At present, little is known about why subjective time loss occurs whilst playing video games other than that it may relate to features of escape, immersion and arousal-all of which have been implicated in the development of addictive behaviours. This study examined subjective time loss of 40 undergraduate students (26 males and 14 females with a mean age of 21.4 years) whilst playing one of two video games in an experimental setting. Mood state before and after game playing was also examined using the Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF, Grove & Prapavessis, 1992). Results found that, females significantly underestimated the time that they were playing compared to males. Total Mood Disturbance increased after playing one of the games, but only for participants who reported that they would liked to have continued playing for longer. There were no gender differences in relation to mood state. It is concluded that time loss is not (in itself) a precipitating or facilitating factor relating to addictive behaviour patterns. Read more...

No sooner is a visual medium invented than it becomes used for pornographic representation - games are no exception. This paper chronicles depictions of sexual intercourse within game content and the presence of pornographic imagery that utilizes the game aesthetic whilst attempting to examine some of the motivation behind its creation and use. Unlike historical accounts of the stimulating effects of art, such as men’s arousal at the realism of Sansorino’s nude Venus, or Pliny’s account of a man’s infatuation with the sculpture of Aphrodite of Caridos, sex in games exists within a cyber-culture that offers access to a broad range of erotic, graphic and specialized pornographic materials. The authenticity of digitally mediated experiences – desire-driven assemblages of the social and technological – is given consideration in terms of whether the perceptual nature of sexuality is undergoing a transformation, allowing for wider patterns of variation in erotic sub-cultures. This paper recognizes how these sub-cultures remain focused upon, and constructed around phallocentric fantasies and desires, but begins to reflect on how the substance of the body and the sexual object is continuing to shift and diversify. Read more...

This paper reviews the many similarities and commonalities between video-game playing and slot machine gambling in response to Johansson and Gorestam in 2004. Read more...

This experiment employed a 2 (third vs. first person) x 2 (blood on/off) x 2 (sex) design in order to examine the effects of two internal video game manipulations: the presence of blood and point of view on participants' perceptions of the game. Overall, when the blood manipulation was on, participants perceived greater gore. Players were significantly more focused when they played in the third-person point of view than when they played in first person. Males were more involved in the game overall regardless of point of view, but females were more focused and involved when they played in third, not first, person. In addition, we wanted to see if game manipulations and perceptions of the game affected aggressive outcomes. Those who played the game in the blood-on condition had more physically aggressive intentions, and when players were more involved and immersed in the game, they reported greater hostility and physically aggressive intentions. Findings are discussed as they relate to mental models Of media violence. Read more...

Three experiments examined the effects of rewarding and punishing violent actions in video games on later aggression-related variables. Participants played one of three versions of the same race-car video game: (a) a version in which all violence was rewarded, (b) a version in which all violence was punished, and (c) a nonviolent version. Participants were then measured for aggressive affect (Experiment 1), aggressive cognition (Experiment 2), and aggressive behavior (Experiment 3). Rewarding violent game actions increased hostile emotion, aggressive thinking, and aggressive behavior. Punishing violent actions increased hostile emotion, but did not increase aggressive thinking or aggressive behavior. Results suggest that games that reward violent actions can increase aggressive behavior by increasing aggressive thinking. Read more...

Research conducted over several decades has shown that violent media increase aggression. It is now time to move beyond the question of whether violent media increase aggression to answering the question why violent media increase aggression. The present research tested whether violent video games produce a hostile expectation bias-the tendency to expect others to react to potential conflicts with aggression. Participants (N = 224) played either a violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts. They were asked what the main character will do, say, think, and feel as the story continues. People who played a violent video game described the main character as behaving more aggressively, thinking more aggressive thoughts, and feeling more angry than did people who played a nonviolent video game. These results are consistent with the General Aggression Model. Read more...