The role of environmental storytelling in shaping game worlds
• The impact of game tutorials on player skill progression
• The portrayal of mental illness in narrative-driven games
• The influence of science fiction on game aesthetics
• The role of player choice in determining game endings
• The impact of game aesthetics on player emotional response
• The representation of LGBTQ+ relationships in indie games
• The influence of literature on game design
• The role of environmental storytelling in immersive game worlds
• The impact of game streaming on player community building
• The portrayal of mental health struggles in interactive fiction games

Whether you are writing a research paper, a critical analysis, or a personal reflection on video games, these topics provide a diverse range of ideas to explore. From examining the psychological effects of gaming to analyzing the cultural significance of game narratives, there is no shortage of fascinating topics to delve into. So, pick a topic that interests you and start exploring the world of video games through the lens of your essay. Happy writing!

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127 excellent video game research topics for 2023.

Are you looking for the best video game research topics for 2023? We are proud to say that you have arrived at the right place. Our experienced ENL writers and professional editors have just finished creating our brand new list of 127 awesome video game topics for high school and college students. You can use any of our ideas for free – no credits required.

Best Way To Write A Video Game Essay

Before we get to the list of topics, we want to make sure you know how to write a great essay. After all, finding a great topic is just part of the writing process of any custom term papers . Here are some pointers that should help you do a better job on your research paper:

• Structure your paper properly and always start with an outline. We recommend you use the 5 paragraph essay structure, as it’s extremely versatile.
• Make sure your grammar and vocabulary are spot-on. Edit your work and polish your writing to make sure you get a top grade.
• Be careful with quotes and citations. Remember to include all your sources in the References chapter.
• Always start your paper with a great thesis statement. Dedicate some time to crafting the best one possible.
• Keep in mind that each body paragraph should start with a clear statement and then support it. Don’t tackle more than one important idea in a paragraph.
• Make sure you research the topic thoroughly and get accurate data from reputable sources. This is, after all, a research paper.
• Last, but not least, write in a clean and concise manner. Express your ideas clearly and avoid unnecessary information that would just confuse or bore your readers.

Now that you know what to do and what to avoid when writing the video game research paper, it’s time to take a look at our list of original video game research topics:

Easy Video Game Topics

We will start our list with a selection of easy video game topics that are perfect for students who don’t want to spend too much time on their papers:

• Talk about your favorite video game
• What do you like about modern video games?
• The process behind the creation of a new game
• Why do you want to become a video game developer?
• What is a MMORPG video game?
• Differences between FPS and RPG games
• Analyze the gaming industry in a country of your choice
• An in-depth look at cyber sports and video game championships
• Can playing video games be considered a sport?
• What makes League of Legends so popular?
• Research gun violence in modern video games
• Are the games you play bad for you?
• Talk about the impact of video games on small children
• Do video games have any positive effects on you?

Video Games Topic For Every Student

Below, you will find a selection of topics for every student from high school to college. Check out our video games topic for every student list:

• The psychology behind modern video games
• Analyze the launch of a popular game
• How are video games priced?
• The history of online gaming
• Games as learning tools
• Controlling video game addiction
• Shooters or strategy games?
• Why you shouldn’t play video games
• Physical benefits of games

Interesting Video Game Topics To Write About

We know; you want a topic that is both interesting and easy to write about. Take a look at these interesting video game topics to write about:

• Do violent video games make teens violent?
• What is the effect of video games on children?
• What changed my view on video games?
• Skills that can be improved by playing games
• Do adults play video games?
• Research the increase in demand for video games
• Compare video games in the US and the UK
• Ethical responsibility in the gaming industry
• How addictive are role playing video games?

Fun Gaming Topics

Yes, writing a research paper can be fun – if you choose a great topic. Pick any of our fun gaming topics and start writing your paper right away:

• The entire history of video games
• Positive effects of video games
• Android games vs iOS games
• The Candy Crush popularity
• Gaming industry careers
• Genres of video games
• The technology behind the Xbox 4
• What causes addiction when it comes to video games?
• How do games improve learning skills?

Latest News On Video Games

If you want to write about something new, we recommend you take a look at the latest news in video games:

• Talk about the use of augmented reality in video games in 2023
• What are incremental console upgrades?
• An in-depth look at inclusivity in video games
• Which games are trending in 2023?
• Most anticipated video games of 2023
• Latest advances in 3D and SFX effects
• Talk about the remastered cinematics of Diablo 2 Resurrected
• Halo Infinite: everything we know so far
• The clan system in Call of Duty: Vanguard

Informative Gaming Topics To Talk About

Do you want to write an informative paper? No problem, we have a long list of informative gaming topics to talk about right here:

• Why do people love video games so much?
• Can video game addiction be treated like substance addiction?
• Case study: The Elder Scrolls of Oblivion
• Discuss government regulation of video games in the US
• Compare and contrast the Xbox and the PlayStation
• A closer look at the Japanese gaming industry
• What does it take to become a video game creator?
• The rise of Android video games
• Do we really need computer games nowadays?

Video Game Research Paper Topics For High School

Our list of video game research paper topics for high school is unique, so you can safely pick any one of our ideas and write your essay on it:

• What do modern video games promote?
• How much time should you spend playing video games?
• Are video games good or bad for our youth?
• Talk about how gaming will look 20 years from now
• Does playing video games make you think more strategic?
• How important are video games for our society?
• The importance of video games in treating depression
• Are games a good way to treat anxiety?
• Why do people spend so much money on video games?

Best Video Game Research Questions

A question is usually enough to spark your creativity. This is why we have an entire list of the best video game research questions right here:

• Are video games good for teens?
• How does video game violence affect children?
• How will games look 50 years from now?
• How do games improve our collaborative skills?
• Why do we love looking at other play video games?
• How damaging is piracy for the video game industry?
• Which are more popular, RPGs or FPSs?

Video Games Debate Topics

Are you preparing for a debate and need a great topic? Don’t worry about it; we’ve got your back. Check out these great video games debate topics:

• Discuss sexism in modern video games
• Talk about social problems related to video games
• Virtual reality in future games
• The important of augmented reality
• Can a game be educational?
• What makes games so fun and addictive?
• Gaming in the classroom in 2023
• Interesting online gaming experiences
• Important of games in special education settings

Good Video Game Writing Prompts

Are you looking for some good video game writing prompts that can help you write an intriguing research paper? Here are some of our best ideas:

• Compare and contrast the top 3 games in the United Kingdom in 2023
• What are some problems with modern video games?
• An in-depth look at advanced SFX effects
• 3D game rendering technologies
• Discuss online piracy related to video games
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Modern video games
• How realistic are modern games in 2023?
• Tackle the violence theme in video games
• Sony vs. Microsoft: gaming giants battle
• The link between gaming and violence in teenagers
• Discuss the addictiveness of video games

Video Games Research Paper Topics For College

Of course, we have a list of video games research paper topics for college students. These are a bit more difficult than the others in our list:

• Linking video game addiction to substance abuse
• The use of first person shooter games in military training programs
• Flight simulation games and their real world applications
• Games that improve critical thinking skills
• The minimum age for playing video games
• Games that improve reaction times
• Pros and cons of playing assassin video games
• Debunking the most popular myths about video games
• Should parents prevent their children from playing video games?
• The link between video games and cognitive skill improvements

Engaging Video Games Topics

Want to engage your audience right from the start? If you are looking to impress your professor, you might want to give these engaging video games topics a try:

• The role of a developer in the video game industry
• How is testing being carried out on video games?
• Talk about the latest and most advanced video game effects
• An analysis of the video game industry in 2023
• Compare the 3 most popular games in the United States in 2023
• Are online video games more addictive than single-player ones?
• Discuss about the psychological effects of video games
• Compare and contrast 3 first person shooter games
• Improving reaction time in FPS games
• The effect of video games on education

Video Games Of The Future

Last, but not least, we have a nice compilation of ideas related to video games of the future. Take a look at our innovative ideas and pick the one you like:

• A closer look at Battlefield 2042
• Talk about how rendering graphics works in games
• Advances in graphics planned for games to be released in 2023
• Innovative graphics in Halo Infinite
• Discuss 3D game rendering technologies of the future
• What makes Pragmata a game of the future?
• The use of artificial intelligence in games in 2023
• Research the use of virtual reality in future games
• Discuss real-time rendering in future 3D games
• An in-depth look at Hytale (to be released in 2023)

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110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples

🔝 top 10 video game topics for 2024, 🏆 best video game topic ideas & essay examples, 🎮 good video game research topics, 🕹️ interesting gaming topics to write about, ❓ video game research questions, ✅ simple & easy video game essay topics.

Looking for video game topics for your project? Look no further! Here, we’ve collected excellent essay topics for true gaming enthusiasts. Whether you’re looking for argumentative essay ideas on video games, research topics, or questions for debate, you will find them here.

• History of Video Game Consoles
• Myths of Video Game Violence
• The Global Phenomenon of Esports
• VR Gaming and Its Future Possibilities
• How Video Games Influence Cognitive Skills
• Therapeutic Mental Health Benefits of Video Games
• Diversity and Gender Representation in Video Games
• How Multiplayer Games Impact Social Interaction
• Healthy Gaming Habits Against Video Game Addiction
• Aesthetic and Narrative Qualities of Artistic Video Games
• Product Life Cycle & Marketing of Video Game Industry One of the most important advantages of the concept of life cycle can be seen in the sphere of marketing, where if used as a tool it allows adjusting the strategies, including marketing, based on […]
• Twitch.tv and Video Game Streaming Career From this point, in spite of the fact that the Twitch.tv platform can be viewed as belonging to the live-streaming industry, the careers of streamers develop according to the traditional principles of the entertainment business.
• The Monopoly Tycoon Video Game Review The game is stylistically similar to the board game Monopoly, and it can be played both online and offline. It is important to note that the game has a multiplayer feature, which can be played […]
• A Video Game Store’s Business Plan The projected cash flow of the cash in the balance sheet will appear positive for the next five years and will show that the company’s profitability in will be good enough pay for operating expenses […]
• Sony and Nintendo in the Video Game Industry The firm has manufactured several generations of the home console since the 1980s, beginning with the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s, and the Nintendo 64 that was […]
• Video Game Industry Analysis In 1950, Yamauchi assumed the position of the president in the firm and got on a variety of strategies with the purpose of rationalizing and modernizing the way the firm was controlled.
• Video Game Effects: Good or Bad? Given the fact that there is indeed a logically sound rationale to such a suggestion, throughout the course of conducting my study, I remained thoroughly observant of the article’s classification-related suggestions, in regards to the […]
• The Video Game Industry Evolution The first mention of the creation of such games dates back to the 1940s, but it was in 1952 that Alexander Shafto “Sandy” Douglas officially presented his dissertation at the University of Cambridge. One of […]
• The NASCAR Video Game Project Management Plan The plan attempts to draw the features and gameplay mechanics by replicating the thought process of a potential player. At this stage, the game should be well-advertised and ready for release.
• The Motivation of the Video Game Player For instance, the project gave its players the dynamic and fast pace of the game, a vast and detailed map, various locations, several different weapons, and character skins, and this is not all the possibilities.
• The “Medal of Honor” Video Game Analysis The game is set to depict the Afghanistan invention in 2002 and the battle between the U.S.military and the Taliban. Due to the close resemblance of the game to the Afghanistan war, the game has […]
• Human Life: Video Game, Simulation, or Reality? Drawing parallels between the real and the virtual world, one can admit the unreality of the existence of the planet and people and compare everything that happens with the simulation in which we are.
• Does Video Game Violence Lead to Aggression in Children? Among the gaming community, children participate vigorously in absorbing the plethora of entertaining content, including age-restricted ones where the scenes of violence are abundant.
• A Role-Playing Video Game Ayiti: The Cost of Life This strategy worked but not to the topmost level simply because the burden of the living cost was gradually weighing down the overall income of my family.
• BioWare Video Game Project Management For example, Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third installment of the company’s flagship series, switched to the Frostbite engine used by most of the EA games and succeeded in delivering the product despite the technical difficulties […]
• Video Game History: Overview From the 1990s to Nowadays In addition to arcade car behavior, the game was also famous for its beautiful graphics at the time, with each game in the series being a launch title showing the capabilities of the console.
• FIFA 10 Football Simulation Video Game A lack of consistency is evident in the various versions of this game as FIFA 10 played on a PC lacks the realism that is exhibited when the game is played on XBOX 360 and […]
• Video Game Delivery Project: Strategic Marketing To initiate strategies in marketing of Video Game, the company will decide to develop a web based application by ABC CORP and this application is customized to meet the requirements of the project. The purpose […]
• The U.S. Video Game Industry This was also based on the views of the company’s developers who assumed that the technological advantages of the the16-bit system were extremely less than that of the 8-bit system.
• Video Game Company Against Online Piracy The purpose of the said DRM software is to protect the intellectual rights of the company. The fourth major issue is the encompassing goal of the VGC to end all types of piracy.
• Video Game Addiction and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs As to me, I was interested in video games when I was a child because this industry was at its beginning and almost every pupil was involved in it.
• Nintendo in the Video Game Industry Previously, Atari was a major power to reckon with in the industry but was later toppled by Nintendo. Part of Yamauchi’s vision was to introduce new and cheaper video games in the market than the […]
• Game designers have the responsibility to design less video game Secondly, the outcome of the video game is unpredictable as compared to movie in which the audience can predict the point at which the story would end thus making the video games more interesting to […]
• Striving for the Ultimate Knowledge: Eli’s Mission. Video Game Owing to the peculiarities of the movie plot, the game can be shaped in a most intriguing way, with a lot of turns of the plot which lead to the most effective denouement.
• Analysis of the Counter-Strike Video Game Phenomenon in Computer Gaming
• Comparison of Three Companies in Video Game Industry; Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft
• Analysis of Free Will in The Stanley Parable Video Game
• Analysis of the Effects of Playing a Video Game Used in Computer Science
• Analysis of the Characteristics and Player Statistics of Bungie’s Video Game Destiny
• Are Video Games Truly a Game or a Reality?
• Analysis of the Topic of the Releases in the Video-Game Industry and the Issues of the Violence
• Analysis of the Rise of the Video Game Empire in Modern Society
• Two Aspects of Creating a Video Game
• Analysis of the Third-Person, Console-Based Video Game, The Last of Us
• Are Users The Next Entrepreneurs? A Case Study On The Video Game Industry
• Combating Video Game Addiction : A Global Problem
• Does Playing Video Game Consoles Bring About Plenty of Advantages?
• Analysis of the Field Work Project and the Topic of a Video Game Community
• Does Video Game Violence Affect Children?
• Do Video Games Contribute For Video Game Violence?
• Is The Video Game Industry an Oligopoly?
• Is Video Game Violence the Cause of Juvenile Delinquency?
• Psychological Effects of Video Game Violence on Children
• What Is the Defining Business and Economic Characteristics of the Video Game Console Industry?
• Why Play Station 4 and the Xbox One Are the Kings of the Next Generation Video Game Console?
• What Makes A Video Game Addictive?
• Competition Among 3 Main Video Game Companies: Nintendo, Sega, And Sony
• Brief Note On Video Gaming And The Video Game Industry
• Effects of Television and Video Game Violence on Children and Teenagers
• Analysis of the Different Genres of Video Game Systems for Children
• Overview of the Process and Career in Video Game Design
• Development of the Elder Scrolls Video Game Series
• Breaking Gender Stereotypes in Traditionally Masculine Sports: The Inclusion of Women in FIFA 16 Video Game
• Cancer: Video Game and Playing Violent Video
• Fighting the Online Video Game Wars in China
• Government Regulation Of Video Game Violence Is Unconstitutional And Unnecessary
• Japanese video game industry
• History of the Video Game Industry
• Microsoft Xbox Entering the World of Video Game
• The Merchant of Video Games: Adapting the Merchant of Venice into an Adventure Game
• What Are Some Revolutionary Breakthroughs in the Video Game Industry?
• What Does It Take To Make It in the Video Games Industry?
• Why Has the Video Game Industry Exploded Recently?
• What Is Wrong With the Video Game Industry in This Generation?
• Is the Video Game Industry Going Downhill?
• Who Is the Best Voice Actor in the Video Game Industry?
• What Will Be the Next Breakthrough or “Big Thing” in the Video Game Industry?
• Is the Video Game Industry in Trouble Right Now?
• Who Makes More Money: Hollywood or the Video Game Industry?
• How Has the Coronavirus Impacted the Video Game Industry?
• What Is the Biggest Missed Opportunity Yet in the Video Game Industry?
• Does Video Game Violence Induce Negative Affects on Our Youth?
• What Are the Changes the Video Game Industry Needs?
• How Large Is the Video Game Industry?
• Why Is the Video Game Industry in China Dominated by MMOs?
• Is There a Bubble Forming in the Video Game Industry?
• What Do Video Game Players Understand That Most People Don’t?
• How Easy Is It to Make a Video Game?
• What’s the Best Advice You’ve Received From a Video Game?
• What Was the First Video Game?
• What Is the Most Inappropriate Video Game You Know?
• What Are the Elements of a Good Video Game?
• How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Video Game?
• What Can Video Game Consoles Offer You?
• Why Video Game Addiction Is One of the Urgent Problems Today?
• How Does Science Create Video Game?
• How the 1970s Sparked the Video Game Industry?
• Why Do Video Game Movies Always Fail?
• What’s the Most Popular Video Game Genre?
• The Science Behind Brain-Boosting Games
• How Gaming Reflects and Influences Society
• How Video Games Participate in Social Justice
• Pros and Cons of Gamified Fitness and Wellness Apps
• Gamification, Its Benefits, and Learning Outcomes
• Virtual Goods in Video Games and Their Real-World Value
• What Factors Influence Immersion and Player Engagement?
• Cloud Gaming and the Potential of Streaming Technology
• Market Trends and Revenue Models of the Video Game Industry
• Violence, Microtransactions, and Other Ethical Issues in Video Game Development
• Problem Solving Essay Ideas
• Computers Essay Ideas
• Technology Essay Ideas
• Cyberspace Topics
• Developmental Psychology Essay Ideas
• Software Engineering Topics
• Online Community Essay Topics
• Hacking Essay Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, December 27). 110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/

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117 Original Video Game Research Topics That Are Very Cool

Stop wasting your time searching all over the Internet for unique video game research topics! You can find 117 original video game topic ideas right here on this page. And yes, you can use these topics for free without even having to give us any credit. In fact, we have just finished updating the list of topics for 2023. This means that you will be able to find dozens of unique topic ideas that will give you an advantage over your classmates. In addition to the interesting topics, we also have 7 helpful tips, tricks and advice on how to write a video game essay or research paper faster. Let’s get started!

Finishing Your Video Game Essay On Time

However, finding excellent video game topics quickly is not enough, especially when you are on a tight deadline. There are many other things you can do to finish your paper on time. To make sure you complete the assignment on time, you should follow our tips, tricks and advice.

Start early. Give yourself enough time to research and write your essay. Don’t wait until the last possible minute to start writing the paper. Make sure you understand the requirements and scope of your essay topic. Stay focused and avoid wasting your limited time. Break down the task. Divide the essay into smaller parts, such as researching, outlining, writing, and editing. This will help you manage your time better and avoid being overwhelmed. Create a timeline. Develop a timeline that includes all the various things you need to do to write the paper and set a deadline for each one. Prioritize. Determine which parts of the paper are most important and work on them first. Make effective use of your energy. Use credible (primary) sources. This way you won’t have to go back and correct various parts of the paper due to problems with your sources. Create an outline of your essay before you start. This will help you organize your thoughts and save time by avoiding the need to revise and rearrange your work later.

Now that you know how to be more efficient, it’s time to give you some topics that will help you write an exceptional paper in no time:

Easy Video Games Topics

Don’t want to spend too much time writing the essay? No problem, just choose one of our easy video games topics:

• The history and evolution of video games.
• The positive effects of video games on children.
• The impact of video game violence on society.
• The benefits of playing video games for cognitive development.
• The use of video games in education and training.
• The role of video games in promoting physical activity.
• The psychology of video game addiction and its effects.
• The influence of video games on culture and society.
• The future of virtual reality in video games.
• The use of video games as a treatment for mental health issues.
• The ethical considerations of video game development and production.

Interesting Video Game Topics To Write About

Our experts have put together a list of the most interesting video game topics to write about. Check out the list below:

• Gender representation and diversity in video games.
• The impact of esports on the gaming industry.
• The relationship between video games and storytelling.
• Cultural significance of popular video game franchises.
• The role of video games in socialization and relationships.
• The effects of streaming on the gaming culture.
• The potential negative effects of excessive video game playing.
• The use of video games in medical treatment.
• The evolution of game design and mechanics in video games.
• The impact of the video game industry on local economies.

Current Gaming Topics

If you want to talk about topics that are relevant today, you can simply select one of our current gaming topics. You can find them right here:

• The rise of esports and professional gaming leagues
• The ongoing debate around video game addiction
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gaming industry
• Loot boxes and micro transactions: controversies
• The increasing popularity of mobile gaming
• The emergence of cloud gaming platforms
• The debate around video game violence and its effects
• The role of gaming in learning
• The rise of indie game developers and their impact
• Talk about augmented reality in gaming in 2023
• The importance of inclusivity in gaming

Video Game Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on a topic related to video games doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are some simple video game research paper topics:

• The impact of video games on problem-solving skills
• Violent video games and aggressive behavior
• Using video games for teaching in the classroom in 2023
• The influence of video game design on player engagement
• The impact of online gaming communities on social interaction
• The role of video games in promoting physical activity
• The potential for video games to enhance mental health
• The effects of video games on attention span
• The use of video games in therapy
• Video game addiction and compulsive behavior

Video Game Research Questions

We have some of the most thought-provoking video game research questions on the Internet right here for you:

• How do different game design elements impact player attitude?
• What is the role of video games in shaping cultural identity?
• How do different types of video games affect spatial reasoning skills?
• What is the relationship between video games and creativity?
• How do video games impact risk-taking behavior?
• What is the impact of video games on academic performance?
• How do video games affect emotional intelligence?
• How can video games be used to promote sustainability?
• What is the impact of video game marketing on consumer behavior?
• How do video games impact racial stereotypes in society?
• What ethical considerations should be taken into account when designing video games?

Video Game Writing Prompts

Don’t know what to write the essay about? Don’t worry about it; we’ve got your back. Check out these video game writing prompts:

• Write a short story based on the world of “The Elder Scrolls. Skyrim.”
• Imagine a new planet for the “Mass Effect” series and describe it.
• Write a fanfiction piece that explores the backstory of “Overwatch” hero, Soldier. 76.
• Create a character in “Fallout 4” and write a journal entry from their perspective.
• Write a screenplay for a movie based on “The Last of Us.”
• Develop a new quest line for “World of Warcraft” and outline the story.
• Write a short story that takes place in the universe of “Halo.”
• Imagine an alternate ending to “BioShock Infinite” and write it out.
• Create a poem inspired by the themes and imagery of “Journey.”
• Write a story set in the post-apocalyptic world of “Horizon Zero Dawn.”
• Develop a backstory for the character of Clementine in “The Walking Dead” game series.

Video Games Debate Topics

Preparing for a heated debate? You need a good topic, of course. Check out these interesting video games debate topics:

• Are video games really a form of art?
• Is the portrayal of violence in video games harmful?
• Are loot boxes and micro transactions in video games ethical?
• Is it fair for video games to include difficulty levels in 2023?
• Are video games responsible for addiction and compulsive behavior?
• Should video games be used as a tool for educational purposes?
• Is it appropriate to censor or ban video games?
• Should video game companies be held accountable for their content?
• Is the portrayal of women in video games sexist?
• Are remastered video games worth the investment?
• Is streaming video games on platforms like Twitch a viable career?

Informative Gaming Topics To Talk About

If you’re looking for some informative gaming topics to talk about, you’re in luck. We have some for you:

• The evolution of gaming technology and graphics
• The rise of esports and competitive gaming
• The history and influence of classic video game franchises
• The future of virtual and augmented reality gaming
• The psychology of video game addiction and how to combat it
• The cultural significance and representation in video games
• The intersection of music and gaming, including video game soundtracks
• The rise of mobile gaming and its influence on the gaming market
• The history and impact of multiplayer gaming and online communities
• The design and development process of creating a video game

Engaging Topic Ideas Related To Video Games

These unique, engaging topic ideas related to video games will surely win you some bonus points from you professor:

• Write a script for a TV show set in the world of “Assassin’s Creed.”
• Create a new playable character for “Street Fighter” and describe their moves and backstory.
• Write a novella that explores the mystery of “Firewatch.”
• Develop a plot for a new “Red Dead Redemption” DLC.
• Write a short story inspired by the characters of “Life is Strange.”
• Imagine a 2023 sequel to “Breath of the Wild” and outline the plot.
• Write a screenplay for a movie based on “Half-Life.”
• Create a new creature for the world of “Monster Hunter” and describe its behavior and habitat.
• Write a story that takes place in the world of “Dark Souls.”
• Develop a new puzzle game concept and describe its gameplay and mechanics.
• Write a fanfiction piece that explores the relationship between Ellie and Dina in “The Last of Us Part II.”

Fun Video Game Topic Ideas

Writing a paper on a fun topic is a sure way to get noticed. Take a look at some of these fun video game topic ideas:

• Rank the best video game soundtracks in games from 2020 to 2023
• Discuss the funniest video game glitches and bugs
• Explore the history of video game consoles and their evolution
• Create the ultimate video game character (talk about their abilities)
• Choose the most iconic video game weapons and discuss their uses
• Debate the best video game crossover events
• Examine the most impressive speedruns in video game history
• Identify the most challenging video game bosses and discuss strategies to beat them
• Rank the most immersive video game worlds and environments
• Celebrate the most memorable moments in video game history.

Best Video Games Topic Ideas

Want to write your paper on an original topic idea? Below you can find what we consider to be some of the best video games topic ideas:

• The use of video games in advertising and marketing in 2023
• The history and impact of gaming consoles on the industry
• The role of video games in fostering creativity and imagination
• The history and impact of speedrunning on the gaming community and industry
• The ethics of video game content and censorship
• The history and impact of arcade games on gaming culture
• The impact of video games on spatial reasoning and navigation skills
• The psychology of character development and player identification in video games
• The role of video games in exploring and experiencing new cultures and worlds
• The impact of video games on decision-making abilities
• The history and impact of gaming conventions on the industry and community

No matter what topic you’ve chosen, our professional writers ready to write a research paper for you. Just hire a professional writer and  buy a research paper to easly get a good grade. 

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Our team of experts is ready to jump in and give you the most affordable video game research paper help online. No more googling “ write my research paper ” anymore! Get a high quality custom essay or research paper for any class in as little as 3 hours. High school, college and university students can count on us to impress their teachers with outstanding papers on a wide variety of subjects and topics. Get reliable writing help using our secure platform and improve your GPA in no time. Our writers have extensive experience writing compelling academic content that any professor will appreciate. If you are a student who wants to get more free time every week, leave the essay writing to us. So, if you need some more original video games research paper topics or if you want to get a good essay written for you today, contact our team.

What are some gaming topics? Some more interesting gaming topics could be ideas like: psychological affect of games on young children (can also work for psychology term paper writing), developments in gaming software and design, the impact early video games have had on the gaming world today, or a look over important personalities in gaming. Can I get help writing my video games paper? Yes! It is always advisable to ask for help if you are struggling. Even a seemingly fun and interesting topic like video gaming can become overwhelming and a challenge to write about. So you can definitely get online paper writing help while you yourself enjoy playing games instead of writing about them! What is the biggest problem in the gaming industry? There are a few major problems in the gaming industry, however the most current and important one at the moment is labor conditions and economic compensation for gaming industry workers. Gaming is a difficult industry where professionals are constantly working over average hours.

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Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the Brain: Evidence from a Systematic Review

Denilson brilliant t..

1 Department of Biomedicine, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), East Jakarta 13210, Indonesia

2 Smart Ageing Research Center (SARC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; pj.ca.ukohot@iur (R.N.); pj.ca.ukohot@atuyr (R.K.)

3 Department of Cognitive Health Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan

Ryuta Kawashima

4 Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan

Video gaming, the experience of playing electronic games, has shown several benefits for human health. Recently, numerous video gaming studies showed beneficial effects on cognition and the brain. A systematic review of video gaming has been published. However, the previous systematic review has several differences to this systematic review. This systematic review evaluates the beneficial effects of video gaming on neuroplasticity specifically on intervention studies. Literature research was conducted from randomized controlled trials in PubMed and Google Scholar published after 2000. A systematic review was written instead of a meta-analytic review because of variations among participants, video games, and outcomes. Nine scientific articles were eligible for the review. Overall, the eligible articles showed fair quality according to Delphi Criteria. Video gaming affects the brain structure and function depending on how the game is played. The game genres examined were 3D adventure, first-person shooting (FPS), puzzle, rhythm dance, and strategy. The total training durations were 16–90 h. Results of this systematic review demonstrated that video gaming can be beneficial to the brain. However, the beneficial effects vary among video game types.

1. Introduction

Video gaming refers to the experience of playing electronic games, which vary from action to passive games, presenting a player with physical and mental challenges. The motivation to play video games might derive from the experience of autonomy or competing with others, which can explain why video gaming is pleasurable and addictive [ 1 ].

Video games can act as “teachers” depending on the game purpose [ 2 ]. Video gaming has varying effects depending on the game genre. For instance, an active video game can improve physical fitness [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], whereas social video games can improve social behavior [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The most interesting results show that playing video games can change cognition and the brain [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].

Earlier studies have demonstrated that playing video games can benefit cognition. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that the experience of video gaming is associated with better cognitive function, specifically in terms of visual attention and short-term memory [ 14 ], reaction time [ 15 ], and working memory [ 16 ]. Additionally, some randomized controlled studies show positive effects of video gaming interventions on cognition [ 17 , 18 ]. Recent meta-analytical studies have also supported the positive effects of video gaming on cognition [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These studies demonstrate that playing video games does provide cognitive benefits.

The effects of video gaming intervention are ever more widely discussed among scientists [ 13 ]. A review of the results and methodological quality of recently published intervention studies must be done. One systematic review of video gaming and neural correlates has been reported [ 19 ]. However, the technique of neuroimaging of the reviewed studies was not specific. This systematic review reviewed only magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in contrast to the previous systematic review to focus on neuroplasticity effect. Neuroplasticity is capability of the brain that accommodates adaptation for learning, memorizing, and recovery purposes [ 19 ]. In normal adaptation, the brain is adapting to learn, remember, forget, and repair itself. Recent studies using MRI for brain imaging techniques have demonstrated neuroplasticity effects after an intervention, which include cognitive, exercise, and music training on the grey matter [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] and white matter [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. However, the molecular mechanisms of the grey and white matter change remain inconclusive. The proposed mechanisms for the grey matter change are neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis, whereas those for white matter change are myelin modeling and formation, fiber organization, and angiogenesis [ 30 ]. Recent studies using MRI technique for brain imaging have demonstrated video gaming effects on neuroplasticity. Earlier imaging studies using cross-sectional and longitudinal methods have shown that playing video games affects the brain structure by changing the grey matter [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], white matter [ 34 , 35 ], and functional connectivity [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Additionally, a few intervention studies have demonstrated that playing video games changed brain structure and functions [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].

The earlier review also found a link between neural correlates of video gaming and cognitive function [ 19 ]. However, that review used both experimental and correlational studies and included non-healthy participants, which contrasts to this review. The differences between this and the previous review are presented in Table 1 . This review assesses only experimental studies conducted of healthy participants. Additionally, the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies merely showed an association between video gaming experiences and the brain, showing direct effects of playing video games in the brain is difficult. Therefore, this systematic review specifically examined intervention studies. This review is more specific as it reviews intervention and MRI studies on healthy participants. The purposes of this systematic review are therefore to evaluate the beneficial effects of video gaming and to assess the methodological quality of recent video gaming intervention studies.

Differences between previous review and current review.

CT, computed tomography; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; MEG, magnetoencephalography MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PET, positron emission tomography; SPECT, single photon emission computed tomography; tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation; EEG, electroencephalography; NIRS, near-infrared spectroscopy.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. search strategy.

This systematic review was designed in accordance with the PRISMA checklist [ 44 ] shown in Appendix Table A1 . A literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies. The keywords used for the literature search were combinations of “video game”, “video gaming”, “game”, “action video game”, “video game training”, “training”, “play”, “playing”, “MRI”, “cognitive”, “cognition”, “executive function”, and “randomized control trial”.

2.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

The primary inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trial study, video game interaction, and MRI/fMRI analysis. Studies that qualified with only one or two primary inclusions were not included. Review papers and experimental protocols were also not included. The secondary inclusion criteria were publishing after 2000 and published in English. Excluded were duration of less than 4 weeks or unspecified length intervention or combination intervention. Also excluded were studies of cognition-based games, and studies of participants with psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, and medical disorders.

2.3. Quality Assessment

Each of the quality studies was assessed using Delphi criteria [ 45 ] with several additional elements [ 46 ]: details of allocation methods, adequate descriptions of control and training groups, statistical comparisons between control and training groups, and dropout reports. The respective total scores (max = 12) are shown in Table 3. The quality assessment also includes assessment for risk of bias, which is shown in criteria numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 12.

2.4. Statistical Analysis

Instead of a meta-analysis study, a systematic review of the video game training/video gaming and the effects was conducted because of the variation in ranges of participant age, video game genre, control type, MRI and statistical analysis, and training outcomes. Therefore, the quality, inclusion and exclusion, control, treatment, game title, participants, training period, and MRI analysis and specification of the studies were recorded for the respective games.

The literature search made of the databases yielded 140 scientific articles. All scientific articles were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of those 140 scientific articles, nine were eligible for the review [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Video gaming effects are listed in Table 2 .

Summary of beneficial effect of video gaming.

Duration was converted into weeks (1 month = 4 weeks); DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; GM, grey matter; FPS, first person shooting. * Participants were categorized based on how they played during the video gaming intervention.

We excluded 121 articles: 46 were not MRI studies, 16 were not controlled studies, 38 were not intervention studies, 13 were review articles, and eight were miscellaneous, including study protocols, non-video gaming studies, and non-brain studies. Of 18 included scientific articles, nine were excluded. Of those nine excluded articles, two were cognitive-based game studies, three were shorter than 4 weeks in duration or were without a specified length intervention, two studies used a non-healthy participant treatment, and one was a combination intervention study. A screening flowchart is portrayed in Figure 1 .

Flowchart of literature search.

3.1. Quality Assessment

The assessment methodology based on Delphi criteria [ 45 ] for the quality of eligible studies is presented in Table 3 . The quality scores assigned to the studies were 3–9 (mean = 6.10; S.D. = 1.69). Overall, the studies showed fair methodological quality according to the Delphi criteria. The highest quality score of the nine eligible articles was assigned to “Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adult” published by West et al. in 2017, which scored 9 of 12. The scores assigned for criteria 6 (blinded care provider) and 7 (blinded patient) were lowest because of unspecified information related to blinding for those criteria. Additionally, criteria 2 (concealed allocation) and 5 (blinding assessor) were low because only two articles specified that information. All articles met criteria 3 and 4 adequately.

Methodological quality of eligible studies.

Q1, Random allocation; Q2, Concealed allocation; Q3, Similar baselines among groups; Q4, Eligibility specified; Q5, Blinded assessor outcome; Q6, Blinded care provider; Q7, Blinded patient; Q8, Intention-to-treat analysis; Q9, Detail of allocation method; Q10, Adequate description of each group; Q11, Statistical comparison between groups; Q12, Dropout report (1, specified; 0, unspecified).

3.2. Inclusion and Exclusion

Most studies included participants with little or no experience with gaming and excluded participants with psychiatric/mental, neurological, and medical illness. Four studies specified handedness of the participants and excluded participants with game training experience. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are presented in Table 4 .

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for eligible studies.

i1, Little/no experience in video gaming; i2, Right-handed; i3, Sex-specific; e1, Psychiatric/mental illness; e2, Neurological illness; e3, Medical illness; e4, MRI contraindication; e5, experience in game training.

3.3. Control Group

Nine eligible studies were categorized as three types based on the control type. Two studies used active control, five studies used passive control, and two studies used both active and passive control. A summary of the control group is presented in Table 5 .

Control group examined eligible studies.

3.4. Game Title and Genre

Of the nine eligible studies, four used the same 3D adventure game with different game platforms, which were “Super Mario 64” original and the DS version. One study used first-person shooting (FPS) shooting games with many different game titles: “Call of Duty” is one title. Two studies used puzzle games: “Tetris” and “Professor Layton and The Pandora’s Box.” One study used a rhythm dance game: Dance Revolution. One study used a strategy game: “Space Fortress.” Game genres are presented in Table 6 .

Genres and game titles of video gaming intervention.

* West et al. used multiple games; other games are Call of Duty 2, 3, Black Ops, and World at War, Killzone 2 and 3, Battlefield 2, 3, and 4, Resistance 2 and Fall of Man, and Medal of Honor.

3.5. Participants and Sample Size

Among the nine studies, one study examined teenage participants, six studies included young adult participants, and two studies assessed older adult participants. Participant information is shown in Table 7 . Numbers of participants were 20–75 participants (mean = 43.67; S.D. = 15.63). Three studies examined female-only participants, whereas six others used male and female participants. Six studies with female and male participants had more female than male participants.

Participant details of eligible studies.

3.6. Training Period and Intensity

The training period was 4–24 weeks (mean = 11.49; S.D. = 6.88). One study by Lee et al. had two length periods and total hours because the study examined video game training of two types. The total training hours were 16–90 h (mean = 40.63; S.D. = 26.22), whereas the training intensity was 1.5–10.68 h/week (mean = 4.96; S.D. = 3.00). One study did not specify total training hours. Two studies did not specify the training intensity. The training periods and intensities are in Table 8 .

Periods and intensities of video gaming intervention.

The training length was converted into weeks (1 month = 4 weeks). ns, not specified; n/a, not available; * exact length is not available.

3.7. MRI Analysis and Specifications

Of nine eligible studies, one study used resting-state MRI analysis, three studies (excluding that by Haier et al. [ 40 ]) used structural MRI analysis, and five studies used task-based MRI analysis. A study by Haier et al. used MRI analyses of two types [ 40 ]. A summary of MRI analyses is presented in Table 9 . The related resting-state, structural, and task-based MRI specifications are presented in Table 10 , Table 11 and Table 12 respectively.

MRI analysis details of eligible studies.

* Haier et al. conducted structural and task analyses. + Compared pre-training and post-training between groups without using contrast. TFCE, Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement; FEW, familywise error rate; FDR, false discovery rate.

Resting-State MRI specifications of eligible studies.

Structural MRI specifications of eligible studies.

Task-Based MRI specifications of eligible studies.

All analyses used 3 Tesla magnetic force; TR = repetition time; TE = echo time, ns = not specified.

4. Discussion

This literature review evaluated the effect of noncognitive-based video game intervention on the cognitive function of healthy people. Comparison of studies is difficult because of the heterogeneities of participant ages, beneficial effects, and durations. Comparisons are limited to studies sharing factors.

4.1. Participant Age

Video gaming intervention affects all age categories except for the children category. The exception derives from a lack of intervention studies using children as participants. The underlying reason for this exception is that the brain is still developing until age 10–12 [ 52 , 53 ]. Among the eligible studies were a study investigating adolescents [ 40 ], six studies investigating young adults [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 49 , 51 ] and two studies investigating older adults [ 48 , 50 ].

Differences among study purposes underlie the differences in participant age categories. The study by Haier et al. was intended to study adolescents because the category shows the most potential brain changes. The human brain is more sensitive to synaptic reorganization during the adolescent period [ 54 ]. Generally, grey matter decreases whereas white matter increases during the adolescent period [ 55 , 56 ]. By contrast, the cortical surface of the brain increases despite reduction of grey matter [ 55 , 57 ]. Six studies were investigating young adults with the intention of studying brain changes after the brain reaches maturity. The human brain reaches maturity during the young adult period [ 58 ]. Two studies were investigating older adults with the intention of combating difficulties caused by aging. The human brain shrinks as age increases [ 56 , 59 ], which almost invariably leads to declining cognitive function [ 59 , 60 ].

4.2. Beneficial Effects

Three beneficial outcomes were observed using MRI method: grey matter change [ 40 , 42 , 50 ], brain activity change [ 40 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], and functional connectivity change [ 41 ]. The affected brain area corresponds to how the respective games were played.

Four studies of 3D video gaming showed effects on the structure of hippocampus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cerebellum [ 42 , 43 , 50 ], and DLPFC [ 43 ] and ventral striatum activity [ 49 ]. In this case, the hippocampus is used for memory [ 61 ] and scene recognition [ 62 ], whereas the DLPFC and cerebellum are used for working memory function for information manipulation and problem-solving processes [ 63 ]. The grey matter of the corresponding brain region has been shown to increase during training [ 20 , 64 ]. The increased grey matter of the hippocampus, DLPFC, and cerebellum are associated with better performance in reference and working memory [ 64 , 65 ].

The reduced activity of DLPFC found in the study by Gleich et al. corresponds to studies that showed reduced brain activity associated with brain training [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Decreased activity of the DLPFC after training is associated with efficiency in divergent thinking [ 70 ]. 3D video gaming also preserved reward systems by protecting the activity of the ventral striatum [ 71 ].

Two studies of puzzle gaming showed effects on the structure of the visual–spatial processing area, activity of the frontal area, and functional connectivity change. The increased grey matter of the visual–spatial area and decreased activity of the frontal area are similar to training-associated grey matter increase [ 20 , 64 ] and activity decrease [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. In this case, visual–spatial processing and frontal area are used constantly for spatial prediction and problem-solving of Tetris. Functional connectivity of the multimodal integration and the higher-order executive system in the puzzle solving-based gaming of Professor Layton game corresponds to studies which demonstrated training-associated functional connectivity change [ 72 , 73 ]. Good functional connectivity implies better performance [ 73 ].

Strategy gaming affects the DLPFC activity, whereas rhythm gaming affects the activity of visuospatial working memory, emotional, and attention area. FPS gaming affects the structure of the hippocampus and amygdala. Decreased DLPFC activity is similar to training-associated activity decrease [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. A study by Roush demonstrated increased activity of visuospatial working memory, emotion, and attention area, which might occur because of exercise and gaming in the Dance Revolution game. Results suggest that positive activations indicate altered functional areas by complex exercise [ 48 ]. The increased grey matter of the hippocampus and amygdala are similar to the training-associated grey matter increase [ 20 , 64 ]. The hippocampus is used for 3D navigation purposes in the FPS world [ 61 ], whereas the amygdala is used to stay alert during gaming [ 74 ].

4.3. Duration

Change of the brain structure and function was observed after 16 h of video gaming. The total durations of video gaming were 16–90 h. However, the gaming intensity must be noted because the gaming intensity varied: 1.5–10.68 h per week. The different intensities might affect the change of cognitive function. Cognitive intervention studies demonstrated intensity effects on the cortical thickness of the brain [ 75 , 76 ]. A similar effect might be observed in video gaming studies. More studies must be conducted to resolve how the intensity can be expected to affect cognitive function.

4.4. Criteria

Almost all studies used inclusion criteria “little/no experience with video games.” The criterion was used to reduce the factor of gaming-related experience on the effects of video gaming. Some of the studies also used specific handedness and specific sex of participants to reduce the variation of brain effects. Expertise and sex are shown to affect brain activity and structure [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. The exclusion criterion of “MRI contraindication” is used for participant safety for the MRI protocol, whereas exclusion criteria of “psychiatric/mental illness”, “neurological illness”, and “medical illness” are used to standardize the participants.

4.5. Limitations and Recommendations

Some concern might be raised about the quality of methodology, assessed using Delphi criteria [ 45 ]. The quality was 3–9 (mean = 6.10; S.D. = 1.69). Low quality in most papers resulted from unspecified information corresponding to the criteria. Quality improvements for the studies must be performed related to the low quality of methodology. Allocation concealment, assessor blinding, care provider blinding, participant blinding, intention-to-treat analysis, and allocation method details must be improved in future studies.

Another concern is blinding and control. This type of study differs from medical studies in which patients can be blinded easily. In studies of these types, the participants were tasked to do either training as an active control group or to do nothing as a passive control group. The participants can expect something from the task. The expectation might affect the outcomes of the studies [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. Additionally, the waiting-list control group might overestimate the outcome of training [ 84 ].

Considering the sample size, which was 20–75 (mean = 43.67; S.D. = 15.63), the studies must be upscaled to emphasize video gaming effects. There are four phases of clinical trials that start from the early stage and small-scale phase 1 to late stage and large-scale phase 3 and end in post-marketing observation phase 4. These four phases are used for drug clinical trials, according to the food and drug administration (FDA) [ 85 ]. Phase 1 has the purpose of revealing the safety of treatment with around 20–100 participants. Phase 2 has the purpose of elucidating the efficacy of the treatment with up to several hundred participants. Phase 3 has the purpose of revealing both efficacy and safety among 300–3000 participants. The final phase 4 has the purpose of finding unprecedented adverse effects of treatment after marketing. However, because medical studies and video gaming intervention studies differ in terms of experimental methods, slight modifications can be done for adaptation to video gaming studies.

Several unresolved issues persist in relation to video gaming intervention. First, no studies assessed chronic/long-term video gaming. The participants might lose their motivation to play the same game over a long time, which might affect the study outcomes [ 86 ]. Second, meta-analyses could not be done because the game genres are heterogeneous. To ensure homogeneity of the study, stricter criteria must be set. However, this step would engender a third limitation. Third, randomized controlled trial video gaming studies that use MRI analysis are few. More studies must be conducted to assess the effects of video gaming. Fourth, the eligible studies lacked cognitive tests to validate the cognitive change effects for training. Studies of video gaming intervention should also include a cognitive test to ascertain the relation between cognitive function and brain change.

5. Conclusions

The systematic review has several conclusions related to beneficial effects of noncognitive-based video games. First, noncognitive-based video gaming can be used in all age categories as a means to improve the brain. However, effects on children remain unclear. Second, noncognitive-based video gaming affects both structural and functional aspects of the brain. Third, video gaming effects were observed after a minimum of 16 h of training. Fourth, some methodology criteria must be improved for better methodological quality. In conclusion, acute video gaming of a minimum of 16 h is beneficial for brain function and structure. However, video gaming effects on the brain area vary depending on the video game type.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all our other colleagues in IDAC, Tohoku University for their support.

PRISMA Checklist of the literature review.

For more information, visit: www.prisma-statement.org .

Author Contributions

D.B.T., R.N., and R.K. designed the systematic review. D.B.T. and R.N. searched and selected the papers. D.B.T. and R.N. wrote the manuscript with R.K. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. D.B.T. and R.N. contributed equally to this work.

Study is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17H06046 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas) and 16KT0002 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)).

Conflicts of Interest

None of the other authors has any conflict of interest to declare. Funding sources are not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of the study report.

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• 19 August 2024

PlayStation is good for you: video games improved mental health during COVID

• Gemma Conroy

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Video games boosted people’s well-being and reduced distress. Credit: Yong Teck Lim/Getty

Playing video games for a couple of hours a day can improve mental health, according to a study on gamers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic 1 .

The research — which was done from December 2020 to March 2022 — found that even just owning a game console increased life satisfaction and reduced psychological distress. The results were published today in Nature Human Behaviour .

The findings are a first step towards demonstrating a causal link between gaming and mental-health benefits, says Andrew Przybylski, a psychologist who studies how video games influence players’ mental health at the University of Oxford, UK. “The study provides a worked example that games researchers all around the world should follow closely,” he says. But he adds that conducting the experiment during the pandemic could have amplified the mental-health benefits of gaming because people’s mental health was generally poorer at that time and there were fewer opportunities to engage in other activities. The effect on well-being will need to be tested outside that situation, he says.

‘Publish or Perish’ is now a card game — not just an academic’s life

Although studies have explored the effects of gaming on addiction, well-being, cognitive function and aggression, the results have been mixed 2 , 3 . Most of this research has relied on observational data, which cannot be used to tease apart cause and effect, says study co-author Hiroyuki Egami, a behavioural scientist at Nihon University in Tokyo. Many video-gaming studies are also done in controlled laboratory settings, making it difficult to assess the mental-health effects of gaming in daily life, adds Egami.

Gamers unite

Some three billion people play video games globally and, during the pandemic, that number surged. In Japan, this spike in demand led to a shortage of Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles. To handle this, retailers set up a lottery system that randomly selected consumers who could purchase a console when it became available. Egami and his colleagues saw an opportunity to conduct a natural experiment on gaming and mental health.

Gaming helped my lab-mates and me to conquer the social-distancing blues

The study focused on 8,192 people, aged between 10 and 69, who had entered the lottery. The team collected information about their mental health, video-game ownership and sociodemographic characteristics. The researchers sent five rounds of surveys to the participants, which included two checklists that measured psychological distress and life satisfaction. Participants were also asked whether they had played video games over the past 30 days and, if so, for how long.

Participants who got the opportunity to buy a Switch or PS5 console experienced a decline in their psychological distress and had a greater life satisfaction than respondents who missed out in the lottery. The mental-health benefits of owning a PS5 were more pronounced among men, hardcore gamers and households without children.

On the other hand, owning a Switch seemed to offer a greater well-being boost to family households and less-experienced gamers. This could be because the Switch is a portable console that can be played with family and friends, whereas the PS5 can only be played by connecting it to a television and is typically used by single players, says Egami.

Life satisfaction

Playing video games on either console increased life satisfaction among the lottery participants, and doing so for an extra hour a day led to a further improvement in mental health. However, these positive effects tapered off among players who spent more than three hours a day gaming, suggesting that a long playtime doesn’t lead to further improvements in mental health.

“These results are not surprising,” says Daniel Johnson, a psychologist who specializes in video games at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. “They fit with what we know from talking to video-game players for decades.”

Przybylski adds that a limitation of the study is that it didn’t investigate other factors that could affect gamers’ mental health, such as how they approach playing and their games of choice.

Egami says the next step is to replicate the study to see whether the findings hold up outside a pandemic. “The result might be different,” he says.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02643-8

Egami, H., Rahman, M. S., Yamamoto, T., Egami, C. & Wakabayashi, T. Nature Hum. Behav . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01948-y (2024).

Article   Google Scholar  

Orben, A. & Przybylski, A. K. Nature Hum. Behav. 3 , 173–182 (2019).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Hazel, J., Kim, H. M. & Every-Palmer, S. Australas. Psychiatry 30 , 541–546 (2022).

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Here are some peer-reviewed journals whose main focus center around video games and virtual reality:

EAI Endorsed Transactions on Serious Games

     "...is an open access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal focused on serious game applications, serious games technology, serious games analytics, user experience design and more."

Eludamos : Journal for Computer Game Culture

     "...is an international, interdisciplinary, diamond open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the academic study of  videogames, game culture, and play published at Septentrio Academic Publishing at UiT The Arctic University of Norway."

Entertainment Computing

     "... publishes original, peer-reviewed research articles and serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating innovative research ideas, emerging technologies, empirical investigations, state-of-the-art methods and tools in all aspects of digital entertainment, new media, entertainment computing, gaming, robotics, toys and applications among researchers, engineers, social scientists, artists and practitioners."

Games and Culture

     "...peer-reviewed and published quarterly, is an internal journal that promotes innovative theoretical and empirical research about games and culture within interactive media"

Game Studies

     "...a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussion on games and gaming."

Interactive Entertainment Law Review

     "... is to serve as a peer-reviewed hub for legal analysis of interactive entertainment, video games, virtual / augmented / mixed realities, social media, and all related and emergent forms of digital interactive entertainment."

JMIR Serious Games

      "...a multidisciplinary journal devoted to computer, web, virtual reality, mobile applications, and other emerging technologies that incorporate elements of gaming, gamification or novel hardware platforms such as virtual reality devices or wearables...While JSG maintains a strong focus on health, the journal also aims to highlight research exploring serious games in health-adjacent and other interdisciplinary contexts, including but not limited to military, education, industry, and workplace applications."

Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds

      "The peer reviewed... explores the cultural effects of gaming and virtual worlds across platforms and genre, as their increasing popularity begins to affect culture as a whole."

Loading... : Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association

     "...is a forum for publishing original and interdisciplinary academic research on video games. We accept work from a variety of  perspectives:  from research on video game cultures and industries to educational approaches to the study and development of digital games, and from computer science driven papers on designing and testing games to psychological research on video games and their effects."

Simulation and Gaming

      "For more than five decades ... An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research has served as a leading international forum for the exploration and development of simulation/gaming methodologies used in education, training, consultation, and research."

Here are some examples of video game research which was published in non-gaming journals:

American Historical Review

https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/128/4/1755/7458524

History & Theory

http://doi.org/10.1111/hith.12280

International Journal of Heritage Studies

https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2022.2091638

International Studies Perspectives

https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekw002

Rethinking History: The Journal of Theory and Practice

https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2016.1256638

Russian Literature

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ruslit.2022.02.001

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Science Connected Magazine

Science Literacy, Education, Communication

How Video Games Are Making Research Fun

Gamification and citizen science meet when research projects create video games to make data collection and analysis fun.

The SciStarter Blog

By Nathaniel Scharping

While we might imagine a scientist as a chemist concocting substances in a lab, or a biologist diving with sea creatures, the reality is often far more mundane. Much of science involves collecting and analyzing data, and that process isn’t always very exciting. Think counting bacteria in a petri dish, or noting if two stars look alike in an image of the Milky Way.

But a number of research projects have found a way to buck that trend and turn the grinding work of data collection and analysis into something fun, even rewarding. By creating games that bake the process of data collection into their mechanics, players can contribute data and even uncover new insights just by playing along. Gamification, along with the growing movement known as citizen science, which invites volunteers to take part in real science research, is, in its own way, reshaping what it means to do science.

Gamifying Science

Games that pair citizen science with rewarding play are probing treatments for cancer, helping to cure Alzheimer’s, probing the foundations of language and more. Not only are the games made to be fun, but they address a prevailing issue among crowdsourcing projects: the dropoff rate. Citizen science games tackle the problem with game mechanics that allow players to uncover valuable data through the simple act of playing, keeping them engaged. The results can be striking: Volunteers with the citizen science game Stall Catchers were able to process 50 times as much data as scientists working alone. And research in The Lancet on citizen science volunteers playing the game Cell Slider found that the players were more than 90 percent accurate in classifying images of tumors, nearing the accuracy of trained pathologists.

“The concept is for the player, without actually knowing the background of the problem, without knowing the science of the problem, to be able to do something that helps solve the problem,” says Jay Halderman, the vice president of  BALANCED Media |Technology , a video game company that’s created multiple citizen science video games.

The studio’s most recent game is a pattern-matching challenge called Rocks & Runes . Players place cartoon bombs on a board filled with brightly-colored runes, with the goal of destroying rocks and matching runes together. The game might feel familiar to anyone who’s ever played Candy Crush, and it takes all of five minutes to get the hang of.

But beneath the bursts of color and flurries of point multipliers, players’ decisions are actually sorting through data from FDA-approved drug compounds to identify those that might be useful against multiple-drug-resistant chemotherapy. By eliminating rocks with bombs, players are virtually eliminating the ineffective properties of existing drugs and pointing machine learning algorithms toward more useful compounds, helping to sift out promising candidates from thousands of drugs.

Still, a player doesn’t even need to know the potential scientific benefits to enjoy the game. Adding enough reward to the gameplay to keep players interested in the game itself is a fundamental goal when designing citizen science games, says Nathan Bowden, a senior game designer at BALANCED Media|Technology.

“Everything we do, we’re trying to look at it through the lens of ‘is this fun?’” he says.

The designers often draw from existing video game archetypes — pattern matching, first-person shooters and more — when looking for inspiration. Sometimes the real challenge is simply finding the right paradigm for a particular dataset or scientific problem, Bowden says. When designing Wiley Wizard , a game that works with the same dataset as Rocks & Runes, the designers played around with half a dozen different game ideas before settling on one, a spooky cartoon world where a wizard fights ghosts.

“There’s just so many different ways you can encapsulate one piece of research into a single mechanic,” Bowden says.

Games With an Open Canvas

Another citizen science game, Glyph , takes a different approach. Instead of creating rigid rules or a defined path of gameplay, the project, which studies and compares alphabets from around the world, instead offers players a nearly blank slate.

The simple game asks players to come up with a set of rules to differentiate letters from alphabets around the world. The goal, says Olivier Morin , one of the game’s creators and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany, is to develop a kind of grammar of letter shapes that the researchers can use to study how letters have evolved and how the shapes of letters affect our cognition. The researchers could have paid participants to do the work, like other lab experiments often do, Morin says. But by gamifying the process of data collection, he hopes they’ll be able to reach people who are much more creatively involved in the process, and more likely to come up with unique solutions.

“We need creative players who want to push the boundaries of the game and create unique kinds of data we could never gather in an experiment,” Morin says.

Players get points for coming up with rules for classifying the shapes of letters (think: these are all round, these all have a vertical line), with extra points if they’re the first-ever person to propose a particular rule. The response so far has been encouraging, Morin says, with a few thousand players from around the world. That’s ideal for a small game like theirs, he says, where the real goal is to reach people who might be highly interested in the challenge. Their top player right now has more than 60,000 points, which represents weeks of gameplay.

“That person really spent weeks trying to devise the most elegant, intelligible but innovative classification she could think of to make sense of letter shapes,” Morin says. “There’s no way a paid participant would do that in a few hours.”

At Balanced Media, the designers have been exploring other ways to entice players to participate, including creating games that can be played inside live Twitch streams, which allow gamers to broadcast matches and interact. They created a new game styled like the classic “Asteroids” arcade game that can be played between matches right on Twitch. Players must separate matter from antimatter by drawing a straight line across the screen, a simple task that helps sort the same drug compound data as Rocks & Runes and Wiley Wizard.

Other citizen science games offer even more ways to get involved. The popular Stall Catchers game asks players to find “stalls,” or blocked blood vessels, in images of mouse brains to advance Alzheimer’s research. And in the iPad game NeMO- Net , players classify corals to help train an algorithm that’s watching over the health of coral reefs around the world.

There may be even more ways for gamers to do citizen science soon. Or, to put it another way, we may soon have even more fun citizen science games. The technology and infrastructure supporting the video game industry continues to grow, unlocking new capabilities and audiences as it does so.

“It’s giving us more and more opportunities for ways to present these things to a player,” Bowden says. “That’s incredibly exciting, the potential there.”

Want to try some for yourself? Find dozens of citizen science games on SciStarter .

Do video games affect your mood? Read more about Video Gaming Disorder and Mental Health .

About the Author

Nate is a science writer and editor who has reported everywhere from particle colliders to archaeological digs. He’s also a cofounder of Lunaris Creative, an agency focused on scientific storytelling for brands and nonprofits. You can find clips of his work at nathanielscharping.com.

Library Resources for Doing Scholarly Research on Video Games

So you are writing a research paper about video games but aren't sure where to begin? Since video games are a new medium of art that requires an interdisciplinary approach to conducting research, databases that draw on many different publications can equip students and scholars with the tools they need to succeed.

Before you begin exploring databases, here are a few useful tips:

• For quick, targeted results,  search by abstract instead of by keyword or by title. In an academic paper, the abstract is a brief summary of what the paper or study is about. Searching by abstract will give you a list of all the articles that discuss video games in the summary, so it will help you narrow down more quickly whether or not the article will be useful to you.
• Use full-text filters to only get results where the entire article is available for you to read.
• For the most scholarly results, use peer-reviewed filters to find only articles vetted by experts in the field.

Recommended Databases

Note that some of these databases are accessible from home with a library card while others can only be used onsite at an NYPL location.

.css-1t84354{transition-property:var(--nypl-transition-property-common);transition-duration:var(--nypl-transition-duration-fast);transition-timing-function:var(--nypl-transition-easing-ease-out);cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;outline:2px solid transparent;outline-offset:2px;color:var(--nypl-colors-ui-link-primary);text-decoration-style:dotted;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-underline-offset:2px;}.css-1t84354:hover,.css-1t84354[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;color:var(--nypl-colors-ui-link-secondary);text-decoration-style:dotted;text-decoration-thickness:1px;}.chakra-ui-dark .css-1t84354:hover:not([data-theme]),.chakra-ui-dark .css-1t84354[data-hover]:not([data-theme]),[data-theme=dark] .css-1t84354:hover:not([data-theme]),[data-theme=dark] .css-1t84354[data-hover]:not([data-theme]),.css-1t84354:hover[data-theme=dark],.css-1t84354[data-hover][data-theme=dark]{color:var(--nypl-colors-dark-ui-link-secondary);}.css-1t84354:focus,.css-1t84354[data-focus]{box-shadow:var(--nypl-shadows-outline);}.chakra-ui-dark .css-1t84354:not([data-theme]),[data-theme=dark] .css-1t84354:not([data-theme]),.css-1t84354[data-theme=dark]{color:var(--nypl-colors-dark-ui-link-primary);}.css-1t84354:visited{color:var(--nypl-colors-ui-link-tertiary);}.chakra-ui-dark .css-1t84354:visited:not([data-theme]),[data-theme=dark] .css-1t84354:visited:not([data-theme]),.css-1t84354:visited[data-theme=dark]{color:var(--nypl-colors-dark-ui-link-tertiary);}.css-1t84354 a:hover,.css-1t84354 a[data-hover]{color:var(--nypl-colors-ui-link-secondary);}.css-1t84354 screenreaderOnly{clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);height:1px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;width:1px;word-wrap:normal;} Academic Search Premier

For those new to academia/scholarly research, EBSCO's Academic Search is a staple in libraries nearly everywhere to conduct general research. It is a good starting point to see the current literature out there for any paper, in this case, gaming scholarship. However, just typing in "video games" alone in the search will lead you to over 300,000 results; how do you narrow it down? As mentioned above, use limiters such as peer-reviewed/full text enabled for high-quality articles that you can read fully. Other available search limiters are "magazines" (think video game magazines) and "company" (e.g. if you want to research a specific video game company such as Capcom or Square Enix). Academic Search is good if you want to study video games in terms of education, how to utilize them in a teaching setting, in the workplace, and more. 

Business Source Complete

If you are interested in researching video games from a business point of view, then EBSCO's Business Source Complete is the database for you. Here you will find SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analyses of gaming companies, research about NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), virtual and augmented reality, video games, and more. 

JSTOR (accessible from home with a library card)

Similar to Academic Search, JSTOR is a staple in many libraries and is a good area to conduct initial research while trying to figure out what you want your paper to be about. Typing "video games" alone in the search bar will net you more than 50,000+ scholarly articles about the popular entertainment medium. You can narrow your research to video games in Military Studies, Library Science, Political Science, and much more. 

"Can video games help alleviate seasonal depression?"

"Do violent video games cause behavioral problems in adolescents?" 

"Does Cognitive Dissonance explain the Console Wars?" 

"Does causing chaos in Grand Theft Auto correlate to causing chaos in real life?"

EBSCO's PsycINFO is useful if you are interested in studying video games in terms of the realm of psychology, and have ever pondered one of the above questions. You can find articles about video game addiction, aggression in players, mental health, personality development, and more.

Project Muse

This resource is a general favorite for anything art or media related, with tons of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles about video games including articles on diversity in video games, video games and the ecosystem, video games and civic development, and more. When starting research on video games, this database is highly recommended to be your number one starting point when trying to figure out what your paper is going to be about.  

Sage Knowledge

Sage is a good starting point if you want to read reference/textbook material about video games and gamification. In Sage you will find authoritative encyclopedias and handbooks that will help any gaming scholar in the beginning stages of their research. Some interesting encyclopedias that feature a chapter in video games are Death and the Human Experience, Out-of-School Learning, Communication Research Methods, and many more. 

Additional resources:

• Our  LibGuides page will point you to themed research guides of Library resources. For example, if you wanted to create a video game about a time-traveling librarian that takes place in New York City in the 1800s, looking at local history and newspapers may be something you want to do. If you know the research you want to do requires in-depth assistance, it's encouraged to make an appointment with a librarian . 
• This list of Fellowships around the city and at NYPL may be of interest to scholars. 
• Our Interlibrary Services and Documents is also a service for scholars to utilize if you need an article or not owned by the Library. You can also use interlibrary loan for video games as well. 
• Flipster  is a magazine database accessible with your library card that includes video game magazines.
• Finally, an external resource, the Internet Archive , has all kinds of old-school video games you can play, as well as gaming manuals and much more. Anyone who needs primary sources will find this very useful. 

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Study suggests video game playing may have mental health benefits under some conditions

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of mental health, human behavior and economic specialists affiliated with several institutions in Japan has found that under the right conditions, playing video games may be good for mental health.

In their study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the group sent questionnaires to people sequestered at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, some of whom were able to purchase video game consoles and games during a lottery.

Prior research has found mixed results regarding the mental health impacts of regular, long-term playing of video games. Some have suggested it can lead to addictive symptoms; in teens, it may lead to social isolation , and in some cases, aggressive behavior . The World Health Organization went so far as to classify "gaming disorder" as a mental illness .

Other studies have suggested such findings are overblown. One of the problems those in the field have encountered while attempting to study such impacts is quantification difficulty—most studies have been done in controlled environments, which could have impacted results.

For this new study, the research team found an opportunity to study the impact of video games on large numbers of people outside of a lab—people stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic.

During the lockdown in Japan, demand for video game consoles and associated games skyrocketed. Console makers attempted to make things fair by holding lotteries—winners had the option of purchasing either a Sony PlayStation 5 or a Nintendo Switch; losers had to find other ways to amuse themselves.

The research team realized this represented an opportunity to test the impact of video game playing on a captive group of players. They created a questionnaire designed to measure mental health and the amount of time spent playing games and sent it to people participating in the lotteries. They received 97,602 of them, filled out and ready for analysis.

The research team found a pattern in the responses—people playing video games appeared to have a greater sense of life satisfaction, a key component of mental health, than those who were not playing games. They also found that the benefits had limits: Those playing more than three hours a day experienced the same benefits as those playing just three hours a day.

Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour

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Study shows video games can improve mental wellbeing – but you can have too much of a good thing

Associate Professor of Psychology, Bond University

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Professor in Psychology, Bond University

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A study of almost 100,000 people in Japan aged 10 to 69 found playing video games – or even owning a console – can be good for mental health. But playing too much each day can harm wellbeing.

Video games and other forms of online media consumption are an everyday part of life .

Surveys have shown playing video games can have positive effects on stress levels and creativity . But concern remains about the potential negative effects on, for example, general wellbeing, aggressive behaviour and social development, especially for young people.

The World Health Organization lists gaming disorder as a mental health condition, and a severe social withdrawal condition called hikikomori has been described in Japan.

The new survey showed links between gaming and wellbeing and researchers found a way to show cause and effect – that even owning a gaming console improved wellbeing.

What the study found

The research was conducted between 2020 and 2022 – during the COVID pandemic. The researchers used measures of psychological distress and life satisfaction and asked 97,602 people in Japan about their gaming use.

The survey coincided with supply chain shortages. These led retailers to use a lottery system for the purchase of two consoles: Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Of the overall survey group, 8,192 participated in the lottery.

Researchers compared the 2,323 lottery winners against those who did not win the opportunity to purchase one of the new consoles (over five rounds of surveys). They found those who won the lottery had improved distress scores and better life satisfaction.

The results were not all positive. Over time, the scores indicated drops in wellbeing for those who played more than three hours a day. Scores continued to drop for each additional time increment measured.

The study had some limitations.

Firstly, the survey was conducted when the COVID pandemic presented a particularly challenging time for mental health. It also brought changes in social, occupational and lifestyle behaviours.

The study focused mainly on general gaming habits without distinguishing between different types of games, which could have varying impacts on mental health.

Further, participants chose whether to enter the lottery, so it was not a random sample. And the study could not specifically attribute findings to the effects of playing video games versus the effects of winning the lottery.

Finally, we know self-reported studies are not always reliable .

Gaming pros and cons

We know from other surveys video games can be useful stress relievers and aid social connection (albeit online). We also know some games can improve particular cognitive skills such as visuo-spatial navigation and problem solving .

Games and technologies can also specifically target mental health issues , such as social anxiety or phobias, address ADHD symptoms and enhance motivation and performance.

Yet, concerns remain about possible long-term consequences, particularly in terms of reductions in “real-life” socialisation , participation in physical activity, school performance and other health consequences , including sleep and eating behaviours.

3 tips for positive gaming

While video games can offer some benefits, it’s important to maintain a balanced approach to gaming. Here are a few tips to help manage gaming habits and promote overall wellbeing:

1. Set time limits

Encourage moderate gaming by setting clear time limits to ensure it doesn’t interfere with sleep, physical activity or other important daily activities. The Australian institute of Family Studies recommends creating a media plan that includes limits on screen time and balances gaming with other activities.

2. Choose games wisely

Opt for games that are age-appropriate and consider their content. Some games can promote problem-solving skills and creativity , but it’s important to be mindful of those that might encourage aggression or excessive competition.

3. Monitor eating and sleeping habits

Pay attention to eating patterns and ensure meals are not skipped in favour of gaming. Encourage regular sleep patterns and avoid gaming close to bedtime to prevent disruptions in sleep .

While the new study provides promising insights into the potential positive effects of video games on mental wellbeing, these findings should be approached with caution due to the limits of the survey.

While the potential benefits are encouraging, it is essential to adopt a balanced approach to gaming and pursue further research to fully understand its long-term impact on mental health.

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122 Video Games Research Paper Topics For Students

Oct 6, 2022

Oct 6, 2022 | Topics

Video games are a big part of our lives, just like political science, and they have been since the early days. Even with all that gaming available to us, there’s still something about a classic game that keeps us coming back for more. This is why we’ve decided to put together a list of 100 video game research paper topics.

The best video games research paper topics are those you’re passionate about. If you know how to write a video games research paper , it needs to be something that interests you and inspires you to write. The more the topic interests and inspires you, the easier it will be for you to write a good one.

When selecting your topic, make sure it’s something that has enough information available on it so that there is no need for any additional research beyond what has already been done on the subject matter.

Video Games Argumentative Essay Topics For Students

Table of Contents

Best Video Games Research Paper Topics

• The History of Video Games
• How Video Games Affect the Brain
• The Psychology Behind Video Games
• Why Do We Play Video Games?
• How to Make Money with Your Gaming Skills
• How to Improve Your Gaming Skills
• What Makes a Good Game?
• How to Choose the Right Gaming Computer
• How to Clean Your PC and Keep It Running Smoothly
• The Psychology of Video Game Design Masturbation: Let’s Talk About It
• The Psychology of Gaming Addiction
• How to Improve Your Gaming Skills What Makes a Good Game?

Interesting Video Games Research Paper Topics

• The Impact of Video Games on Children’s Development
• The Effects of Violent Video Games on the Brain
• How Does a Gamer’s Body Impact Their Gaming Experience?
• How Do Gamers Use Interactive Fiction to Explore Human Nature?
• How Does Video Games Impact the Brain?
• How Do Children Use Video Games to Explore Social Issues?
• Can Video Games Change Society for the Better?
• How Do Mobile Apps Affect Our Lives as a Whole?
• How Do Video Games Affect Our Emotions?
• What Is the Relationship Between Video Games and Social Media?
• Can Video Games Help People With Special Needs ?
• How Does Technology Affect our Brain Health?

Simple Video Games Research Paper Topics

• Simple Video Games – A Definition and Explanation
• How to Create Your Own Game
• The Way Children Play Video Games Nowadays and Their Favorite Types of Games.
• What is the Most Popular Type of Game?
• Who Creates These Games?
• What is the Difference Between Video Games and Real Life?
• How Are Video Games Used in Education?
• Can Video Games Be Addictive?
• What are the Effects of Violent Video Games on Children’s Behavior?
• How Do You Feel About Video Games?
• What is the Future of Video Games?
• What Can Be Done to Reduce the Amount of Time Kids Spend Playing Video Games?
• How Do We Know If a Child Is Too Addicted to Playing Video Games?
• Should Children Play Violent Video Games?
• Are Any Benefits of Playing Violent Video Games on Children’s Behavior and Learning Abilities?

Controversial Video Games Research Paper Topics

• Video Games and Violence
• Video Games and Addiction
• Video Games in the Classroom
• The Effects of Violent Video Games on Children and Adolescents
• Obesity, Diabetes, Cancer, and Heart Disease as a Result of Game Play
• How to Make You’re Playing Time More Productive With These Tips From Experts
• Benefits of Gaming: Why Gamers Can Be Happier Than Non-Gamers
• Why is Playing Video Games Good for Your Mental Health?
• Does Technology Destroy Creativity?: How to Avoid Becoming a Cyber Zombie?
• How to Use Video Games to Improve Your Self-Esteem?
• How Can You Avoid Becoming Addicted To Video Games?:
• The Benefits of Playing Video Games
• 10 Ways Gaming Can Make You Smarter
• Why It’s Important To Maintain A Healthy Diet While Playing Video Games
• Is Gaming Bad For Your Eyes?
• How To Become More Productive By Playing Video Games
• How to Make Your Playing Time More Productive

Compare and Contrast Video Games Research Paper Topics

• Compare and contrast the stories of two video games based on the same universe
• Compare and contrast different types of mini-games in video games
• Compare and contrast the game design styles of two different developers (for example, Nintendo vs Sega)
• Which video game series improved gameplay over its sequels? Explain your reasoning with examples from each title in the series.
• Which video game series has the best story?
• Which video game world do you think is most likely to be real? Why?
• Compare and contrast the gameplay of two different video games within the same genre.
• Which video game is better? Why?
• Which video game has the best story? Why?
• Which video game is more fun to play? Why?
• Compare and contrast different types of mini-games in video games.
• Which game developer do you think creates better games? Why?
• Compare augmented reality with virtual reality in gaming

Video Games Research Paper Topics for Kids

• Video Game Addiction: Is it a Real Problem?
• The History of Video Games, Past and Present
• The Benefits of Playing Video Games to Children’s Development
• How to Choose the Best Educational Toys for Your Child’s Development
• Video Games Research Paper Topics for Middle School
• How to play video games?
• What are the best video games of 2020?
• What is the difference between online and offline gaming?
• How to make your own video game?
• What are the popular gaming trends in 2020? *Top 10 Video Game Trends In The United States Of America*
• What is a pirated game and how can we avoid it when playing online video games or downloading apps on our phones/tablets/laptops etc.?
• Why did I lose my score while playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch?

Video Games Research Paper Topics for High School

• Video Games Are a Waste of Time.
• What is the Best Gaming Platform?
• Which is Your Favorite Game and Why?
• Discuss the Benefits of Having a Gaming Console in the Home.
• Do You Have an Xbox, PlayStation or Wii? Why Didn’t You Choose The Other One?
• Video Games Are A Great Way to Socialize. How Do They Help You Connect With Friends and Family Members?
• What Are Your Favorite Types of Video Games?
• What Are Some Fun Things You Have Done While Playing Video Games?
• What Does Your Family Say About Your Gaming Habits? How Do They Feel About It?
• What Would You Tell Someone Who Doesn’t Understand Why You Play Video Games?

Video Games Research Paper Topics for College

• Video Game Violence and Its Effects on Children
• The Role of Women in the Video Game Industry
• How Technology is Affecting Our Relationship with Games
• The History of Video Game Development
• Why Do People Play Violent Games?
• How Technology Is Changing Our Relationship with Games
• The Role of computer games and its impacts on Society
• How Do People Interact with Each Other and the Environment in a Virtual World?
• The Effect of Violent Video Games on Youth
• What Are the Benefits of Playing Video Games?

Video Games Research Paper Questions

• What was the first video game ever made? What made it so special at that time?
• How have different generations of gamers interacted with different types of technology over time (e.g., arcades vs consoles) or even between generations (e.g., Millennials vs Generation Z)?
• What is the biggest video game ever made?
• How does playing video games affect your brain?
• What are some of the most important technological advancements in gaming over time?
• How have different cultures worldwide responded to new types of technology, such as video games?
• What is the history behind classic games like Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong?

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This article lists some of the best research paper topics for kids, middle school and high school students. These topics will help students better understand video games and write a good essay on this topic. Choosing your topic wisely before you start writing is important, as it can make or break your research paper. So, if you are looking for some interesting ideas, we have covered them all here!

With a passion for education and student empowerment, I create blog content that speaks directly to the needs and interests of students. From study hacks and productivity tips to career exploration and personal development

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• Our Official List of Great Video Game Essay Topics

Any essay that you write should be well-written, accurate, and interesting to your audience. That begins with finding a great topic for your essay. Check out our list of the best essay topic ideas. You should be able to write a great essay about gaming with one of these topics. If you struggle with it, you can always order a custom essay on video games.

Topics on Social Issues

The topic of video games comes up quite frequently when various social topics are being discussed. If you are taking classes such as sociology, public health, political science, or journalism, your essay might focus on the many social issues relating to video games. Writing essays on violence in games is always an option, but there are others as well. Here are a few topic ideas:

Persuasive Essays Related to Social Issues

• Do Violent Games Cause Behavior Problems?
• Convince readers, in an essay about violence in games, that the average person will not be affected in a negative way.
• Should video game rating systems be more stringent?
• Are parents ultimately responsible for what their kids play?
• As a society, do we unfairly blame video games when we should be focusing on personal responsibility?

Narrative Essays on Video Games And Their Impact on Society

• Write about a video game that you played as a child that was too violent for you
• Have you ever been addicted to online gaming? What was that like.
• Talk about an incident of harassment that you witnessed when playing online video games.
• Write essays on violence in gaming and the impact of that in early dating relationships

Expository Essays on The Social Impact of Video Gaming

• Write a  short essay  on the impact of video gaming on health and wellness
• Compose a research paper that addresses the effects of allowing young children to do violent video games
• Write a case study about a young adult who has never been exposed to video games vs. one who has been

General Essay Ideas That Relate to Social Issues

• What should be done about sexism in gaming?
• How can the gaming industry become more inclusive as a whole?
• Why is sex and violence such a common theme in video games?
• Does early exposure to video games impact the ability of children to self-regulate?
• What are the biggest social problems related to gaming?

Video Game Essay Topics New Technology

If you are an avid gamer, you probably keep up with the latest technologies, reading specialized magazines, and eagerly await the latest and greatest releases. You may have even been part of a beta testing new things or involved in open source gaming projects. Most importantly, you likely have lots of knowledge and opinions on gaming technology. Check out these essay ideas:

Persuasive Essays on Gaming Technology

• Will virtual reality impact video game technology or is it simply a fad?
• Which release is causing the most buzz?
• Streaming will replace consoles, yes or no?

Expository Essay Ideas on Gaming Technology

• Pick an up and coming technology and explain how it works
• Explain the history and development behind an upcoming technological advancement in video tech
• Discuss the trend of gamers as designers

Other Video Technology Essay Ideas

• Write a compare contrast essay on virtual reality in gaming vs. augmented reality
• Write a review of a new gaming system that you have recently tried out.

Topics About Educational Games

Persuasive Essays on Video Games in Education

• Should children spend more time focusing on lectures and hands-on work than gaming?
• Argue which educational video game parents of toddlers should choose
• Video games have no place in education. Argue a side
• Is gaming a possible solution when dealing with disengaged students?

Expository Essay Ideas For Gaming in Education

• Explain how gaming is used in special education
• Describe the features that make a game educational vs. entertainment
• Research and explain the process educators use to integrate gaming into the classroom

Other Educational Essay Ideas

• Review the most popular educational games that have been released this year
• Write a paper about the differences between educational games today vs. 10 or 20 years ago
• Write a case study about a school that incorporated gaming into their classrooms    

Essay Topics For Passionate Gamers

If you don’t find anything that interests you above, don’t fret. You can still improve your writing skills while expressing your passions for gaming. If you have an interest in gaming, you have many options when it comes to writing essays. This is especially true when it comes to classes where you have a bit more flexibility in your writing assignments. Check out these topic ideas:

• Write a descriptive essay about the first gaming experience you have had
• What are your predictions about the future of console gaming
• What is the funniest thing that happened to you in an online gaming experience
• What 10 worst things that impact the world of video gaming be opinionated!
• Compare and contrast the first release of a video game with the most current
• If you could invent a video game, what would it look like
• Write a review of the most popular game available today

Remember that you must balance your passion for the topic of gaming with good writing skills and factual knowledge. You will still have to research, cite your sources, and do the other work that goes into writing a good paper. As always, if you need help with a gaming essay remember that we are available to help as we are top essay writing service . Happy gaming!

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Playing Video Games Can Boost Satisfaction and Improve Mental Wellness, New Research Shows

A new study from Japanese researchers indicates that playing video games can have an unexpectedly positive effect on mental health.

Research published in Nature Human Behaviour reveals that people who play video games for less than three hours a day report higher life satisfaction, a crucial element of mental well-being, than non-gamers. 

However, the study also found that those who play for more than three hours a day experience diminishing psychological benefits, suggesting that moderation is vital to maximizing the positive effects of gaming on mental health.

These findings challenge the often negative perception of video games by highlighting the potential benefits of moderate gaming. Researchers concluded that, when played in moderation, the positive effects on mental health outweigh the possible downsides.

“Previous research has proposed mechanisms for both positive and negative effects of video gaming on mental well-being,” researchers wrote. “Our study found that positive effects outweigh negative effects, resulting from both positive and negative pathways.” 

Previous research into the mental health impact of video gaming has primarily been conducted in controlled laboratory settings and has produced inconsistent results. 

However, in this recent study, conducted between 2020 and 2022 in Japan, researchers took advantage of a rare opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate the causal impact of video gaming on mental health in a real-world setting. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions led to a shortage of popular gaming consoles in Japan, such as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. 

Retailers allocated the consoles through lotteries, creating a near-random distribution of gaming opportunities. This unique situation allowed researchers to compare the mental health outcomes of those who won the lottery and were able to purchase a console with those who did not.

The results revealed that individuals who won the lottery and thus had the opportunity to game regularly reported higher life satisfaction. 

On average, life satisfaction scores increased by 0.2 to 0.6 standard deviations among those who were able to purchase gaming consoles, a significant improvement in psychological well-being. Additionally, the study found a reduction in psychological distress among gamers, with a 0.1 to 0.6 standard deviation decrease in distress levels.

This isn’t the first time video games have been associated with positive mental health outcomes. Previous research has shown that certain games, particularly those involving social interaction or problem-solving, can enhance cognitive abilities and foster social connections. 

For example, a 2022 German study found that people playing social video games reported fewer feelings of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another study published in Nature in 2022 revealed that gaming improved children’schildren’s general intelligence . 

Additionally, a 2024 Austrian study found no evidence linking violent video games to reduced empathy or users becoming numb to real-world violence. These findings contradict longstanding concerns that playing violent video games can lead to increased instances of real-world violence. 

However, using a robust natural experiment design, this recent Japanese study is among the first to establish a causal link between gaming and enhanced life satisfaction.

Despite these promising findings, it’s essential to consider the broader context. 

Video games have long been a double-edged sword in the mental health debate. On one hand, they offer entertainment, a sense of achievement, and opportunities for social interaction, particularly in multiplayer formats. On the other hand, excessive gaming has been associated with negative outcomes such as addiction and social isolation. 

In the 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the World Health Organization (WHO) lists “gaming disorder” as a psychological disorder and significant global health-related condition. WHO defines “gaming disorder” as “impaired control over gaming” that has a significant negative impact on “a person’s functioning in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas.” 

In the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), the American Psychiatric Association (APA) determined that there is not enough evidence to formally classify “Internet Gaming Disorder” as a psychological disorder. However, the APA encourages further research on the topic to better understand its potential impact and implications.

The controversy surrounding the relationship between video games and mental health primarily revolves around whether gaming disorders should be considered a distinct clinical condition or if they are manifestations of underlying psychiatric disorders.

Architecture Alive: Unveiling the Psychological Benefits of Biophilic Design

In this recent study, researchers did not dismiss the concerns about video games. Instead, they highlighted the need for a balanced perspective on gaming. 

While moderate gaming appears to enhance life satisfaction, the study also found that the benefits diminish with excessive play. For instance, gaming for more than three hours a day was associated with smaller gains in mental well-being compared to more moderate gaming.

Moreover, the research found that gaming’s impact on mental health varied across different demographic groups. For example, the benefits were more pronounced among younger individuals and those not employed full-time. This suggests that the context in which gaming occurs, including factors like age, employment status, and the type of games played, can influence its effects on mental health.

Ultimately, the findings add to the growing research exploring the nuanced relationship between gaming and mental health. While there is evidence that gaming can have positive effects, especially regarding life satisfaction, it is clear that these benefits are not universal. 

For some, gaming can lead to problems such as addiction and social withdrawal, highlighting the need for a tailored approach to gaming as a leisure activity.

As video games continue to evolve, becoming more immersive and socially connected, understanding their impact on mental health will be increasingly important. This study offers a crucial piece of the puzzle, suggesting that, when approached in moderation, gaming can be a positive force in people’s lives.

However, researchers caution that more study is needed to fully understand gaming’s long-term effects and identify which games are most beneficial. 

“These findings highlight the necessity for further research into the mechanisms underlying video gaming’s effects on mental well-being and point to the importance of policy design that considers the differential effects of various digital media screen time for diverse populations,” researchers concluded. 

Nevertheless, for those who enjoy gaming, this study offers reassurance that their hobby might not just be harmless—it could actually contribute to a happier, more satisfying life.

Tim McMillan is a retired law enforcement executive, investigative reporter and co-founder of The Debrief. His writing typically focuses on defense, national security, the Intelligence Community and topics related to psychology. You can follow Tim on Twitter:   @LtTimMcMillan.   Tim can be reached by email:  [email protected]  or through encrypted email:   [email protected]  

Jan 28 2023

• 7 Research Topics for PhD Students in Game Technology

Joan Carlos (Edit)

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Research in the game industry is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the game industry is a rapidly growing and evolving field, with new technologies and advancements being made on a regular basis. This means that there is a constant need for new research to explore and understand these developments, and to find ways to apply them to create better and more immersive gaming experiences.

Another important reason why research in the game industry is important is that it can have a significant impact on other areas of technology and society. For example, research in game technology can lead to the development of new tools and techniques for creating virtual and augmented reality experiences, which can be applied in fields such as education, medicine, and architecture. Additionally, research in game technology can also lead to the development of new algorithms and AI techniques that can be used in other areas such as robotics and autonomous systems.

Moreover, game industry is an industry that has a tremendous impact on people's lives. Game research is important to understand how the game affects people's behavior, emotions, and cognition. It is also important to explore how games can be used to educate, train, and entertain people. For example, games are used to teach languages, coding, and history.

Here are seven open research topics for PhD students who like Game technology

1- Real-time rendering techniques for virtual and augmented reality: This research topic would explore ways to optimize the performance of rendering algorithms in order to improve the visual quality of virtual and augmented reality games and applications.

2- Game AI and machine learning : This research topic would investigate the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in game development, including the use of neural networks for game character behavior and decision-making, and the use of reinforcement learning to train game agents.

3- Game physics and simulation: This research topic would explore the use of physics-based simulations in games, such as rigid body dynamics, fluid simulation, and cloth simulation. The goal would be to create more realistic and immersive game environments.

4- Game design and player experience: This research topic would investigate how different game design elements, such as level design, game mechanics, and story, affect player experience and engagement. This could include user studies and player testing to understand how players interact with and respond to different game design elements.

5- Game localization and cultural adaptation: This research topic would explore the cultural adaptation of games for different regions and languages. It would investigate the challenges and opportunities of game localization, including the cultural differences that may affect the player experience and how to adapt the game to be more culturally relevant.

6- Game Analytics and personalization: This research topic would investigate the use of data analytics and player modeling to understand player behavior, preferences and adapt game content and mechanics to each player preferences.

7- Game development platforms and tools: This research topic would investigate the development of new game development platforms and tools that enable game developers to create more efficient and effective game development processes.

Tags: 7 Research Topics for PhD Students in Game Technology

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Video Games & Gaming Research

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Recommended Websites

• American Psychological Association Publications Starting place for browsing research studies, press releases, and reports about the effect of media on people's psychology.
• Entertainment Software Association U.S. association serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.
• Game Studies Open access, international journal of computer game research. Focuses on aesthetic, cultural, and communicative aspects of computer games.
• International Game Developers Association A non-profit membership organization serving individuals that create video games by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.
• Kill Screen A website and magazine that publishes articles on gaming, focusing on its relation to other forms of art and entertainment.
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• Last Updated: Jun 20, 2024 1:52 PM
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Vendor voice.

Console yourself – research finds gaming may actually boost mental health

Digital athletes enjoy positive effects in japan study, but too much screentime sees diminishing returns.

A study of nearly 100,000 people in Japan has found that gaming may be good for the player's mental health, contrary to the prevailing narrative around the popular pastime.

While popular opinion holds that video gaming can be bad for you, and the World Health Organization has labeled gaming disorder as a health condition, there is little in the corpus of scientific evidence to suggest a strong link between video games and mental health. Recent observational studies have recorded both positive and negative impacts, researchers report.

A new study published in Nature Human Behaviour used data provided by the shortage of gaming consoles in Japan during the pandemic to help understand whether gaming, the most popular local form of entertainment, has ill effects on mental health.

During 2020 to 2022, Japanese retailers used lotteries to assign two different consoles to consumers. Hiroyuki Egami, economist at Nihon University in Tokyo, worked with his colleagues to use this random distribution to try to understand how video gaming might impact distress and life satisfaction.

"Amid escalating concerns about the negative effects of gaming, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that emerged in 2020 temporarily spotlighted video games as a preferred form of leisure that fit social distancing guidelines," the paper says. "The global number of individuals playing video games has reached nearly three billion, accompanied by an increase in gaming time."

The study surveyed 97,602 people across Japan between the ages of 10 and 69. Of this sample, 8,192 had been part of the console lottery. The survey sought to examine console ownership, gaming preferences, mental health, life satisfaction, and sociodemographic characteristics.

The analysis included employing a machine learning algorithm to figure out the causal inference on survey data.

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The researchers found that owning one of the available consoles and playing games benefited mental health. But gamers who spent more than three hours per day plugged in saw diminishing additional benefits. The study also found that simply owning the console had a positive effect.

Researchers were, however, keen to point out that the unique circumstances surrounding the pandemic could have influenced the findings.

"Our natural experiment showed that video gaming positively impacted mental well-being, but gaming for over three hours had decreasing psychological benefits," the paper says. "Furthermore, the magnitude of the gaming effect was revealed to be influenced by various socioeconomic factors such as gender, age, job, and family structure. These findings highlight the necessity for further research into the mechanisms underlying video gaming's effects on mental well-being and point to the importance of policy design that considers the differential effects of various digital media screen time for diverse populations."

While there is inevitable uncertainty around the findings, they might provide some balance to the more hyperbolic headlines surrounding gaming. In the UK for example, The Daily Mail splashed "Children addicted to video games are attacking their PARENTS – and taking away their console only makes them MORE aggressive, experts warn."

Nonetheless, other dangers remain. Harvard Health has reported repetitive stress injuries and other overuse injuries can result from gaming. The American Psychological Association has also defined internet gaming disorder as experiencing effects including gaming preoccupation, withdrawal, and loss of interest in other activities. ®

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Video Games Research Paper Topics

• Good Video Games Research Paper Topics
• Interesting Video Games Research Paper Topics

Video Games Research Paper Topics for College Students

Video games research paper topics for high school students, ✒️ good video games research paper topics.

• Violent Video Games Contribute To Youth Violence?
• Violence In Video Gamess
• Video Games Do Not Cause Violence
• Video Games Consoles: Ps3 And Xbox 360
• Video Games And Violence Speech
• Video Games And Violence
• Video Games Affect The Brain
• Video Game Violence Research Paper Video
• Video Game Violence Research Paper Gorefest
• Video Game Industry
• Video Game And Young People
• Video Game Addiction
• The Wii: Nintendo’S Video Game Revolution
• The Video Game Industry Competition
• The Negative Effects Of Video Games
• The Impact Of Video Games On Children
• The Effects Of Video Games On The Heart
• The Bad Effects That Video Games Have On Children
• Speech On Video Game Violence
• Some People Regard Video Games As…

Popular Questions

✨ Best video games Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

• A Critique of “Do Video Games Kill?” Sample In the essay “Do Video Games Kill? ” Karen Sternheimer takes on the subject of the media’s influence on adolescent and adolescent force in America. She focuses chiefly on video games peculiarly the late popular “first-person shooter” games (p. 204 )…..
• Violence and Video Games “The Columbine shooters played violent video games; that has to be a factor in their decision to brutally murder their classmates!” Society is quick to point fingers and approach unknown situations with a causal mentality that often results in a ….
• Video Games Cause Aggressive Behavior Argumentative Essay In today’s economy, I believe that violent video games do promote violent and more aggressive behavior amongst our children. Parents need to step up and monitor what type of video games their kids are playing. You never know ….
• The Impact of Video Games The author continues to emphasis that on utilitarian grounds that video games provides billions of hours to millions of people of fun and entertainment evidently outweighing the potential harm it can cause. In addition to the positives, gaming fuels ….
• Do Video Games Lead to Violence? President Donald Trump said Thursday during a White House meeting on school safety that the nation needs to address what young people are seeing. ‘I’m hearing more and more people saying the level of violence on video games is really shaping young ….
• Are Video Games Good for You A typical story told by parents is that staring at the TV too long can ruin your eyes or watching SpongeBob or any other cartoons make you dumber to steer their children from consuming hours of TV. People invest more time looking at screens from ….
• Video Games vs Cinema Resident Evil is a multimillion-dollar production, from video games, to movies, this take on the modern-day plague, opened the door to many branches off undead productions. Resident Evil is noted to be one of the best video games of all time. It is ….
• Do Video Games Make You More Violent “I know, it’s hard to wrap your head around such a fact of after years of listening to ‘don’t sit too close to the TV, you’ll ruin your eyes,’ or ‘stop wasting your time playing video games—go outside!(https://www.idtech.com/blog/video-games-are-….
• Video Games and Attentional Control The video game industry is thriving like never before. According to a 2018 study, 60% of Americans report playing video games daily (Entertainment Software Association, 2015). Red Dead Redemption 2, released by Rockstar Games in October of 2018, ….
• Analysis of the Attractiveness of Video Games To determine the attractiveness of the video game business, PEST analysis, and Porter’s five forces will be used. PEST analysis will be used to analyse the external environment of the video game business faced by Tencent and the industry. Tencent is ….
• Why Would Video Games Hurt Have video games ever hurt you? Have they ever hurt someone you love? If you answered no, then the article “Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior” By Gregg Toppo got its point across. This article mainly how horrible behavior from kids comes from ….
• Violent Video Games Should Be Banned Almost every child enjoys playing video games as it acts as a source of entertainment. However, as time passed by vicious contents are now being portrayed through gaming that dehumanizes children and encourages in promoting violent behavior. Parents ….
• Video Games and Why They Should Not be Regulated This paper will discuss how video games are regulated by the rating system, how violent video games encourage regulations, the positive effects of playing video games, how parents can bond with their children using video games and … Video games have ….
• Are Violent Video Games Really That Bad for You A lot of people play video games these days. You can look at people of many and different ages, religions, backgrounds, race, and economic scale. New apps and video games are being created each and every day. This generation meaning millennials and ….
• Some People Regard Video Games As Some people regard video games as harmless fun, or even as a useful educational tool. Others, however, believe that videos games are having an adverse effect on the people who play them. In your opinion, do the drawbacks of video games outweigh the ….
• Essay – Violence in Video Games There is a growing phenomenon that threatens our safety every minute.Violent video games are causing our children to be aggressive monsters.If we allow these games to continue, there will be more school shootings and more mad men with weapons…..
• Violent Video Games Leading to Criminal Behavior Violent video games and its effect on gamers has been a debatable topic for decades. Although scientists have not came up with an official answer, many people have different opinions on where they stand in the argument. Many people believe violent ….
• Video Games Are Good to Educate Throughout the history of gaming there has always been a stigma. The stigma is that games are bad for the youth and do not teach them anything necessary to further their development. A lot of individuals feel as though games are a waste of time and ….
• Favorite Heroines of Female Video Games If you were to ask many video game enthusiasts about their favorite female video game heroines, the answers you’d get would be very varied – some will say Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series, others say Alyx from the Half-Life series, few say Jade ….
• Violent Video Games and their Positive Effects How many times a day do our children ask us for something and we so quickly reply, “No” without second guessing it or even listening to the whole question? A million and one times, right? Most children play video games, and regardless of how we ….

✍ Interesting Video Games Research Paper Topics

• Social And Ethical Issues Of Video Games
• Rhetorical Analysis Of Video Game Violence
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• A Controversial Topic of Video Games as a Cause of Violence
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• Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games
• An Enduring Debate on ‘Do Video Games Cause Violence’
• An Issue of Violence in Video Games
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Video games

Video games involve interaction with a user interface or input device to generate visual feedback. Video games may be played in an arcade; on a console, personal computer, or mobile device; on virtual or augmented reality systems; or remotely through the cloud.

Besides their entertainment value, appropriately-designed video games may provide educational value. Some video games may also have mental health benefits or be used during therapy.

However, mental health professionals have raised concerns that video games may be addictive and that violent video games may influence some players to performing those violent acts in real life.

Adapted from Wikipedia

Resources from APA

How video games can be designed for good

Developers work behind the scenes to make video games more inclusive and ethical

Science-backed interventions for problematic gaming

Evidence-based psychological interventions can help people with an excessive drive to play

How video games can help kids learn and grow

Susan Rivers, PhD, talks about how innovative video game and experience design can promote and protect teen mental health.

How psychology is shaping the future of technology

Innovators are increasingly using psychological research to ensure new technology will benefit everyone

APA publications

Sports, Games, and Athletics in Evolutionary Perspective

eHealth/mHealth

“This Is (Not) Fine”

Everything begins with an idea!

Argumentative Video Games Essay Topics

Video games haven’t been around for decades, but the impact they have on kids and the world, in general, is massive. Typical video games are made up of a user-interface and interaction that sends a visual response to 3 or 2-dimensional video displays to keep the gamers thrillingly attached to the action. The story of video games doesn’t end with the practical part of it.  Today, video games have become a major topic of interests in most universities and colleges.

Students pursuing a course in journalism, sociology, political science, and public health will often be given video games assignments. Video games incorporate fresh content and data relating to journalism, sociology, political science, and public health.  For students to find their way around the involving and complex context of video games, they must be mentally ready to research for pure content and handle the challenges of creating unique content. Besides, they must understand which video game essay topics work to drive home the kind of information they are working on. Whether journalism, political science, sociology or public health student looking for convincing and informative video games essay topics, TopicsBase has got you covered.

• The Role Video Games Play in Improving Learning
• Violence and Video Games
• The Negative Impacts Video Games have on Children
• Violent Video Games Nurture Aggressive Behavior in Kids
• The Effects Violent Video Games Have on Children
• Invention, Growth and Refinement of Video Games
• Video Games As The Drive Behind Increased Violence Behaviors in Teens
• The Role Video Games Play In Enhancing Teens Critical Thinking
• The Pros and Cons of Video Games
• Sex and Violence as The Main Themes in Video Games
• Early Exposure to Video Games and the Effect it Has on Teenagers
• The Effect Of Violence in Video Games in New Relationships
• The Popularity and Increased Demand for Video Games
• The Positive Effects of Video Games on The Society
• The Frightening Nature Of Video Games
• How First Person Shooters Make Players React Faster?
• The Future of Video Games in The Coming Decade
• The History of Video Games
• The Nature of Assassin Video Game Simulations
• The Relationship Between Youth Violence and Violent Video Games
• How do Video Games act as A Learning Tool?
• Video Games As The Future Of Learning and Education
• Ethical Responsibility In Modern Video Games
• Don’t Play Video Games, and Here is Why
• The Pros and Cons of Videos
• How to Control Addition to Video Games
• Video Games Should Be Banned For Elevating Cases of Violence in Teens
• The Role of Parents In Regulating Teens’ Access to Violent Video Games
• The Mental and Physical Benefits of Video Games
• Can Playing Violent Video Games Hurt My Emotions?
• The Healing Effect of Video Games
• Analysis of Different Types of Video Games
• How Video Games Affect Your Brain and Emotions
• Myths and Misconceptions About Video Games
• The Rise of Video Games has Taken the World By Surprise

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How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics? Is she really the best Australia has to offer?

By Mawunyo Gbogbo

ABC Entertainment

Topic: Olympic Games

Rachael "Raygun" Gunn did not score a single point at the Paris Olympics. ( Getty Images: Elsa )

Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.

Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.

What's next?

Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.

Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.

The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?

Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.

He says the answer to that question is simple.

Lucas Marie recently co-authored an article with Raygun. ( Supplied )

"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.

"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.

"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.

"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone. 

"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."

Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.

"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.

"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.

"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."

He described her efforts as bold.

"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."

Is she the best Australia has to offer?

Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?

Lucas Marie has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions for more than 25 years. ( Supplied: momentsby.naz )

"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.

"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.

"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.

"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."

Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.

"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."

Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.

Marie described this as sad.

"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.

"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."

Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.

"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.

"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."

'Toying with the culture'

Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.

He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.

Malik Dixon says too many people feel entitled to African American culture. ( Supplied )

"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.

"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.

"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"

Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.

"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said. 

"We like to share, right? 

"We shared 400 years of free labour.

"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."

Olympics body criticised for Raygun qualification

Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.

"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."

He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.

"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said. 

"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do. 

"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."

Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.

"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.

"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.

"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.

"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."

He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.

"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.

Should everybody just lighten up?

Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.

"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.

"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.

"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.

"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.

"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.

"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."

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• Gaming and Gamers
• 3. Attitudes about video games

Table of Contents

• 1. Who plays video games and identifies as a “gamer”
• 2. Public debates about gaming and gamers
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology

As gaming has gained exposure to a wider audience and increasingly become part of the cultural mainstream, the content of games themselves has come under increased scrutiny. To test public attitudes toward some of these ongoing arguments, the survey presented Americans with some potential impacts of games and asked whether they consider these attributes to be true of most games, not true of most games, or whether they apply to some games but not others.

Overall, the public has mixed feelings about certain aspects of video games and their relative benefits and drawbacks. The results show:

“Video games are a waste of time” – About one-quarter of all adults (26%) think most video games are a waste of time, while a similar number (24%) do not think this is true of most games. One-third thinks some video games are a waste of time while others are not, and 16% are not sure. Whites (28%), those ages 65 or older (32%), and those with at least a high school diploma (27%) are more likely than others to think most video games are a waste of time.

“Video games help develop good problem solving and strategic thinking skills” – Some 17% of adults think most video games promote problem solving and strategic thinking skills, but a roughly equal proportion, 16%, thinks this is not true for most games. Meanwhile, 47% say some games develop these skills while others do not, and 20% are unsure. Those under age 50 are more than twice as likely as those 50 or older to think most game develops problem solving and strategic thinking skills (22% vs. 10%), while men are slightly more likely than women to think so (19% vs. 14%).

“Video games promote teamwork and communication” – Almost a quarter of all adults (23%) think most video games do not promote teamwork and communication, more than double the 10% who think most games do promote these qualities. However, a plurality (37%) thinks this is true of some games but not others, and 28% are unsure. Men and younger adults are more likely than women and older adults to believe most video games promote these qualities. Some 17% of those ages 18 to 29 think teamwork and communication are promoted by games (compared with 9% of those 30 and older), along with 12% of men (vs. 9% of women).

“Video games are a better form of entertainment than watching TV” – Three-in-ten adults do not think video games are a better form of entertainment than television, almost triple the 11% who think most video games are indeed a better form of entertainment than TV. Still, a third of all adults (34%) think this is true of some video games but not others, while 24% are not sure. Almost a quarter of those ages 18 to 29 say most video games are a better form of entertainment than TV (24% vs. 7% of those 30 and older), as do 14% of men vs. 8% of women.

For some aspects of gaming – such as the portrayal of minorities and women in video games – the public is much less certain:

“ Video games portray minority groups poorly” – Fully 47% of adults say they are not sure whether video games portray minority groups poorly. Almost a quarter of all adults (23%) think most video games do not portray minority groups poorly, more than double the 9% of adults who think minority groups are portrayed poorly in most games. Some 20% think minority groups are portrayed poorly in some games but not others. Interestingly, just 13% of blacks and 11% of Hispanics think most video games portray minority groups poorly, compared with 7% of whites. Young adults are slightly more likely than their older counterparts to think most games portray minorities poorly – 13% of those 18 to 29 say so, compared with 7% of those 50 or older.

“Video games portray women poorly” – Similarly, 40% of Americans say they are not sure whether video games portray women poorly. Another 18% say this is not true for most games, while 14% say this is true for most games. More than a quarter of all adults (27%) say this is true for some video games but not others. Notably, the responses to this question show no differences by gender. Young adults are split on the portrayal of women – 24% each of those 18 to 29 think most video games do and do not portray women poorly.

Compared with those who do not play video games, game players tend to agree with more positive depictions of gaming

While the public is largely uncertain what to think about video games, within the gaming community there is more consensus. Put simply, people who play video games are more likely to respond to the positive aspects of their pastime while they disagree with certain negative portrayals. And certain groups of game players – namely men and young adults – hold particularly strong and affirming beliefs about gaming.

Among the benefits that game players are more likely to value:

• 25% of those who play games (and 39% of self-identified gamers) think most video games help develop good problem solving and strategic thinking skills , compared with just 8% of those who do not play games. Among game players, men are more likely than women to think most games develop problem solving and strategic thinking skills (28% vs. 22%). Likewise, 31% of game-players ages 18 to 29 think this is true of most games, compared with 18% of those 50 and older.
• 17% of those who play games (and 34% of self-described gamers) say most video games are a better form of entertainment than watching TV . This is triple the proportion of non-game players (5%) who say the same. Among those who play video games, men are more likely than women to say most games are better entertainment than TV (23% vs. 10%), along with 31% of game players ages 18 to 29.
• 15% of those who play video games (and 28% of self-described gamers) think most video games promote teamwork and communication . This compares with just 6% of those who do not play video games. Again, men and those ages 18 to 29 who play video games are more likely than their counterparts to think most games promote teamwork and communication. Some 19% of male game players think so (compared with 12% of female game players), as do 21% of game players ages 18 to 29 (compared with 11% of those 50 and older).

Additionally, game players are more likely than others to shy away from negative assertions about the impact of video games, including:

• 35% of those who play games (and 53% of self-described gamers) do not think most video games are a waste of time . Men who play games are particularly likely to feel this way – 40% say games are not a waste of time, compared with 30% of female game players. Younger game players also tend to feel relatively strongly about this issue — fully 43% of game players ages 18 to 29 say most games are not a waste of time, compared with 31% of those 30 and older.
• 33% of game players (and 46% of self-described gamers) do not think most video games portray minority groups poorly . Minority game players are more likely to agree with this statement than whites. Some 15% of black and 12% of Hispanic game players feel that most video games portray minority groups poorly, compared with 7% of white players. At the same time, 39% of Hispanics and 24% of blacks who play games feel that most games do not portray minorities poorly. And once again, men are particularly likely to disagree with negative views of games: 36% of men who play say most games do not portray minorities poorly, compared with 30% of women.

On the other hand, people who play games are a bit more divided on how women are portrayed in video games:

• One-quarter (26%) of video game players (and 35% of self-described gamers) disagree that most video games portray women poorly . Still, 16% of game players (and 24% of gamers) think most video games do portray women in a negative light. Some 34% of those who play video games (and 30% of self-identified gamers) say this is true of some games but not others. Interestingly, there are few gender differences among those who play video games – women who play games are somewhat more likely to be unsure than men (27% vs. 21%).

Despite their relatively positive views toward video games compared with non-game players, a substantial portion of game players have mixed feelings on many of these issues. For instance, 55% of video game players think some games develop good problem solving and strategic thinking skills, while other games do not. Similarly, 37% of game players feel that some video games are a waste of time, even while others are not. Finally, even people who play games are not always sure what to think – for example, 31% of game players say they are unsure whether or not most games portray minority groups poorly.

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NSF awards $38M to strengthen research infrastructure, build partnerships and improve STEM workforce development

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded researchers in Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island roughly $38 million through the  Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research  (EPSCoR), which promotes the development of research competitiveness among 28 targeted states and territories, called jurisdictions. The awards, facilitated by the NSF  EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement  (E-CORE RII) program and NSF  EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement  (E-RISE RII) program, aim to enhance research facilities, form new networks, support workforce development and accelerate economic growth in parts of the U.S. that have historically received less funding for scientific research.  "The NSF EPSCoR program is critical to ensure that we are creating opportunities and investing in innovation in every part of the United States," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "These new E-CORE RII and E-RISE RII awards will positively impact our nation by advancing the breadth of STEM research, research infrastructure and workforce development while catalyzing opportunities for research and education in EPSCoR jurisdictions and beyond." The E-CORE RII opportunity aids in building capacity in targeted research infrastructure cores within a jurisdiction's research ecosystems. Capacity building may include developing, enhancing and sustaining research administration, facilities, workforce development, partnerships, community engagement and economic development. 

The E-RISE RII opportunity supports research teams and products in a scientific area linked to jurisdictional science and technology plans. It seeks innovative proposals for sustainable networks to enhance STEM research capacity in a selected research area that has the potential for sustainable socioeconomic impact within the jurisdiction. E-RISE RII projects aim to build research competitiveness, develop a skilled workforce, promote diversity and inclusion and integrate research efforts.

E-CORE RII and E-RISE RII were established in response to the 2022  Study of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research , the  Envisioning the Future of NSF EPSCoR  report and the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022." This round of awards will catalyze economic growth by propelling laboratory research to scalable commercial products and bringing together expertise from multiple institutions to unravel complex scientific challenges. The awards will strengthen workforce development through educational initiatives that will help economically disadvantaged students and promote diversity, inclusion and accessibility by cultivating scientists and researchers from different backgrounds with various experiences and points of view. 

The awardees and a summary of each project are listed below:  

E-CORE RII: Research Infrastructure Optimization for New Mexico Led by The University of New Mexico, this project aims to connect New Mexico's emerging research institutions (ERIs) with the broader state research ecosystem consisting of national laboratories, high-tech industries and established research universities. By strengthening New Mexico's research infrastructure, the project will foster innovation, which will lead to economic growth in critical sectors and create high-value employment opportunities for graduates from ERIs. The project will also provide the state legislature with insights on economic and workforce trends to enable strategic investments in key areas and foster a culture of inclusion and diversity, thereby broadening participation in the scientific enterprise across individuals, institutions and sectors.

Collaborating institutions (subawardees): Central New Mexico Community College, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Navajo Technical University and New Mexico State University. E-CORE RII: Rhode Island Inclusive Network for Excellence in Science and Technology The University of Rhode Island is leading this project to enable the state of Rhode Island and the Narragansett Indian Tribe and its citizens to develop and maintain a sustainable, broadly inclusive and competitive research ecosystem that supports use-inspired S&T and workforce development. The project will sustainably develop capacity, programming, platforms and partnerships that serve and benefit institutions of higher education across Rhode Island by institutionalizing research infrastructure support programs and implementing innovative programs that lead to increased collaborations across the state's institutions. These platforms and systems will lead to an inclusive network for scientific opportunities with low barriers to entry, an increased number of students from minoritized and tribal backgrounds that flourish in STEM, and the creation of new initiatives that align with the strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and access plans of the collaborating institutions. 

Collaborating institutions (subawardees): Brown University, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design and Roger Williams University. E-CORE RII: Mississippi Research Alliance The vision of this project, led by Mississippi State University, is to be a transformative force in the Mississippi research and innovation ecosystem. The project will forge strategic partnerships that harness and enhance existing human and physical assets and coordinate new investments to position Mississippi as a national front-runner in S&T. The project will strengthen strategic governance, improve sustainable access to instrumentation and foster cross-institutional collaborations, thereby boosting cutting-edge research carried out by interdisciplinary teams and resulting in exponential gains to Mississippi's knowledge-based economy. The project's integrated approach will create a research and development ecosystem that builds strategic alliances among research and ERIs, state agencies and public and private organizations to positively impact education, workforce development and the broader societal understanding of scientific endeavors.

Collaborating institutions (subawardees): The University of Southern Mississippi, The University of Mississippi, Mississippi Vally State University. E-RISE RII: Maine Algal Research Infrastructure and Accelerator The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences leads this project to build the Maine Algal Research Infrastructure and Accelerator which will serve as a nucleus for algae-based innovation in Maine and catalyze economic growth and workforce development. This state-of-the-art research infrastructure will be used to streamline exploration of algae's commercial potential -- from individual cell-level analysis to product optimization and eventual scaling. The project will lead to the discovery of novel approaches to harness algae as efficient biofactories for synthesizing new high-value products relevant to the "Maine Innovation Economy Action Plan," while aligning strategic collaborations, including with local farmers and algal companies, to create an accelerated network to enhance the agricultural, aquaculture and pharmaceutical potential of algae in Maine.

Collaborating institutions (subawardees): Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, University of New England, Colby College, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and Gulf of Maine Ventures. E-RISE RII: Cracking the Developmental Blueprint of Life: Omics, Computational Science, and Artificial Intelligence This project, led by the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, will position Puerto Rico as a thriving hub for innovation and economic growth in the life science and biotech/molecular sectors. Faculty from seven institutions will come together to unravel the complexities of developmental biology by examining the evolutionary and developmental framework of butterfly divergence. The project will delve into the fundamental science of evolution and adaptation, seeking to decipher the molecular intricacies that govern cellular processes and organismal development. The novelty of the project lies in the single cell-genomic resolution around which all other molecular information will be integrated using cutting-edge computational and AI approaches. Also included in the project will be workforce development initiatives that integrate STEM education and interventions to cultivate skills for both academic and non-academic careers, in part by generating important resources for the broader scientific community and through outreach activities tailored to K-12 teachers and students. 

Collaborating institutions (subawardees): Centro Comprensivo de Cancer de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

Research areas