Category: Gaming

Some video games have stories that affect us deeply, whether it’s because the characters feel the same way you do or they give you a strong dose of nostalgia. The following five games inspire empathy through their carefully written tales and thought-provoking choices of the characters. This video includes spoilers for these games.

Gone Home

Gone Home explores the theme of returning to your childhood home as an adult. The main character is Katie Greenbriar, who is unable to find her family when she comes back home after spending time overseas. At first, it seems that this game is a supernatural horror, but it soon becomes clear that her family’s absence has a natural explanation. Katie’s sister Sam started dating another girl and ran away after her parents refused to accept their relationship. This game will draw you in with its story about the emotional strain of being unaccepted by your family, while providing some home that the characters will find happiness in the end.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

This game probably evokes the strongest emotions of all the ones on this list. It’s about two brothers with a father who has fallen ill. They must adventure together to find a cure for his illness, while developing a strong bond between them. The brother of the main character dies when the pair fight the final boss, which players may find to be an unbearable loss. This ending isn’t a complete surprise, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a bittersweet story that will many players will find heart-wrenching.

Papers Please

Other games on this list allow you to passively empathize with the characters, but Papers Please forces you to take a more active role in their fate. The player’s character is an immigration officer who decides whether to allow visitors to enter the fictional country of Arstotzka. On its surface, Papers Please is a simple puzzle game in which the player makes admittance decisions based on an increasingly complex set of rules. However, it’s really more about the moral dilemma of whether to allow desperate people to enter the country illegally or get bonuses to your paycheck by enforcing the rules.

Night in the Woods

Night in the Woods is about Mae, who has dropped out of college due to her deteriorating mental health. She returns home to discover that her hometown has changed, leaving you with a melancholy feeling that deepens as the story progresses. The narrative-focused gameplay will deeply affect you long after the game ends.

Celeste

Celeste is about Madeline’s attempt to climb Mount Celeste as a means of escaping the pressures of her life. During this journey, Madeline’s feelings of insecurity and depression begin to manifest as a darker version of herself. Celeste provides a powerful perspective on the struggles of mental health.

Gaming laptops are designed to be powerful. They have fast CPUs, lots of RAM, advanced graphics processing and a high screen resolution. They also multitask well. However, you may be wondering if they’re a good idea and if you should purchase one. Thankfully, there are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if you need a gaming laptop or possibly a desktop computer.

1. Where do you game?

If you primarily game at home, you may not need a gaming laptop. Instead, you could purchase a high-end desktop for nearly the same price as the laptop, and it may even have more power. However, if you like being able to change rooms while you game or you travel and game, a gaming laptop may be a better choice.

2. Do you want your laptop to have style?

Older gaming laptops didn’t have much style. The powerful processors, RAM and internal components often meant they were clunky and heavy. However, those problems no longer exist. Modern gaming laptops are sleek. They often contain keyboards that light up in different colors, making the keys easier to see, and they’re just as thin as a regular laptop. If you want a laptop with style, choosing a gaming laptop may be the answer.

3. Do you multitask?

Gaming laptops aren’t just built for gaming. They’re built for power users. Gaming laptops have the ability to multitask several resource-intensive apps at the same time. This means that if you wanted to watch a movie, check your email, create graphics and browse the web, you could do all of that simultaneously.

4. Do you need a powerful computer for work?

If you don’t game, but have a resource-intensive job or work from home, you may want to consider a gaming laptop. Due to a gaming laptop’s power, it’s great for people with work-from-home jobs that require lots of video conferences. They’re also great if your company requires you to install and use lots of software simultaneously. If you happen to work in graphics, video or sound production, gaming laptops have enough power for you to successfully use high-end photo and graphics creation software, CAD programs and video and sound creation and editing tools.

5. Do you need computing versatility?

If you need the ability to stay or go, a gaming laptop can provide it. Gaming laptops are dockable. Meaning that you can buy a docking station and connect peripherals, like extra monitors, keyboards and mice to the station. While you’re at home, you can dock the laptop. This allows you to enjoy an experience similar to working on a desktop. If you have to leave suddenly, you can quickly unplug your laptop and take it with you.

Whether or not you need a gaming laptop depends on your computing needs. If you like high computing power in a portable design, a gaming laptop may be for you. However, if you don’t take your work or games with you on the go, you may be better served with a desktop, which can be cheaper and more powerful than a gaming laptop.

Monetizing a hobby offers an opportunity to change your lifestyle. Whether you are looking for a way to earn extra income or you want to replace your current income, playing video games may offer a solution. You can make money through video games in a variety of ways.

Become a Game Tester

If you are looking for a way to replace your current income or change your career path, then a game tester is a great opportunity. A game tester, or beta tester, is paid to play video games that are not yet available on the market.

As a game tester, you look for bugs or problems with the game. Game testers also look for ways to break the game or problem areas that may cause gamers to stop playing as it gets boring. By testing the game before it goes to market, you are able to try out new games and get paid in the process.

Become a Coach

Competitive gaming is a growing area of interest for many individuals. When you are skilled at a competitive game, you may have opportunities to start your own business. Consider working as a gaming coach and playing games with others who want to learn from your skills.

A game coach takes on a similar role as a traditional coach. You teach others to play different games. The primary difference is that you actively play with the individuals you coach. Depending on your skills and the games you play, you may work with professional gamers or new players.

Stream Your Game Play

Those who are skilled at popular video games may make money by streaming their game play on YouTube, Twitch, or similar tools. Showcase your skills through online streaming and through online video making. Showcase special tricks you use when playing a game to stand out from other streamers.

Keep in mind that your income potential for streaming and making videos may vary significantly. Try different types of videos, editing, and strategies to find the best solutions to make money while playing your favorite games.

Try Professional Gaming

Professional gaming is a growing opportunity for gamers. A professional gamer participates in competitions set up by Major League Gaming, Intel Extreme Masters, and similar organizations. You play the games at arenas and the organization streams the competition for viewers around the world.

Professional gamers make money by winning competitions, so the income potential varies based on your skills. Avoid games that you are still learning and focus on games where you have mastered the skills. Since it is a competition, you can expect other players to have professional-level skills in their chosen games.

Playing video games may offer opportunities to make extra income or even replace your income from a traditional job. The key is remaining realistic about the amount you can earn. Expect your income from gaming to grow as you gain skills, build up a following, and work toward long-term goals in gaming.

A gaming chair has ergonomic properties since you can sit in it comfortably for a long period of time. However, it isn’t an ergonomics chair, which is specifically designed for this purpose. This video will explain the similarities and differences between gaming chairs and ergonomics chairs.

Gaming Chairs

A gaming chair is designed for long sessions of computer or video gaming. Some of these chairs are built for a specific genre, which can affect their construction. For example, chairs customized for racing games typically have raised front lips that resemble the bucket seats in racing cars, providing a more immersive gaming experience.

Gamers need to maintain a steady view of their monitor, so they often have a fixed headrest. While this feature may be comfortable if a monitor is the only thing you need to look at, it isn’t as beneficial for looking at a monitor and sheets of paper on a desk. Some gaming chairs include head pillows and detachable lumbar support, which research shows can reduce back pain. Winged backrests and a greater recline than a traditional chair are also common features of gaming chairs, although ergonomic chairs usually recline even more. Many gaming chairs also have flashy color schemes and a stylized design, which aren’t common features for ergonomic office chairs.

Ergonomic Chairs

Ergonomic chairs are specifically designed to provide both comfort and physical support. Each person has their own set of ergonomic requirements, so these chairs typically have more adjustments than gaming chairs. For example, all ergonomic chairs should provide good lumbar support, so the backrest should be highly adjustable. At a minimum, these chairs should have adjustments for their back angle and tilt tension. Some models also allow users to adjust the pressure of the lumbar support.

It should also be possible to adjust the seat height so that your feet rest flat on the floor with when your knees are slightly lower than your hips. The seat depth should also be adjustable to provide more leg and knee support than a traditional chair. Most ergonomic chairs have padded arm support, which users can adjust for their arm length and height.

Comparison

Gaming chairs have additional design considerations not related to ergonomics. They often have multicolored upholstery to match a particular gaming theme, which increases cost without adding functionality. Bucket seats also make gaming chairs more expensive, but don’t provide any ergonomic value. This feature also makes gaming chairs less comfortable for larger users.

Summary

While gaming chairs are more adjustable than an ordinary chair, they aren’t as adjustable as a true ergonomic chair. Furthermore, ergonomic chairs encourage you to change positions throughout the day while using it, which is crucial for maintaining good health.

China greatly restricted the right of legal minors to play video games in August 2021 by allowing them to play for only three hours on typical weekends. While this policy doesn’t literally ban video gaming, it further tightens existing restrictions for video gaming by minors.

Overview

No one under the age of 18 can play video games at all from Monday through Thursday in China. They can only play for one hour from 8 pm to 9 pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The previous policy was set in 2019, which limited play by minors to 90 minutes on weekdays and three hours on weekends.

The Chinese government has stated that the purpose of the policy is to prevent children from becoming addicted to video games. It also indicated that it timed the implementation of the new policy to coincide with the beginning of the new school year. A government spokesperson added that the restrictions were in response to complaints from parents, who felt their children’s studies had been severely impaired by online gaming.

Private Enterprise

China also clamped down on private enterprise in 2021, especially the tech sector. Most recently, it has expanded these restrictions to other industries like private education. Analysts expect gaming giants in China like NetEase and Tencent to experience minimal impact, as the great majority of their customers are adults. However, the new policies are likely to curtail the growth of the gaming industry in that country.

Registration

China has previously implemented a registration system requiring online gamers to register under their real name. In addition, the policy change in August clarifies that online gaming platforms can’t provide their services to anyone who hasn’t registered for the services under their real name. Tencent also stated that it has been working on technologies to comply with these requirements since 2017, adding that a relatively small portion of its revenue comes from minors. In particular, only 2.6 percent of the company’s gross receipts are from players under the age of 16.

Martin Lau, Tencent’s president, stated that his company was preparing for additional regulations on online gaming. His company has already placed limits on its platforms that would limit the time minors could spend playing games like "Honor of Kings." For example, the current restrictions limit play by minors to two hours on holidays and one hour on other days.

Criticism

Many users have sharply criticized the latest policies on Chinese social media, arguing that they’re too strict. Others have said the restrictions are overly broad because they apply to all minors, regardless of age. In addition, gamers have complained that the policies will prevent them from remaining competitive in professional gaming, which is quickly becoming a lucrative career in other countries.