Zainab Darbas, Monash UniversityIn 2004, a largely anonymous team of Australian video game developers released a prototype video game titled Escape from Woomera. In this 3D adventure, the player takes on the role of Mustafa, an Iranian refugee fleeing violent repression who is being held in a virtual re-creation of the (now-shut) Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. Mustafa is facing deportation back to Iran – which will mean almost certain death. He and the player must escape.  A screenshot from the unfinished point-and-click adventure game Escape from Woomera. Wikimedia, CC BYEscape from Woomera was one of the first Australian video games ever to receive government funding to support its development. In 2003, the creators received a A$25,000 grant from the national arts body, the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia). The game itself, and the fact it was awarded public funding, were highly controversial. They sparked conversations about what kind of art the government should fund, and why. Should the goal be to nurture new artistic talent? Or to preserve Australian-made content? Or build profitable industries?  A photo of the entrance of the Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. The photo was taken in April 2003, the same month the centre was closed. Wikimedia, CC BYMore than two decades on, Australia has a robust ecosystem of video game development supported by grant programs across the country. My research looked at the scope and structure of these programs and examined how they affect game developers. My findings reveal that the structures of funding programs emphasise generating profit and growing the video game industry. This is at odds with the approach taken by many game developers, who view themselves as artists, and their games as a cultural form. This fundamental mismatch is a source of tension for game developers who rely on public funding to support their work. Competing priorities of public fundingI read through more than 50 annual reports, strategic documents and other materials from Australian arts funding bodies to analyse funding policies for Australian video games. The documents emphasised the economic potential of the video game industry, frequently citing growth rates, expenditure figures and returns on investment as justification for continuing to fund game development. However, they also promoted Australian video games as complex, experimental and culturally valuable. This shows how funding agencies juggle competing priorities. While they value games with artistic merit that contribute to the cultural landscape, agencies must also demonstrate that their public funding programs generate financial returns. These agencies’ economic priorities heavily influence how public funding programs are structured – which can make them seem highly formal and business-like. Company or community?This formality creates difficulties for game developers, whose work practices are often artistic, informal and adaptive. I interviewed 11 game developers to understand their experiences with public funding. They generally held positive sentiment towards the funding available to them, describing it as a “lifeline”, “fantastic” and “awesome”. Several developers spoke highly of the range of funding programs available for projects of various scope. At the same time, they had criticisms. They found the application processes for public funding overly formal, forcing them to adapt their artistic practices to a rigid, business-like structure. As one interviewee explained:
Tensions were particularly acute around providing diversity information. Most funding applications ask applicants to submit information about diversity, equity and inclusion in a highly formalised format. The developers I spoke to felt “icky”, “gross”, “weird” and “uncomfortable” while completing these forms, describing them as “tokenising”, “dehumanising” and “impersonal”. As one interviewee said:
More than just productsThe interviewees recommended several changes funding agencies could make to improve their application processes. They could, for instance:
These changes would signal to game developers and the wider public that our public institutions value video games as more than just money-making products. Australian-made games such as Untitled Goose Game and Cult of the Lamb – which have achieved international critical success in recent years – wouldn’t exist without public funding. Yet many video game developers struggle to find options for secure public funding. And when it isn’t available, they are forced to take a chance on over-saturated crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter. It’s important that public funding programs work to support game developers on their own terms, so they can keep creating excellent games that enrich our cultural landscape. Zainab Darbas, PhD Candidate, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Australian video‑game music is an exciting area of cultural activity – and you should be paying attention (2026-08-17T13:12:00+05:30)
Dan Golding, Swinburne University of Technology; Brendan Keogh, Queensland University of Technology, and Taylor Hardwick, Queensland University of TechnologyAn enthusiastic, sellout crowd arrived at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall in September to hear an evening of music from Orchestra Victoria. The program consisted largely of Australian music and premiere performances. If the sight of over 2,500 filled seats (filled, anecdotally, by those much younger than the typical orchestra audience) did not indicate how deeply this music was loved, then the standing ovation at the end of the night would leave no-one in doubt. This packed concert, however, wasn’t a performance of a symphonic great or even a major film soundtrack. It was an evening of music created for video games. Video games are now a cultural activity for the vast majority of Australians and a major platform through which audiences are introduced to new music. Audiences have personal, even intimate relationships with the music of video games, given the long hours spent playing in lounge rooms and studies around the nation. The potential of video-game music is particularly evident in Australia, where several independent video games have obtained both critical and commercial success around the world. This is, in part, thanks to their music, such as Cult of the Lamb (2022), Unpacking (2021) and Hollow Knight (2017). However, how the game developers actually work with musicians to produce these landmark works has so far been an unanswered question. Performing on the global stageOur new Music and Games 2023 Benchmark aims to establish the scope and scale of Australia’s game-music sector. Our research includes findings about working conditions, rights, royalties and more. It paints a picture of a sector confidently performing on the global stage alongside far bigger national industries. Game music work is overwhelmingly being undertaken in Australia as contract-based freelance work and rarely as full-time employment. Despite this, game developers see composers as fundamental creative partners. Game music workers feel they have meaningful input on the projects they work on. They rarely approach game soundtracks as “just another gig”. This is reinforced by our finding the vast majority of game music workers in Australia create original music for game projects, rather than implementing pre-existing works. Australian game composers are more likely than workers in other soundtrack sectors to retain rights and opportunities. In film and television, disadvantageous “buyout” contracts, where composers hand over all ownership of their music to studios, have become common. In the Australian game music sector, such arrangements exist in only 13% of projects. This allows most composers to retain ownership of their music and to tap into additional revenue streams like performance royalties. An astonishing 74% of music workers are able to release their game’s soundtrack personally and independently, rather than going through either the game’s studio, publisher or a music label. Different ways of workingThere is no “one way” of working for Australian game music workers, with a wide diversity of skills and experiences evident. Many composers work directly with game development tools or with audio “middleware” such as Fmod or Wwise on game projects. Tools like these allow composers to engage with the game’s production and implement their music directly into the game, rather than simply handing over audio files to game developers. Around half, however, prioritise music creation and leave implementation of that music up to the developers. This means technical knowledge of game development is not as integral to creating game music as many may assume. Creative communication skills are also important for musicians and highly valued by game developers who may otherwise find music to be a language they do not speak. Like the game development and music sectors more broadly, unpaid work remains common. Only 53% of game music workers report any income from this work. However, we found the median annual income for all game music workers is A$40,000, compared to only $30,576 for musicians generally. Among those who make more than the Australian minimum wage ($45,000) from game music, this jumps to a considerable median income of $82,500. Being at the intersection of games and music also means the gender and racial inequalities of the video game and screen composing sectors are entrenched within game music. Three-quarters of all game music workers identified themselves as male, and 72% as white, Caucasian or European. While Australia has diverse musicians, they currently have unequal ability to move into game music. This needs proactive solutions. Creative works in their own rightOur benchmarking report reveals an exciting and so far under-appreciated area of cultural activity in Australia. Australian game soundtracks are not sterile assets produced for a mass medium. They are genuine creative works that are adored in their own right by audiences around the world. However, growing the sector in Australia requires focused support. Its lack of diversity is a major area of concern. Even while game music workers are able to retain generous rights to their music, many are frustrated and confused by the lack of clear standards. We also heard several stories of workers being pressured to give up their rights once an international publisher decided to invest in a local game developer. As Australia’s game industry continues to grow, it will be important to watch how Australia’s musicians are brought along for the ride. Correction: this article originally misstated the capacity of Hamer Hall. This has been corrected. Dan Golding, Associate Professor, Swinburne University of Technology; Brendan Keogh, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, and Taylor Hardwick, Research Assistant, Queensland University of Technology This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Can a video game save a life? African refugee puts players in his race for survival (2026-07-28T12:03:00+05:30)
 Can a video game save a life? African refugee puts players in his race for survival: Video game developer Lual Mayen, 25, who learned to code in a refugee camp after fleeing South Sudan, plays his new game at his home in Washington, D.C., US on January 7, 2020. (REUTERS File Photo) WASHINGTON, (Reuters): The goal of Lual Mayen's video game is to survive the horrific ordeal of a refugee, an experience that his family knows well, but the 25-year-old developer's ambition is to change the world. Mayen, who was born as his family traveled 250 miles (400 km) to escape South Sudan's second civil war, hopes his game, Salaam, will give players a better understanding of what it means to be homeless, hungry and on the run. "A lot of people don't understand the journey of a refugee," said Mayen, 25, who and spent his first 22 years in a refugee camp in northern Uganda before moving to the United States. "It was a journey of life and death," he said, recalling family stories about bomb attacks, wild animals and how babies were abandoned by parents who could no longer care for them. Now head of his own video game company in Washington, Mayen believes that "gamification," where participants make decisions unlike the passive experience of watching a movie, puts ordinary people in the shoes of a refugee. Salaam, an Arabic greeting meaning peace, enables users who have never had to flee a war-torn country to take a virtual trek to a "peaceful environment" -- if they can dodge hostile troops and find enough food and water. BRIDGING THE VIRTUAL AND REAL WORLDS While the game is free to play, when participants need to buy food, water or medicine for their virtual characters, they can make in-app purchases that will go to real-life refugees, he said. "Salaam is going to be the first-ever game that is going to bridge the virtual world and the reality on the ground," he said. "When someone buys food in the game, you're actually buying someone in a refugee camp food." But Mayen also has a long game in mind, hoping that Salaam will enlighten today's teens when they become the next generation of policymakers. "When they're making policy, they'll already understand what refugees face, just through playing my game," he said. "That's actually how we change the world and how we can be able to use the industry for good." Growing up in a refugee camp, Mayen had never even seen a computer until one day, at age 12, he reported to the camp's registration center. "It was a moment that actually helped me to understand, wow, I want to use this one day," he said. For the next three years, his mother, whom he made the main character in Salaam, worked tirelessly to stash away $300 to buy him a laptop, which he now keeps in a glass display case in his apartment. His game went viral after he uploaded it to Facebook and caught the attention of the gaming industry. In 2018, he was named a Global Gaming Citizen at the Game Awards in Los Angeles. "To be able to ... represent the continent and represent the game for social impact, it gives me so much hope," he said. "It gives more refugees hope." Can a video game save a life? African refugee puts players in his race for survival | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
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Pleasure centre: how video games affect young brains (2026-07-22T12:20:00+05:30)
Murat Yücel, The University of MelbourneTeens who frequently play video games have larger reward centres in their brains than those who play less often, according to a study published today in the journal Translational Psychiatry. The researchers analysed MRI scans of more than 150 German teenagers and found frequent game players had a greater volume of left striatal grey matter than irregular gamers. Associate Professor Murat Yücel, Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Psychiatry, explains how young brains respond to reward: The important thing to remember with the sample in this study is it’s a healthy group. There’s no pathology or illness, so the study doesn’t tell us about brain disorder. What it may be telling us is that there are individual differences in people’s brains that render them more or less likely to be heavy video game players. More broadly, adolescent behaviour is driven by reward, much more so than with adults. The study found that there’s a difference in the levels of activity in the brain’s ventral striatum – area of the brain that is very reactive to reward – between the heavy gamers and the light gamers. This isn’t just a video game-specific region of the brain. Some people might generate dopamine by playing video games. Others might get these rewards through eating, gambling, or engaging in social activities. Are the children with increased activity in the reward centre of their brain more likely to develop various addictions, or does it fluctuate as they move through adolescence? That’s the question we all want to answer. The kids in the study were around 14 years of age, which means changes would be occurring to the way their brain connections are made. These connections will set them up for the rest of their life, influencing the way they behave and may influence whether or not they develop disorders. Levels of dopamine, which is one of the main neurotransmitter drugs released by the brain, also changes in young brains and has a big influence on this wiring of the brain that occurs in adolescence. By playing rewarding computer games, these kids are influencing the connections their developing brains are making, through the production of dopamine. So they’re reinforcing certain networks in the brain that are very sensitive and reactive to reward. This is likely to influence their behaviour, temperament and personality. But whether that actually goes on to be a problem or a disorder, we don’t yet know. The brain is really amazingly plastic – much more plastic than we used to think – and it can change over time. If the behaviour of the kids in the study is locked into video gaming, and that’s all they do (if have very few other activities they find rewarding), that’s where a problem might start. But if they play sport, take music lessons, or are involved in other social activities and they play video games, it’s probably not going to be a major problem. Young people need diversity in their reward activities. How does this study fit into the existing body of research on the way adolescent brains respond to reward? We’ve been studying the same region of the brain as the authors of this study, in a group of kids aged 12 to 18 years. We have found this area of the brain changes a lot during this developmental period, particularly in terms of volume and particularly in boys. We think these volumetric changes in male brains relate to how much they engage in rewarding behaviours such as internet gaming, maybe gambling, and so on. So this study is in line with what we’re thinking. A lot of my research looks at drug addiction. We know anything that increases the dopamigenic activity – any drug or any behaviour that fires up the dopamine system – has the potential to be addictive. And the more you rev the dopamine system, which makes you feel euphoric, the more you dampen the whole system. So the next time you need more of the drug or experience to get the same high. In other words, you develop tolerance. So with the kids in the study, if they play video games continuously for long periods of time, they’re getting a dopamine release. The pleasure of gaming is really derived through the uncertainties that continuously occur. And over time, the brain might dampen this system down. Then they would need more of it to gain a similar level of pleasure, which is where the addiction might kick in. But again, that goes back to balance – if the kids are doing other things that are pleasurable, then their brain might not be so vulnerable. Did the kids in the video game study have these differences in the brain to begin with, or was this a result of the video gaming? That’s one of the problems with this study – it’s not longitudinal, so you don’t know if the brain differences were there already, and that’s what led to the video gaming, or if video gaming is leading to changes in the brain system. Our study is one of the few that follows these kids over the adolescent period. So we’re mapping the changes that are occurring. What’s next for your study? We’re going to be following these kids for as long as we can. They’re 18 at the moment so they’re at the age where this search for reward will kick in so they might play video games, try drugs and engage in risky behaviour to satisfy these desires. We’ll be measuring their activity and comparing it with their brains when they were 12 to 16 years of age to ask whether we could have predicted these behaviours early on from their pre-existing brain differences. We will also look to see how those behaviours changed the developmental trajectory of the brain in different ways. Hopefully, we’ll be able to answers the questions that this video game study has thrown up. Murat Yücel, Professor and Clinical Neuropsychologist, The University of Melbourne This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Gaming trends show cities need to rethink how they tap into creative economy (2026-07-22T12:16:00+05:30)
 City policymakers are realising creative workers don’t have to be permanently clustered together if they can collaborate as needed. Steve Purkiss/flickr, CC BY-SA
Sebastien Darchen, The University of QueenslandVarious cities in Australia have developed creative economy policies with the aim of diversifying their economy. These policies are about attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and firms from the creative industries sector, such as the music and fashion industries. Creative economy policies were often based on the cluster concept developed by Michael Porter in the 1990s. This was the case for the creative city strategy in Brisbane and also for the more recent music industry policy in Melbourne. Brisbane has been very active in this area. The objective was to be less dependent on natural resources in the future. Planning initiatives such the Kelvin Grove Village are examples of economic development strategies based on the cluster concept that translated into planned projects. But positive steps are being taken to provide affordable spaces for creative workers. Recent research on the video game industry in Australia has shown that new technologies have greatly influenced the production of games. The industry functions as a “networked community” and not strictly as spatially bounded clusters. The use of new platforms such as the internet enables small companies to produce games from remote areas. Industry structures are changingThe composition of the industry has changed significantly since 2006-07, with the closure of several development studios that focused on console games, such as Krome Studios. A variety of platforms – Unity 3d, mobile phones etc – is now available to game developers. With the shift from console games to mobile phone games, the industry has changed dramatically. The nature of the demand has changed too: consumers of video games are now looking for a quick and fast experience. Disparity Games, operating from Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, is an example of these new successful companies located outside the main cluster. The people behind Disparity Games are two video game developers working from home in an idyllic environment. The map below shows the location of video game firms in Queensland, with some of those companies operating from the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
New technologies enable new ways of workingThese studios have demonstrated that self-publishing is a viable business model in Australia. Independent developers can now bypass traditional international publishers. New technologies have thus had the effect of reducing the size of video game companies and increasing their number. This is verified in Queensland, which has become specialised in developing mobile phone games. New technologies such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) have changed the way video game developers produce games and where they produce them. With the NBN, a small video game company can literally produce a game from anywhere.  Co-working spaces allow creative workers to get together only when they need to. janelleorsi/flickr, CC BY If they already have the professional connections, developers can work on the same game with different experts located in different cities. Face-to-face interactions are important, but this does not mean anymore that video game developers need to be located in the city at all times. In that sense, creative economy policies should think about flexible ways to accommodate creative workers in the city. The opening of co-working spaces in South Bank or the River City labs are good examples in Brisbane. This research shows it is time to go beyond the cluster type of economic development policies to attract and retain creative workers and firms in cities like Brisbane. Instead of planning creative neighbourhoods or districts, which are often not affordable for start-up companies, policies should aim for flexible solutions such as co-working spaces. Those are more adapted to an era in which new technologies are to a certain extent changing the geography of creative industries based on technological innovation such as the video game industry. Sebastien Darchen, Lecturer in Planning, The University of Queensland This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Game on – can video games make your brain level up? (2026-07-20T13:38:00+05:30)
Amy Reichelt, UNSWVideo games have got a bad press in the past mostly due to the accusation that they make people who play them more violent. The violent content that many computer games contain and engrossing nature for players can lead to increased aggressive thoughts. But other studies have said that the root of any video game induced violence is actually due to frustration, as many of these games are challenging and require complex motor skills. Aside from the frustration of getting beaten by the end of level boss again, the challenge of these games is part of the appeal. The sense of accomplishment having completed a game or getting that bit further through a level activates the brain’s reward system, causing release of dopamine, which keeps people coming back for more. But recent studies have shown that video games might actually be good for your brain, leading to increases in grey matter in regions involved in coordination, decision making and memory. Brain trainingAs with any challenging task - practice makes perfect. Take playing the piano for example. Brain scanning with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that concert pianists have less activationin regions responsible for motor control. This indicates that their brain has become more efficient when it comes to playing that piano than non-musicians. So, over time the brain can functionally adapt to task demands, an example of neuroplasticity. Video games often involve fine motor co-ordination, sustained attention and problem solving, often under pressure, all of which give the brain a work out. Frequently playing video games has been shown to make our brains more efficient at the tasks involved in the game. In a recent study, researchers observed that the greater the amount of time people spent playing video games was associated with a greater brain volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and frontal eye fields. These brain regions are important in rapidly deciding what to do in a new situation, and in visual attention and rapid eye movements to targets. Level up your brain with Super MarioPlaying video games has been shown to improve visual attention and memory, and also enhance spatial and motor skills. Last year, a study showed brain changes in adults who didn’t normally play computer games. Participants played Mario 64 on the Nintendo DS for 30 minutes per day for two months and afterwards had increased brain volume in both the hippocampus and portions of the right prefrontal cortex. The hippocampus is important in spatial navigation and memory, and the right prefrontal cortex is important in decision making and attention. In addition, brain volume increases were greater in the subjects who reported really enjoying playing Mario 64 and found the experience rewarding. This indicates that activation of the reward system, which leads to dopamine release, could facilitate the neuroplasticity process. Virtual world to real worldWhether enhancement of brain function from playing video games extends to the real world is currently being tested. Enhanced visual attention has been associated with playing action video games, which leads to the proposal that gamers could show improved response times and vigilance when it comes to everyday activities like driving a car. If video games are able to improve brain function, then they could be a useful tool in the treatment of memory disorders and to help boost cognitive skills. In particular, video games may help prevent memory deterioration associated with ageing. Researchers at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), created a video game called Neuroracer to help older people boost mental skills. Healthy volunteers aged 60-85 played the game, which involves controlling the speed and direction of a virtual car along a hilly, twisting road. Simultaneously, coloured shapes on road signs appear and the player must push a button only when a particular kind of sign appears. Playing the game significantly improved short-term memory and multitasking skills in the participants. The jury is still out whether “brain training” computer games can make you smarter, as improvements are linked to practice effects. But video games are easily accessible and could prove a useful tool in keeping our minds active. There is great interest in the development of specialised video games that could boost mental abilities. Video games that can increase attention could benefit children with attention deficit disorder, and [games promoting social interaction could help children with autism. Amy Reichelt, Research Fellow, UNSW This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
AAA ratings: when do videogames become too realistic? (2026-06-18T12:35:00+05:30)
Stefan Greuter, RMIT UniversityRepetition is a rare phenomenon in the real world but a sense of déjà vu is common in the game world. Games made by large studios with massive budgets, often called AAA games, have become ever more detailed, complex and expensive in an effort to reduce every perceptible audio-visual difference between real and virtual environments. All of this in order to give players the ultimate immersive gaming experience. But at what point does the increase in detail and complexity demand too much of not only the game’s development resources but also the player’s desire to keep playing? Game development budgets have increased hugely since the 1980s (see graph below). The latest instalment of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series by Rockstar games had more than double the budget of its predecessor and cost an estimated US$265 million to make – the most expensive videogame in history. Game assets such as terrain, characters, buildings, vehicles, sound and music, all have to be manually created which is time-consuming and costly. Game developers routinely reuse assets in the game world to save on time and money, as described below. From a technical perspective, also, the detail and complexity is largely limited by the hardware that dictates the number of objects and the audio-visual detail that can be displayed at acceptable frame rates. In stealth video game Hitman: Absolution (2012) large crowds were made up of only six to nine base character models. While the developers would have liked to use more character models, the severe memory restrictions of the game platform did not permit that. People are good at perceiving detail. Japanese robotics specialist Professor Masahiro Mori observed, in what he described as the “Uncanny Valley”, that people react positively to a robot’s appearance as they come to look more human-like … then, with increasing human likeness, as people focused their attention on what didn’t look quite right, the former positive reaction turned into revulsion. Mori speculated that the acceptance of robots increases again with increasing human likeness. This observation poses a particular challenge for human or humanoid characters in a game, but the problem also applies to all other physical aspects and objects of the game world. The doing and undoing of repetitionAs games thrive towards realism, players more readily compare the game world against the real world and discrepancies become more apparent. Situations such as the exact repetition of a dialogue, the re-emergence of a previously expired character or the identical copy of an object in the game world, are situations we don’t commonly observe in the real world. An increase in realism might paradoxically lead to a decrease in believability and significantly limit the longevity of the game. Repetitive audio can be managed by lowering the sound or turning it off altogether. But repetition in the game world can only be addressed by adding more content. In GTA V the developers “hand-crafted” every aspect of the game world and as a consequence the player encounters less repetition. This “hand-crafted” approach requires a serious development budget, not commonly available for most game projects. As game worlds, game characters and game interactions become more “realistic” companies have to develop more content and implement more sophisticated interactions to create a convincing world. There is still a long way to go until the development of more realistic game experiences is less limited by the computer hardware and more limited by budgets, team sizes and production times. As long as gamers demand higher degrees of “realism”, developers will continue to look for tools that allow artists to craft a game world that reduces the inherent repetition we see in games today. So, where to from here?Let’s consider the modernist music of American composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass, German electronic band Kraftwerk, American rock band The Velvet Underground. Repetition or “looping” is an important aspect of all their compositions. Repeated sounds work magic in our brains and this practice led to techno music, primarily designed for dancing. This approach may assist in making repetition in games less of “a grind” – which refers to the time spent doing repetitive tasks to progress through the game. 3D animation application software – such as Houdini Engine, Substance Designer, SpeedTree and CityEngine – is slowly emerging that exposes elements that can be manipulated by the basic game software or generate unique content. Software developers will need to change their current way of developing games if true realism is their goal. The blueprints for base objects, animations, sounds and music will still need to be created by artists to a large extent, but software of the type described above will have to become more prevalent, and more sophisticated. With AAA gaming, there’s plenty to do when it comes to keeping it real.
Stefan Greuter, Senior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication, RMIT University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. |
Video games seen becoming a new frontier in digital rights (2026-06-11T11:58:00+05:30)
 Gaming computers await players of Boderlands 3 by 2K at E3, the annual video games expo experience the latest in gaming software and hardware in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2019. (Reuters Photo) Avi Asher-Schapiro Thomson Reuters Foundation Critical digital rights battles over privacy, free speech and anonymity are increasingly being fought in video games, a growing market that is becoming a "new political arena," experts and insiders said on Thursday. With the industry set to more than double annual revenues to $300 billion by 2025, questions about how video game operators, designers and governments handle sensitive issues take on added urgency, said participants at RightsCon, a virtual digital rights conference. In recent months, a Hong Kong activist staged a protest against Beijing's rule inside a popular social simulator game called Animal Crossing, and a member of the U.S. Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, campaigned in the game as well. The game Minecraft, meanwhile, has been used to circumvent censorship, with groups using it to create digital libraries and smuggle banned texts into repressive countries. "Video games have become this new political arena," said Micaela Mantegna, founder of GeekyLegal, an Argentinian group that focuses on tech policy. Also, game designers have been tackling sensitive topics by creating games that involve issues such as refugees or mental illness. "Video games are a powerful way to start talking about topics that are hard to engage in real life," said Stephanie Zucarelli, a board member of Women in Games Argentina, a non-profit group. User rights can be at risk, however, of being violated, said Kurt Opsah, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. Law enforcement can ask game companies their users' personal data, operating companies can censor game users and governments can pressure game operators and makers to remove content, he said. He cited an example of the U.S. military deleting critical comments that had been posted on recruitment channels it hosted on Twitch, a popular streaming platform. "They didn't want people to have an anti-military view on their recruiting channel," he said. Governments can apply pressure on video game companies, he said, such as the case of Activision Blizzard Entertainment that last year suspended a player from a video game competition for making political comments about Hong Kong in an interview.Blizzard is partly owned by Chinese gaming giant Tencent Holdings. Video games seen becoming a new frontier in digital rights | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
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45 crore Indians lost Rs 20,000 crore yearly to money games, new Gaming Bill to guide youth (2026-06-11T11:57:00+05:30)
 (AI Image/IANS) New Delhi, (IANS) Nearly 45 crore Indians are losing close to Rs 20,000 crore every year to real-money online games, according to government estimates. The huge losses and the tragedies linked to them have pushed the government to act. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, has now become law after being passed by both houses of Parliament and receiving the President’s assent. The new framework bans harmful real-money games while promoting e-sports and educational gaming platforms. The aim is to protect families from financial ruin and addiction, while still supporting the industry’s potential to create jobs, attract investment and put India on the global e-sports map. The scale of the crisis has been alarming. Reports from different states reveal heartbreaking stories: young people trapped in debt, families destroyed, and even suicides linked to gaming losses. In Karnataka alone, 18 suicides in the past three years were connected to online money games. In Mysuru, a family of three died by suicide after losing Rs 80 lakh. Similar cases have been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Hyderabad, showing how widespread the problem has become. At the same time, the growth of e-sports presents a very different picture. The industry already provides 1.5 lakh direct jobs, a number expected to double by 2030. For every direct role, two to three more are created in logistics, content and analytics. Importantly, nearly 40 per cent of gamers come from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, showing how gaming is spreading opportunities beyond metros. Indian-developed games like FAU-G have also earned millions of dollars overseas, while the country is positioning itself for international e-sports tournaments. The government says the bill was drafted after extensive consultations with ministries, enforcement agencies, banks, parents, and the gaming industry. Officials argue that the law strikes a balance by drawing a clear line between gambling-style money games and genuine skill-based e-sports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself signalled the importance of this sector earlier this year when he met India’s top gamers. In a lighter moment, he even used the gamer slang “noob,” but behind the humour lay a serious message.That message has now become policy, and with the new law, India has drawn its own battle lines in the gaming world -- separating predators from genuine players. 45 crore Indians lost Rs 20,000 crore yearly to money games, new Gaming Bill to guide youth | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
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Computer Games Improve Neuroplasticity After Traumatic Brain Injury (2026-06-10T13:26:00+05:30)
 Credit: Axeville/ Unsplash. Patients with traumatic brain injuries who complete computerized cognitive games show improved neuroplasticity. Original story from New York University Patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) who complete computerized cognitive games show improved neuroplasticity and cognitive performance, according to new research published in Journal of Neurotrauma. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and reorganize nerve fibers that are responsible for learning and processing. The nerve fibers facilitate communication among neurons for functions including speech, memory, and problem solving. In a healthy brain, there are myriad bundles of strong nerve fibers for these functions, but in an injured brain, these fibers can be damaged and the connections can be reduced (similar to telephone wires after a heavy storm). The researchers' findings offer new insight into the brain's resilience and ability to repair itself. “This study demonstrates changes in the brain’s white matter and shows that computerized cognitive remediation in adults with chronic brain injury can induce neuroplasticity. It builds on our earlier studies showing how these computer games can improve cognition as well as change the connections between brain regions and the structure of the pathways that connect the brain regions,” says senior author Gerald Voelbel, associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at NYU Steinhardt. Researchers randomly assigned 17 adults (ages 24-56) with chronic TBI to either an experimental group that played computer games or the control group. The experimental group used the Brain Fitness Program 2.0, a computer program with cognitive games that include recalling syllable sequences, distinguishing between different sound frequencies, and recalling details from a verbal story. Participants completed 40 one-hour sessions over 14 weeks. Using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, which measures the speed and direction of water molecules traveling through the brain, the researchers found that participants who completed the games saw significant changes in neuroplasticity over time compared to the group that did not complete them. These changes were related to improvements on objective measures of participants’ processing speed, attention, and working memory. “This study reveals that the changes in the nerve fibers, such as increased strength and stability, were related to the improved cognitive ability in adults with a chronic brain injury,” says Voelbel. “This provides great evidence that the brain can change over time, even in people with a brain injury, with computer exercises that improve cognitive abilities.” Reference: Voelbel HML, Rath JF, Bushnik T, Flanagan S, Lazar M, Gerald T. Computerized Cognitive Remediation Affects White Matter Microstructure in Relation to Improved Cognitive Function in Adults with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2026. doi: 10.1177/08977151251414085 This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here. Computer Games Improve Neuroplasticity After Traumatic Brain Injury | Technology Networks
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