|
World Of Warcraft Helps Older People With Cognitive Skills, Study Says
Huffington Post "World of Warcraft" isn't just for nerds and Mr. T — it's also great for older folks. Researchers split 39 men and women between the ages of 60 and 77 into two groups. One group played "World of Warcraft" and the other didn't. |
|
15 Minutes of Fame: Counseling people who happen to play games
Joystiq From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. … |
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We’re giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame.
Do your friends, family or coworkers still cling to old-fashioned notions of video games as the provenance of social misfits and those who can’t stay focused on the demands and rewards of real life? Take heart — there are professionals out there who understand the gaming perspective and are working to help normalize gaming as mainstream pastime it has actually become. One of the many leading the charge is WoW player and master’s-level psychology student Erinia of Cenarion Circle, whose track toward becoming a licensed mental health counselor includes helping both players and other mental health professionals understand the pulls, demands, and concerns of players who enjoy games like WoW.
Erinia has discovered that magic sweet spot where work, play, and a passion for all of it come together. “Am I an exceptional player?” Erinia asks. “Probably not, but WoW has opened up a lot of doors for me in the real world.” We would accuse the lady of understatement here; click past the break for more on counseling, World of Warcraft, and new perspectives on how to help troubled people — who happen to enjoy playing games — understand themselves.
Continue reading 15 Minutes of Fame: Counseling people who happen to play games
Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame
15 Minutes of Fame: Counseling people who happen to play games originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
 The Guardian |
Of course video games affect people. That doesn't mean we'll all go on a …
The Guardian One – bless him – said he liked to bake cakes mentioned in World of Warcraft. Many of us will recognise this. After spending hours playing Tetris, you wander blinking outside and speculate that one of those L-shaped blocks would fit nicely into the … |
It’s nice to celebrate the rare occasion when people in this game aren’t being horrible to each other, isn’t it? Iero of Blue Recluse on Draenor (US-A) writes in with the following inspirational story:
The screenshot I am submitting is not a picture of an odd graphical quirk or the result of perfect timing hitting the print screen button. Rather, this screenshot is an awesome display of people who do not all know each other but all share a common hobby in playing WoW, coming together for a cause.
Continue reading Around Azeroth: Dear hearts and gentle people
Filed under: Around Azeroth
Around Azeroth: Dear hearts and gentle people originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
What’s a Sunday morning without the funnies, anyway? Sunday Morning Funnies is your weekly list of WoW-related web comics.
Oh, hi there. I know you’re probably expecting Amanda Miller, but you’re getting me instead this week. I loved reading the Sunday funnies while I was growing up. My favorites were Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. Needless to say, The Daily Blink this week managed to simultaneously cause a fit of laughter, a wave of nostalgia, a sudden urge to dig up my old Calvin and Hobbes collections.
Enough with the reminiscing — how about we see what’s out there on the web this week, huh? You can grab your coffee before we start. I’ll wait!
Continue reading Sunday Morning Funnies: Verbing weirds people
Filed under: Comics, Sunday Morning Funnies, Hotfixes
Sunday Morning Funnies: Verbing weirds people originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
 BBC News |
'Virtual people' to get ID checks
BBC News Avatars are typically used to represent players in online games such as World of Warcraft and in virtual communities like Second Life. As their numbers grow, it will become important to find ways to identify those we meet regularly, according to Dr … |
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider’s pages.
My guild, like most, has seen players quit the game for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is another game stealing their gamer hearts, and equally often it can be a real-world time constraint that is given priority. What interests me is how the majority of these players return eventually. Most of the time, this seems to happen when their real-world issues get resolved or when they discover that other MMO just doesn’t love them as much as WoW did. Nearly all of our regular guildmates who have “given up WoW,” including selling or deleting accounts, have returned.
I had even “quit” WoW for nearly a year and let my subscription go. Just before I came back, I had been playing Fallout 3 and beat it, completing pretty much everything. When it ended, I wanted a game that I could keep playing, a place where my character could keep growing and the world wouldn’t end when I beat some random boss. I instantly remembered WoW, bought Wrath of the Lich King, and have been playing strong ever since.
If you or someone you know has ever made the decision to give up the game and move on — more than just taking a break — what has brought you or your friend or guildmate back into the world? Is it a realization that WoW just might be the best MMO on the market today? Is it a recreation of spare time for gaming? Or is it something else even more interesting?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Breakfast Topic: What brings people back to WoW? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 09 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
 Silicon.com |
Social network accounts outnumber people on Earth
Silicon.com The figures include accounts set up for online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and 3D virtual world Second Life, as well as social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and online dating sites. In-Stat analyst Vahid Dejwakh said in a … |
 The San Francisco Appeal |
Internet Etiquitteist: People Keep Defriending Me On Facebook
The San Francisco Appeal The rest of us live in a constant state of trepidation about how to transfer real-world manners into the realm of Facebook, eHarmony and Youtube videos of chimpanzees riding Segways. I was lurking in the World of Warcraft forums a few months ago. … |