Online gaming

Definition – Online gaming is when you play a game that has network capability either with others, working together or against others e.g. Halo 4, Destiny, and Battlefield 4 etc.
Games also are played on platforms such as Computers or consoles e.g. Xbox/PlayStation/Wii/Computer
Advantages:
Increase in memory and capacity – most games test the knowledge of the player in most cases trying to remember certain things that were mentioned or viewed so in turn these players gain an increase in memory capacity
Fast strategic thinking and problem solving – With games such as Halo wars and other real time based strategy games it requires the user to plan ahead of the game and solve problems if they occur e.g. how to defend against an upcoming attack or how to overcome an enemy, this will improve this thinking
Develops hand-eye coordination – with players looking at the screen there are things to focus on all the time e.g. moving to a position you would have to look at the map and surroundings to ensure you get there quickly and safely they would have to keep looking at the screen to ensure this and having their hands on their controllers to move; they cannot look at their controller if they need to focus on the screen so by using the information on the screen telling the player where they are they can use the controller to make further decisions without looking at the controller
Beneficial to those with attention disorders – There are games that help children and adults with ADD and ADHD to help conc3entrate on games that require the player to focus on certain tasks. A good example of one of these sites/programmes is Captain’s Log; on captain’s log this allows the user to select which games they want to play based on their need(improving inattention or controlling impulsive tendencies)
Skill building – Most games include a cooperative feature allows players to join together and help one another to complete tasks this helps to develop teamwork other skills can also improve like concentration, awareness and strategic thinking

Disadvantages:
The hardware you use can be destroyed easily – having fragile hardware can be frustrating for those who find it hard to keep it safe or those who live with “dangerous” people that can potentially harm the hardware, in anyway the hardware is damaged it can cause major effects on your computer e.g. if your memory storage is damaged then most of your memory has either been corrupted or destroyed. This can be one of the most annoying thing to gamers as they could have gotten to the final part of a game and then the next day they see the file has been destroyed
Can trigger seizures to people with epilepsy – there are games out there that contain flashing images ALL these games must contain a warning if they do contain flashing images so that people with epilepsy are warned to not get the game, play it or watch it. This disadvantage can be avoided if these games have a warning but there’s a problem with that, people with epilepsy are forced to only play subtle games since flashing images I would say normally are formed around violent games
Less exercise whilst playing stationary games – Game consoles or Computer games are those where they are stored on a device the people that play games are normally “stuck” in front of a screen play the same or many games constantly. There is however a solution to this one as well it’s a thing that both Xbox and PlayStation have come up with; games that require the player to move in front of the console. Xbox have come up with a thing called the Kinect and PlayStation have gotten something called PlayStation move. These have games that linked with the item which, gets them to complete tasks by moving, most of the activities required gets the player to “exercise” in a fun way
Can take up too much of your time – Like I mentioned in a previous point, players spend many hours in front of a screen this means that rather than doing homework or important