Monday 21 April 2008
The Nintendo Diet
Nintendo are to release Wii Fit, a concept that is to encourage gamers to exercise while they play.
Wii Fit will be released on the Wii console on 25th April 2008 and gamers will receive a Wii balance-board with the game.
Gamers will stand on the balance-board and press down on pressure sensitive pads to move their character.
The board can be used for yoga, aerobics and muscle stretches within games in a dynamic and fun way.
The test
Nintendo already have a history of games to improve people’s lifestyles through games. The Nintendo DS has the famous Brain Training series and the Wii console Wii Sports.
Both games have encouraged people of all ages to pick up a Nintendo console and play games as they believe it will enhance their health.
For five days, I will use both the Brain Training game and Wii Sports for the first time to see if they really do improve your health or are simply a placebo to make people buy games.
Both the Brain Training and Wii Sports have options to test you mentally and physically each day and it gives you a resulting age to see how good you are to your true age.
Being 20, this is the best age you can achieve in both tests and will be aiming to reach my age in both games.
Monday, 14th April
Brain Training – (Age) 57
Wii Sports – (Age) 29
I start my Nintendo diet after being in university all day so I’m feeling a bit tired to begin with. I began by creating an ac
count with Dr Ryuta Kawashima on the Nintendo DS. He asks for my name and age before we begin, I already feel a bond developing.
He tests me with a series of 20 math sums which I have to answer as quickly as I can by writing the answer with the stylus on the screen. I get one wrong but I thought I did well until my age of 57 appeared. Much improvement is needed.
I plug in the Nintendo Wii late when everybody has gone to bed so I get the TV for myself. My mii looks nothing like myself but like an Indian George Harrison. My first game was batting home runs. I hit five out of 10 which I was pleased with. Next was simply hitting 30 balls that were thrown towards me.
My overconfidence was my downfall as I missed a few hitting 24. Finally was putting which was a disaster, I think I only sunk three holes before I was told it was over. An age of 28 for fitness was good but feeling like I’m in the prime of my life I can reach my true age.
Tuesday, 15th April
Brain Training – 55
Wii Sports – 33
I felt more confident today as to what to expect from Dr Kawashima but he sprung three tests on me! The first was speaking into the DS saying the colour of the colour displayed e.g. if the word red was written in blue you shout blue.
My scouse accent went against me as the microphone couldn’t understand what I was saying. The next was connecting letters and numbers. I had to join up each letter with its numeric value in the alphabet e.g. A=1, B=2 and so on. Then it was the dreaded 20 math sums with again the same result of getting one wrong. I was glad I improved my age by two years.
The same can’t be said about wii sports. My mind was concentrating again as I felt tired. I had to knock as many punch bags as I could in a minute which I did 16 times.
Then I had to hit a tennis ball against a target held up on a wall ten times but I kept hitting the ball on sharp angles so I missed the ball three times.
The final task involved baseball and controlling your swing so the ball hits highlighted areas on the pitch. I did achieved this five times out of ten throws. It was disappointing to see my age crawl into the 30’s and have vowed to be fresh tomorrow to improve.
Wednesday, 16th April
Brain Training – 37
Wii Sports - 22
I improved my brain training age by 17 years! I really did concentrate today as I made no mistakes in any task. I had to deal with a new task, number counting.
I had to write down the number of colours or numbers I could see in the opposite screen which was full of different numbers in different colours e.g. how many blue 4’s. I had the connecting letter to number task and 20 math sums which I eased through having done them before.
Wii Sports was just as good today. Only two years away from my own age. I did the batting practice today hitting 30 balls and only missed four.
Next was dodging balls that someone was throwing at me and final challenge was hitting as many pins as I could in ten attempts. With each attempt, the pins doubled at the end of the alley. I’m really pleased with the improvement and will celebrate with some ice cream.
Thursday 17th April
Brain Training – 32
Wii Sports – 25
I’m exhausted once again after being in university all day and I wasn’t in the mood to start either game. I did the brain training in the comfort of my room, I did 20 sums, number counting and connecting the numbers. Once you know how to do these tasks you can complete them quicker so I wasn’t surprised my brain age increasing.
The wii sports went ok. I did a difficult task timing my swing on a tennis court and aiming to hit the ball through a moving goalpost. I also did the boxing hitting various punches at the trainer who raised his practice gloves in different positions to hit. The last was the usual hitting 30 baseballs thrown. Again I wasn’t distraught at my age going up because I was exhausted from the day itself.
Friday 18th April
Brain Training – 31
Wii Sports – 33
It’s Friday! The last day of forcing to play both these games has taken any excitement they once had away. The brain training was ok. I’m going to miss that Dr Kawashima, he had a scary laugh.
I did the usual 20 sums, the naming of colours but this time I spoke more eloquently. Finally there was a new feature of reading a passage from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights as fast as I could without cheating by changing the page quick. Overall I’m pleased that I continuously managed to increase my brain age.
The wii sports’ training was a disaster. I’m blaming being in university all day. All tasks involved strength and I want to crawl into bed instead. I had to hit as many home runs in ten balls. I had ten attempts of golf, landing on the green from various positions around the green. Finally was hitting as many punch bags off the chain which was really good at easing stress. A disappointing age of 33 has to be blamed on fatigue, I can’t be unfit.
Conclusion
After five days of virtual fitness, I have to say that both the Brain Training and Wii Sports do not improve your lifestyle one bit.
You would get more mental stimulation from reading a book than playing on Brain Training.
Brain Training is a good concept and I enjoyed playing the games but once you know how to complete the puzzles, it’s easier for you to improve your age over time.
As for Wii Sports, for a game it’s really fun. You swing the controller like a madman and the sound effects are really good making you feel like you’re hitting a tennis ball or knocking out an opponent for the title.
But for fitness it is nothing like real life. Your arms ache after the first few attempts but once you get into the groove it gets repetitive and boring.
The same with Brain Training, once you get used to the tasks you know what to expect so it’s easy for you to complete them a second time more quicker and accurate.
Wii Fit will be selling at £70 across the UK. If the game is anything like previous Nintendo fitness games, I would keep your money in your pocket and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Wii Fit will be released on the Wii console on 25th April 2008 and gamers will receive a Wii balance-board with the game.
Gamers will stand on the balance-board and press down on pressure sensitive pads to move their character.
The board can be used for yoga, aerobics and muscle stretches within games in a dynamic and fun way.
The test
Nintendo already have a history of games to improve people’s lifestyles through games. The Nintendo DS has the famous Brain Training series and the Wii console Wii Sports.
Both games have encouraged people of all ages to pick up a Nintendo console and play games as they believe it will enhance their health.
For five days, I will use both the Brain Training game and Wii Sports for the first time to see if they really do improve your health or are simply a placebo to make people buy games.
Both the Brain Training and Wii Sports have options to test you mentally and physically each day and it gives you a resulting age to see how good you are to your true age.
Being 20, this is the best age you can achieve in both tests and will be aiming to reach my age in both games.
Monday, 14th April
Brain Training – (Age) 57
Wii Sports – (Age) 29
I start my Nintendo diet after being in university all day so I’m feeling a bit tired to begin with. I began by creating an ac
count with Dr Ryuta Kawashima on the Nintendo DS. He asks for my name and age before we begin, I already feel a bond developing.He tests me with a series of 20 math sums which I have to answer as quickly as I can by writing the answer with the stylus on the screen. I get one wrong but I thought I did well until my age of 57 appeared. Much improvement is needed.
I plug in the Nintendo Wii late when everybody has gone to bed so I get the TV for myself. My mii looks nothing like myself but like an Indian George Harrison. My first game was batting home runs. I hit five out of 10 which I was pleased with. Next was simply hitting 30 balls that were thrown towards me.
My overconfidence was my downfall as I missed a few hitting 24. Finally was putting which was a disaster, I think I only sunk three holes before I was told it was over. An age of 28 for fitness was good but feeling like I’m in the prime of my life I can reach my true age.
Tuesday, 15th April
Brain Training – 55
Wii Sports – 33
I felt more confident today as to what to expect from Dr Kawashima but he sprung three tests on me! The first was speaking into the DS saying the colour of the colour displayed e.g. if the word red was written in blue you shout blue.
My scouse accent went against me as the microphone couldn’t understand what I was saying. The next was connecting letters and numbers. I had to join up each letter with its numeric value in the alphabet e.g. A=1, B=2 and so on. Then it was the dreaded 20 math sums with again the same result of getting one wrong. I was glad I improved my age by two years.
The same can’t be said about wii sports. My mind was concentrating again as I felt tired. I had to knock as many punch bags as I could in a minute which I did 16 times.
Then I had to hit a tennis ball against a target held up on a wall ten times but I kept hitting the ball on sharp angles so I missed the ball three times.
The final task involved baseball and controlling your swing so the ball hits highlighted areas on the pitch. I did achieved this five times out of ten throws. It was disappointing to see my age crawl into the 30’s and have vowed to be fresh tomorrow to improve.
Wednesday, 16th April
Brain Training – 37
Wii Sports - 22
I improved my brain training age by 17 years! I really did concentrate today as I made no mistakes in any task. I had to deal with a new task, number counting.
I had to write down the number of colours or numbers I could see in the opposite screen which was full of different numbers in different colours e.g. how many blue 4’s. I had the connecting letter to number task and 20 math sums which I eased through having done them before.
Wii Sports was just as good today. Only two years away from my own age. I did the batting practice today hitting 30 balls and only missed four.
Next was dodging balls that someone was throwing at me and final challenge was hitting as many pins as I could in ten attempts. With each attempt, the pins doubled at the end of the alley. I’m really pleased with the improvement and will celebrate with some ice cream.
Thursday 17th April
Brain Training – 32
Wii Sports – 25
I’m exhausted once again after being in university all day and I wasn’t in the mood to start either game. I did the brain training in the comfort of my room, I did 20 sums, number counting and connecting the numbers. Once you know how to do these tasks you can complete them quicker so I wasn’t surprised my brain age increasing.
The wii sports went ok. I did a difficult task timing my swing on a tennis court and aiming to hit the ball through a moving goalpost. I also did the boxing hitting various punches at the trainer who raised his practice gloves in different positions to hit. The last was the usual hitting 30 baseballs thrown. Again I wasn’t distraught at my age going up because I was exhausted from the day itself.
Friday 18th April
Brain Training – 31
Wii Sports – 33
It’s Friday! The last day of forcing to play both these games has taken any excitement they once had away. The brain training was ok. I’m going to miss that Dr Kawashima, he had a scary laugh.
I did the usual 20 sums, the naming of colours but this time I spoke more eloquently. Finally there was a new feature of reading a passage from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights as fast as I could without cheating by changing the page quick. Overall I’m pleased that I continuously managed to increase my brain age.
The wii sports’ training was a disaster. I’m blaming being in university all day. All tasks involved strength and I want to crawl into bed instead. I had to hit as many home runs in ten balls. I had ten attempts of golf, landing on the green from various positions around the green. Finally was hitting as many punch bags off the chain which was really good at easing stress. A disappointing age of 33 has to be blamed on fatigue, I can’t be unfit.
Conclusion
After five days of virtual fitness, I have to say that both the Brain Training and Wii Sports do not improve your lifestyle one bit.
You would get more mental stimulation from reading a book than playing on Brain Training.
Brain Training is a good concept and I enjoyed playing the games but once you know how to complete the puzzles, it’s easier for you to improve your age over time.
As for Wii Sports, for a game it’s really fun. You swing the controller like a madman and the sound effects are really good making you feel like you’re hitting a tennis ball or knocking out an opponent for the title.
But for fitness it is nothing like real life. Your arms ache after the first few attempts but once you get into the groove it gets repetitive and boring.
The same with Brain Training, once you get used to the tasks you know what to expect so it’s easy for you to complete them a second time more quicker and accurate.
Wii Fit will be selling at £70 across the UK. If the game is anything like previous Nintendo fitness games, I would keep your money in your pocket and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Reality becoming Virtual
There was once a time when gamers took on the role of a vertical white line, reflecting a ball towards their opponent to score points.Since then gamers have raided tombs, recreated the D-Day landing, won the World Cup and fought robots, zombies and madmen from future Worlds.
Sony Entertainment are rumoured to release the game ‘Home’ in Autumn 2008, were gamers take on a second life.
Gamers can create their own image and socialise in a virtual world through their Playstation Three console.
With games taking over roles and responsibilities we take on everyday, will our lives become immersed into a virtual reality?
Gamers have always been encouraged to engross themselves, to learn and become the main character or characters of a story driven game.
Games have always had a boundary. You are restricted to the size of a level, you are guided around the game by the storyline and there is eventually an ending to it.
This is known as static game content, in which games are powered by all the software being contained in a disc.
Home
In Sony’s Home, gamers can simply log onto their console and socialise with other users from around the World.
Gamers can design their character to their liking and they can design their own virtual apartment were their characters live.
Gamers can watch films together; challenge each other on the latest games and display their achievements in the hall of fame.
Speaking at the Tokyo Game show; Kazou Hirai, Head of Sony Computer Entertainment said: “With Home, we are looking to take advantage of the social network market.
“Websites have made a huge success with Second Life, MySpace and Facebook.”
Designer point of view
Many game designers and developers see what the internet has achieved through social networking as the foundation to take gaming onto a new level.
Phil Harrison, keynote speaker at Game Developers Conference 2007, said: “There was a magazine cover last year that was a pivotal moment in the Internet age in which Time magazine said that you were the person of the year.
“Democratising the internet and putting you in control of your entertainment experiences and allowing you as users to share with an entire universe around you.
“We want to take what the web has achieved into our own industry and develop it over the next ten years.”
Phil Harrison sees Home more of a service than a game and explained that Home will already be installed on Playstation Three consoles.
What to expect
A tutorial of Home was given by its producer Scott Walker, who described what gamers will experience when logging into Home.
Scott Walker said: “Home is really a 3D community; it’s a 3D social networking service that allows you to express yourself and your personality.
“People around you will be communicating to one another and we can use a variety of different technology to talk to one another
Phil Harrison explained that users will be given their own private space away from the public spaces in the form of a virtual apartment, in which users can customise everything from the size of the room to the colour of the furniture.
Previous work
Its concept challenges the PC download ‘Second Life’, a virtual World that was tipped to take over real life in 2003 but has since failed to attract consistent users.
Second Life was designed by American company Linden Lab, founded in 1999 to create revolutionary 3D experiences for consumers who pay £9.95 a month.
Their creation was tipped to become virtual reality with real money being used as Linden dollars to buy land, clothing and needs for your character. For $1 you can get $270.
Success has been isol
ated only in America but it is slowly attracting internet users in Europe.Lewis, a PR spokesman for Linden Lab in Europe said: “Second life is four times the size of New York City. We like to think of it as a continuously growing community.
“We’re pleased with the success of what’s happened. Many users are socialising with their friends on Second Life as there are more exciting opportunities and risk free adventures than in RL. (what Second Life users call Real Life)
“We’ve recently given IBM its own space in Second Life to help the company build up relations with its staff. It’s a huge success and we want to encourage more companies to do the same.”
Future of social gaming
In April 2007, Garter research said: “80% of Active Internet Users will have a ‘Second Life’ in the Virtual World by 2011.”
A year on I do see virtual worlds being used as a tool that will be as necessary of owning a television or cooker.
Gaming is definitely moving towards online content. Encouraging gamers to play as themselves and play with other active users.
I can’t see people merging themselves with virtual worlds so much that they will turn away from real life to seek a dream utopia.
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