WE BRING YOU THE BEST ON:  Video games often have a high educational value because they help to absorb abstract concepts, geometric or mathematical. They also provide a good stimulus for intellectual curiosity, musical or aesthetic. The most obvious example of practical use are flight simulators, considered a fundamental tool for learning and training of future pilots. Video games designed for sports are not only designed for consoles and computers. In this way, children and young people who do not usually go to the gym can find a more attractive alternative when exercising. The news from Nintendo, in terms of peripherals, will release of Wii Fit Plus, an enhanced version of the exercise table with more custom routines.

What is Second Life?

Second Life is much more than a game, is an online community where you live, build a house or even make a living. In the 1993 novel 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson, the incredible adventure of Hiro, the protagonist, starts in the 'metaverse', a computer-generated virtual world where users create their own bodies connected three-dimensional display their works of art, entertain each other and doing business. Today it is not a novel. Anyone can have a second life in Second Life. Much more than a game. The virtual reality helmets and gloves of data, and appeared in the news ten years ago, but then the sad reality was reduced to some ugly polyhedra around in the middle of a black space. Since then, the games have progressed at a frantic pace. Second Life is the ultimate in virtual reality.

You do not need helmets or gloves, but a broadband connection. The user is not isolated. Quite the contrary. Second Life direct descendant of the new generation of online games. For years, players no longer fighting against orcs or aliens controlled by your PC or console but with or against other players online via the Internet anywhere in the world. So much so that the next generation consoles like Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, have made the Internet their most important asset.

The online gaming business is huge.

An estimated 10 million people who pay monthly fees to play through the Internet, and many others who connect sporadically. Among the best known are World of Warcraft, Everquest, or The Sims. According to this definition, Second Life is a MMOG, or massively multiplayer online game ('massively-multiplayer online game'). But much more than a game. In Second Life there is no mission, no orcs slay zombies or strafe. In return, no money, business, games, culture and gender. The creation of the 'metaverse'. Says its creator, Philip Roseadle, Second Life, rather than a video game, is a country. Roseadle is the former coach of Real Networks. In 2003 he founded Linden Lab, the company that owns Second Life. Their goal: to create a 'metaverse', as described in the novel 'Snow Crash'. Anyone can become a citizen of Second Life for free. Just register on their website, download and install the program. With this and a good graphics card, you can enter a world where almost everything is possible, from becoming a furry yeti three meters high, to build a replica of the Parthenon and use it to give a party with live music. Everything inside the screen, of course.

Anyone can become a citizen of Second Life for free, just register on their website, download and install the program. On 13 May, the BBC Radio1 station decided to offer his Second Life music festival weekend, which takes place in the real world in Dundee, Scotland. The chain created a virtual concert area with large video screens, where avatars could teleport and seeing live Pink, Snow Patrol and The Streets, among other groups. For those who prefer to stay home (virtual) created the BBC radio that sounded virtual music concert, which also could be free to duplicate and give to other users. Second Life is in fashion. Among several famous citizens, including writer Cory Doctorow, attorney Lawrence Lessig, Professor Peter Ludlow or the gallery owner Anna Krenz. Other virtual worlds:

* World of Warcraft, with more than six million players signed, is the most popular online game. In WoW we will truly be defined characters and missions to accomplish, but there are also gold to buy and user communities or 'guilds' (literally, guilds)
* Croquet Project, founded in 2001 is an open source platform dedicated to community building and collaborative applications.
* Active Worlds was born in 1994 and is similar to Second Life in many ways, but has not been commercially successful and is virtually inactive.
* The Sims Online, is based on the popular Sims game, which recreates the daily life of a family, but in this case is played with the avatars of other people connected.

Money for nothing

Second Life currently has 250,000 registered players. Not much compared to other games on the network. However, Second Life is a thriving virtual economy, which moves half a million real dollars every week. The key is private property. Second Life citizens can buy and own land, houses and virtual objects. Of course, they can sell to other players can buy and sell all kinds of objects and services. Linden Lab charges registered players of Second Life $ 9.95 a month for an account 'premium'. In return, the right to buy and own land and objects. Just for subscribing, receive an initial sum of 1,250 'Linden dollars', and 500 extra each week, to connect or not. The 'Linden Dollars' (L $) are the official currency in Second Life. The exchange rate is 300 L $ per one U.S. dollar. Buy a plot of 512 m2 virtual hard to change a few dollars, plus a small monthly fee for its use. For the wealthy, an entire island comes out of L $ 375,000, about $ 1,250.

Among the owners of islands is the entrepreneur and investor Joi Ito, known among others as head of Technorati, a blog search page. Ito uses the island as a conference and exhibitions. Is not the only virtual world, and which also belongs to a private club within World of Warcraft called 'We Know', frequented by other entrepreneurs in the technology industry Speculation. Another famous character in Second Life's Anshe Chung, a language teacher born in China who lives in Frankfurt. Chung has a real estate business. Buying plots of land at low cost, built in are apartments, holiday complexes or mansions, and then sold or rented at higher prices. What happens is that your business is in Second Life, and both land and houses are just pixels on a screen. Chung's fortune is estimated at 75 million 'Linden dollars', $ 250,000 hard cash. Her company has 17 employees virtual real spread between the U.S. and China.

Advertisers see Second Life as a new channel where you promote your products with huge virtual ads. Second Life is not the first case in the development of virtual economies. On eBay it is easy to find for sale World of Warcraft characters with a lot of points, powers and weapons, over $ 500. Nothing expensive, considering that meet those standards may involve more than 100 days of play. Such activity is attracting the eyes of the industry. Advertisers see Second Life as a new channel where you promote your products with huge virtual ads and sponsored arts events. On the other hand, some companies are using the game as a meeting room, where they can talk while presenting plans, models, prototypes or videos, saving lots of money on air travel. In other cases the virtual environment is used to train employees and create support groups for people with disabilities.

The Dark Side of Second Life

The virtual world has not escaped vandalism and extortion. Some players are dedicated to 'deface' parcels of land with their buildings and then sell at high prices to the same users who are spoiling the view. Some viruses are also known that once three-dimensional loose from moving to those who play. In the real world, Second Life's servers have suffered several attacks that have been forced to close access to the system. On the other hand, Second Life is already in U.S. courts. Marc Bragg, a Pennsylvania lawyer bought land at prices lower than normal, taking advantage of a flaw in the auction, and sold at high prices. Linden Labs canceled his account, confiscating their properties and virtual money. Bragg is suing them and claiming $ 8,000.  

Things to do when you're an avatar

One of the first things to do to get into Second Life is flying. Gravity is more lenient in virtual worlds, and simply press the E key to move through the air anywhere. Newcomers receive a standard body, male or female. Through a menu option is accessed aspect editor, where you can spend hours tweaking hundreds physical details, from the color of the shirt to the length of the ears, through the shape of the head, hands, or hair. Registered users can create avatars or buy more complex, such as dragons, orcs or strange aliens. When you run out of tweaks, it's time to go shopping. With the option 'Find' (find) you can teleport to any of the numerous shops on Second Life. There, for a few 'Linden Dollars' are jackets, hats, sunglasses or why not, angel wings or Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Once happy with your appearance, Linden global citizens can find out where to live. The free land is cheap, and in principle, with a little patience anyone can build their own home. Within Second Life provides a complete 3D modeling program that create any kind of object. You can apply textures to objects that have the appearance of wood, stone, metal or glass, for example. In addition, a programming language called LSL for objects to interact among themselves and with other players. This defines what happens when someone touches the object collides with it, or puts it, if it is a garment. Through another program called Avimator can create animations for the characters health, dance, or give somersaults in the air. Making his way in the world.

None of this is easy. You need to have knowledge of design, image processing and programming. But this is what allows some people to earn a living in Second Life creating objects and animations. Some of the residents come true to win $ 8,000 a month with virtual activities. Second Life also has its own media: the online journal 'Second Life Herald' and the weekly "Metaverse Messenger '. A newcomer with potential only have to change real money 'Linden dollars', and can not only purchase land and a house, but all the furniture and a full wardrobe. The problem is not spending money, but how to win. Indeed, one criticism is that Second Life without computer skills, it is difficult to make a living, so that some users may have little incentive to enter.

Businesses in Second Life, ranging from real estate speculation, as in the case of Anshe Chung, pending sale of clothing or animations, through the casinos, cybersex and, of course, videogames. One of the most popular games is Tringo, a cross between bingo and Tetris. Anyone can buy a copy of Tringo to play privately for 15,000 L $, $ 30. Its creator has sold hundreds of copies, and is the first licensed game in the real world, which will soon be a version for Game Boy Advance. Second Life also has its own media: the online journal 'Second Life Herald' and the weekly "Metaverse Messenger ', plus various blogs, podcasts, forums and wikis. A whole ecosystem of people who play, work and even make money. Your interest and effort are true, although his characters are only images on a screen.

MMOG: Massively Multiplayer Online Games

This mode recreates the network gaming virtual worlds where millions of people gather every day to bring an alternative life. If your child spends hours in front of the computer, is very quiet and focused on the food and keeps strange phone conversations, one of two: either in love or playing a multiplayer game online. In English they are called Massively Multiplayer Online Games, which are usually summarized in MMOG. In China the symptoms of this phenomenon is more serious: a lifelong friendships tragically just a "take away beyond the potion of eternal life" (an action game) and the divorced litigants who gets to see the character of Lineage, online video game playing to whole families, from the nephew to his grandmother, from the lawyer to the florist.
Do they differ from traditional video games.
* The play on the Internet. There is no point to install the game on your computer if you do not have internet connection, because the relevant information is stored on servers in the company producing the game.
* They work by subscription. In addition to buying the game to install on your computer, you must pay a monthly fee to stay in the game. It's like a tax of citizenship.
* Are multiplayer. You can not play against the computer or determine who plays every game with the user. The player is not the center of history, there are not even actors. As in the real world, the popularity or importance of a player depends on its ability to make a name in the gaming community. Everyone starts from scratch.
* They are massive. They are designed to accommodate thousands of people simultaneously in a virtual world, so that all the characters coexist and interact in real time.
* They are persistent. The world in which the game develops is independent of the player, has its own history and not disappear or stop when the user disconnects. That is why comparatively have a life much longer than traditional video games, which usually last less than a year, although commercial success. In fact, never end, the producer's end when the number of subscribers does not justify the expense of maintaining the servers.
* The goal is not to win but to exist and improve. Throughout the game you earn experience levels allow the user to enter new territories, carrying new weapons or hobnobbing with higher level players. The areas are filled MMPOG VIPS (reserved for important figures.) To get them you have to work hard and have good contacts.

The origin of the MMOG

The MMOG are direct descendants of the classic RPGs pencil and paper Dungeons & Dragons in particular. The first computerized versions arrived in the late 70s under the name Multi-User Dungeon (or MUD Multi User Dungeon). "The community was already there," recalls Jessica Mulligan, executive producer of Entertainment Software Urbina and a pioneer in the MMOG. "We just had to give them a place to meet." While MUD flourished, Mulligan found a detail that would define forever MMOG design: "In a good game, you tend to become attached to his character and the virtual world." That player-character relationship is the cornerstone of a multibillion dollar industry that generated in its day hundreds of books, conferences and projects in order to race. And until college majors. Between the late eighties and mid nineties the first game became small text adventure games. In the mid-nineties started the Internet revolution, which would be decisive in the MMOG.

Although experts are still arguing about which was the first MMO in history, all agree in pointing out the title Ultima Online MMO that put on the map in 1997. The designer, Richard Garriott, and had become rich in the first four installments of the series and wanted to give a new dimension. Ultima Online The prototype engine was built on the previous Ultima IV and was a battle between the Orcs (mythological character created by Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings) and humans. With a novelty: instead of paying for the game connection times offered a flat rate much more attractive and affordable. This decision, which cost sweats its officers was one of the keys to its success. When they reached 200,000 subscribers, the producers were convinced they had found a vein. A year later, the Koreans fired MCsoft which is still the most popular MMO of all time: Lineage.
Lineage: Korean alternative

You could say that the success of Lineage has 'trick'. Until 1998, Korea maintained a law inherited from the Second World War that prohibited the importation of material from Japan. In 1997, the Nintendo, Sega and Sony were all the rage in the rest of the world were MCsoft illegal in Korea and had already planted the seeds of the Asian MMOG Kingdom of the Winds. Korea, the world's highest broadband penetration in the world and high rates of overcrowding, was the starting point of an epidemic that spread across Asia, with over four million users. Meanwhile, in the U.S., came EverQuest. EverQuest, as rich as Russia. In 1999 there were some games around for Internet games like The Wheel of Fortune, though the king was still Ultima Online. EverQuest was less ambitious in terms of social structure but it was two years younger, something that the world of video games means better graphics, more action and more entertainment. EverQuest was more violent, more land and had more character development elements. Although it reached half a million people, got the MMOG EverQuest gaming enclosure to bring a little beyond: to Time magazine and online auction houses. Verant, the company he founded Everquest was quickly acquired by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).

EverQuest resources (lives, potions, elixirs ...) were bought and sold on eBay as if they were a commercial and players paying large sums to be done with them and play with greater advantage. Edward Castronova, an economics professor at the University of California, estimated in 2001 that EverQuest was comparable to the 77th largest economy in the world (between Bulgaria and Russia) based on per capita income of its inhabitants and the gross domestic product (GDP) it generated. The data for his thesis them out of eBay, the online auction site. Virtual goods, real money. Everquest economy invented the massive online games. The players auctioned resources did not exist in real life, buying property in land and even imaginary characters (complete user accounts) sometimes by figures in excess of three zeros. Some players began to speculate in land and property, a few months ago a player bought a virtual island for $ 26,500 in Project Entropia. That caught the attention of economists, sociologists and philosophers of the world, which embraced the new "synthetic economies" as a perfect tool for analyzing real.

But there were problems. Some computer criminals managed to double virtual money and put other players in exchange for U.S. dollars, winning $ 70,000. Programmers have spent a month taking out of circulation all the duds that fraudsters had left behind. Lineage much as Sony will disable hundreds of thousands of user accounts by fraud and scam. Although it was also a fundraising campaign for tsunami victims in Asia by selling virtual gold. From Everquest, MMOG titles began to multiply. New game modes appeared that the market improved gradually, the historic World War II Online, the classic Final Fantasy XI, Gothic Dark Age of Camelot or Anarchy Online, a beautiful fantasy cyberpunk, and the first truly massively multiplayer futuristic. Then came the great successes of the cinema: The Star Wars, Matrix Online, Lord of the Rings Online ... So up to today. The stars of the moment are mostly sequels (Ultima Online II, Lineage II) and The World of Warcraft (WOW). There are four million people playing WOW. The veteran in Spain is called Prison.

Machinima: film and video games

A new way of understanding by computer animation that combines the spirit and technology of cinema and video games. What is Machinima? Since the film premiered in Toy Story, performed by a computer animation has not stopped evolving. For each new production based on this new technology have created new tools that have enabled their managers to perform more advanced effects and more realistic images. In parallel with this development, have also sought ways to simplify the work and allow more people to create productions of its kind at home. The latest trend, which has found shelter on the Internet, is the Machinima, a new technique that gets anyone to create a movie using the actors as actors in a video game, and the scenario of the sets in which they move in items. Thanks to some specific programs to create Machinima films, you can use the game engine itself (which is part of the program code designed to move the three-dimensional environments) for an audiovisual project. Machinima filmmaker's work is to place different lighting points to which contains the same setting you have chosen, and put the cameras needed for each sequence and mark the route of the actors.

Another technique used to make these films need more people working on this project and editing work similar to that used by makers of live TV programs. For that reason, must interconnect multiple computers or consoles. The actors, in this case are the players of each of the machines should have a rehearsed choreography. The work of the director, in this case is to choose the best shots (fired by each of the machines) in order to create a film taken from different points of view. In both cases usually post-produce the film. This means that includes new audio tracks or video effects, so that the production has a more professional finish. This, of course, use video editing tools as common as Adobe Premiere. A final technique for this type of production, much more sophisticated, is to schedule or add new characters to the game code itself. This is the technique that was used for the final video of Andy & Lucas, Mi Barrio, in which popular singers in Cadiz, appear in the environment of the popular game The Sims. In this case, a professional group of samples from movements of the pair of singers, placing sensors on their bodies, and create an animation from scratch, always using the sets and textures of the game.

An increasingly common concept for games clearance

Although the genre is relatively new, the Internet has found a perfect means of communication. Increasingly, the pages where we can find references to the Machinima world. Two of them, certainly the highest-bearers of the cause are www.machinima.org and www.machinima.com. The first is the official website of the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences, which is awarded to the best works in this genre. On this site, how could it be otherwise, open the doors to anyone who begins to make his first steps with this visual tool to become a member of the official community. On the second page you can find a large number of projects undertaken by fans of this genre throughout the world. It includes libraries with independent films, productions produced by producers who work on gender and some other curiosity. This aspect is important to note the success they are having some projects, for example, Red vs Blue series, or StrangerHood.

The first is the adventures of interstellar soldiers, wearing uniforms of colors that makes the title, who live in permanent conflict. The second is a kind of Friends (the popular television series), but done entirely by computer, where a series of grotesque characters share experiences in an American suburb. In both series, with the engine of the video games Halo and The Sims, respectively, highlights the corrosive sense of humor and even surreal, common in such projects. Other relatively important productions are Larry & Lenny, in which two lumberjacks have disrupted their way of seeing life and projects Stranger Company, based in the Matrix universe.

Cheap and free online videogames for all ages

Make a Machinima production is not too complicated. This involves concepts of 3D animation (for example, 3D Studio Max). The Fountainhead website is a program called Machinimation with which you can make a film with such a famous game engine as Doom III and Quake III Arena. Of course there are other ways to work with the video game based. In websites like GameTrailers.com jobs are there fans of the most successful in using trailers of the latest launches to create all sorts of projects. The virtual entertainment industry makes various proposals to improve the physical and emotional state. In recent years, several game companies have opted for the creation of tools aimed at improving health and fitness of the players. It is a growing market that experts predict a great future. Titles such as Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Fit and Active Sports EA lead this segment with more than 2,000 million dollars annually.

A few years ago, the game was marked by health specialists as one of the causes of high rates of childhood obesity in the developed world. However, with the arrival of new consoles like Nintendo Wii, and peripherals such as the table or the command Wii Fit Wii Remote, propose actions to put the body in motion, the same experts have changed their minds. Now many recommend the use of some of these games due to the benefits this can bring. In some hospitals, even video games are used as part of recovery therapy because they have beneficial effects on patient health. They get better response to treatment. Some nutritionists believe that this kind of games are good to combat childhood obesity During a summer course, "Brain and Games", some experts concluded that these entertainments may favor the development of skills and visual skills. Some games improve the "visual-motor coordination (movement response to visual stimuli), the spatial reconstruction ability or sensitivity to contrasts. However, its use is not without risk to health. In some cases, cause motion sickness (feeling of motion sickness), migraine attacks or seizures in people with photosensitivity. Experts warn against the over-exertion, especially in users with little sports habits

The expert in psychology of new technologies Flare Juan Alberto Marti recalls that it was found that children who use video games solve the Rubik's cube in less time than those who do not play, so we may assume that abstract skills have developed more . Outburst Marti is a pioneer in the defense of these devices as therapy for emotional learning and skills development. Recovery and physical education hospital. Last June, the fifth held in Boston Annual Conference Games for Health Games for Health. " Many experts explained various initiatives in which video games have led to improved physical condition of patients. This is the case of hospitalized children who, in addition to maintaining physical tone, has helped them improve their willingness to recovery. Also, through the use of massively multiplayer game, many patients are related to other players who are outside the hospital. This helps them to better control the obsession with the problem and its immediate surroundings.

American Medical Association want the government to promote these games as an educational method. Beyond the extreme cases, since queries are beginning to take into account the benefits of such games as a form of physical education. Such is his account in the United States, medical associations have asked the Government to encourage their use. The goal: to use in the near future, in the classroom as a method of instruction. According to the organizers of the conference in Boston, the segment of the games for health is emerging as the fastest growing sector within the digital entertainment industry. Ben Sawyer, co-founder of Games for Health, has estimated that the sale of games like Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution and EA Sports Active, have earned a worldwide revenues of 2,000 million dollars in 18 months.
"Exergaming"

In the U.S., the use of video games to improve health and fitness called "Exergaming". The term comes after combining the words "exercise" (exercise) and "gaming" (present participle of the verb play.) It refers to the exercises and physical activities through the use of digital games as part of training and to motivate the user in a certain direction. Children playing with Wii Sports consuming three times more calories than those who stay at rest. A recent study at the University of Oklahoma (United States) has developed a scientific method to verify that these games are healthy. To perform the same selected a group of 23 children between 10 and 13 years. The researchers measured the calories burned at rest, while watching television and when they went. The data obtained were then compared with the calories burned when using Wii Sports (boxing and bowling games) and the dance platform Dance Dance Revolution (through play "Dancing Stage"). The results showed that children spent the same amount of calories when they were moderately and three times higher than while resting.

Nintendo Revolution

Much of the success of digital games designed to improve health and fitness is due to the Japanese company Nintendo. The appearance of your Nintendo Wii console with wireless controller, along with the game Wii Sports, assumed in 2006 a revolution in the way of interacting with this type of fun. Some of his most outstanding titles are games of tennis, baseball, golf and boxing. But it took a dramatic turn of events introducing Wii Fit, a fitness title with a balance board where you can practice more than 40 exercises to improve posture. The Nintendo DS handheld gaming has brought physical and mental well-being of adults who had never come to this area. At the last fair of digital entertainment sector E3, held in June, Nintendo introduced the first version of Vitaly Sensor, an accessory for the Wii as a clamp, which is placed on the finger. This device is able to read the blood flow and the stress level of the user through some light sensors. The idea is that you can connect to the Wii Fit board and teach you to relax through breathing exercises.

The news from Nintendo, in terms of peripherals, will be completed in the fall with the release of Wii Fit Plus, an enhanced version of the exercise table with more custom routines. For their part, Wii Motion Plus, an accessory to the command that promises to improve the sports gaming experience and skills, is available on the market since late July, along with the game Wii Sports Resorts, aimed at sports outdoors. You may browse or launch a watercraft frisbees. Ubisoft. The game developer Ubisoft has title to play sports with the Nintendo Wii in the series "My Fitness Expert. "Stay fit" or "Cardio training" are some recent appearance. In these games, we propose a series of exercises classified in different categories and tailored to the needs of users. The next December, Ubisoft plans to launch "Your Shape", a video game that includes a camera so that in each session, perform the user recognition and propose a customized exercise program.

The German drug maker Bayer has designed Didget Bayer, a device that will allow children with diabetes control the level of glucose. Moreover, the Nintendo DS has a wide range of games designed for the physical and mental health of adults, a segment of the population that had never been close to this area. Securities are proposed as "Lets Yoga" with tracks for yoga and pilates. More recently, he has designed "Walk With Me", which includes two pedometers to develop a record of activity by walking, plan routes and improve gait. Other manufacturers such as Sony, have since 2006 for the PlayStation 2 video game-oriented sports, such as "Eye Toy Kinetic Combat" and "Eye Toy Total Fitness." Both are based on external EyeToy digital camera and made available to the user virtual personal trainers guide you through a customized program of exercises.

But not only the game developers have initiatives for Nintendo consoles. The German drug maker Bayer has designed Didget Bayer, "a device for the Nintendo DS which allows kids with diabetes keep track of blood glucose level. The idea is that small are aware that this practice is necessary in your body. The peripheral is accompanied by several mini-games, as the child performs the checks, unlock new levels or accessories to complete the games.

Beyond the console

Video games designed for sports are not only designed for consoles and computers. Different initiatives envisage the creation of sports halls in which physical activity is mixed with the game and new technologies. In this way, children and young people who do not usually go to the gym can find a more attractive alternative when exercising. In Spain, the company manages Interaktivo sports centers and gyms and bodybuilding, with different interactive fitness equipment for training. These exercises aim, through games, the development of cardiovascular routines, strength, agility and coordination, along with specific sports such as tennis, soccer or basketball. Among the products Interaktivo is "Xerdance" developed from aerobic exercises.

Another initiative of the German company MyVITness different products available for exercise at home. One of the most popular is "Bodyracer", which is used with exercise bikes, spinning or elliptical. The games are controlled by a handle mounted on the handlebar, while the movement of the characters goes through the pedal. Expresso Fitness is an American company that also develops machines to exercise different muscles. Expresso Bike is a bicycle with multimedia technology that lets you watch TV, listen to music or connect to the Internet. But above all, given the opportunity to participate in a game that simulates realistic training scenarios bike from mountain passes to the coast of California. Its estimated price is $ 5,000 and is only sold in the United States.