BIT BY THE VID BUZZ

BIT BY THE VID BUZZ

FEATURES

P. GREGORY SPRINGER

People die.

They may not be dropping off like summer flies in an electric zapper, but the Deadly Videogame has earned the right to carve more than a few notches on its joystick. Some undeniable, demonstrated power force lurks behind the electronic screen, and no player is entirely immune to its ray, lethal or not.

The word "addiction" gets thrown around loosely when talking about videogames. Are the games themselves truly addictive? Is it a physiological effect, working in the same ways that heroin and nicotine do, setting down cozily inside the body and demanding constant company? Or, is the appeal of gaming merely a habifuation, a social phenomenon resulting from patterns of competition, ambition, religious ritual, and/or peer pressure?

What really gets socked when you put a quarter into a videogame? Is it your body? Your mind? Or only your wallet?

Examine this recent case: Mayo Clinic neurologists reported epileptic seizures occuring in two 15-year-old boys during games of Pac-Man. The seizures were triggered by the rate of light flickering on the videoscreens. Similar cases have been reported during instances of prolonged television viewing.

The standard 30 frames per second flicker rate for television and videogames is capable of inducing real and violent reactions. Peter Burkowski, an 18-yearold Berzerk player, had a heart attack after scoring in the top ten and initialing his win. What other, more subtle effects can happen?

Cardiologist Robert S. Eliot, M.D. at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, found in a study of 1000 patients that the heart rate increases up to 60 beats per minute and blood pressures rising up to 220 within one minute of starting a computer game. "It happens quite a lot but the patients have no awareness," he said, concluding that one full third of all games players have dangerous physical reactions to their scoring techniques.

Enough already! The modern body gets mauled by coffee, microwave ovens, pesticides in bananas, exhaust fumes from school buses, and nearly every other modern convenience anyway, doesn't it? Doesn't anything good happen to videogamers?

According to Dr. Arnold Sherman, an optometrist from Merrick, New York, and chairman of the Sports Vision section of the American Optometric Association, nine differenf visual skills are tested and improved every time a videogame is played: the ability to see clearly, to see motion clearly, to improve eye movement skills, to use eye/hand coordination, visual reaction time, visual adjustability or refinements, memorization, peripheral awareness, and focusing. He also believes that videogames help the eyes develop skills useful in both the classroom and in sports activities.

Is it your body? Your mind? Or only your wal let?

On the other hand, Dr. Francis Young, a Washington State University research psychologist, thinks an increase in nearsightedness has been caused by television and videogames. The lenses of the eyes distort, according to Young, as a reflex action over which individuals have no control. "When it occurs and continues for several minutes," Young has said, basing his hypothesis on the study of myopia in Eskimos, "abnormal pressures in the eyes are developed and the eyes are enlarged. Myopia is a growing problem with young people. It can begin in children as young as six and is progressive."

There has always been someone to cry warnings with every technological advance and with the introduction of any new medium of communication. While, with untested fears, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos outlaws videogame parlors "to protect the youth of the country," more informed studies conclude that videogames "allow (users) to actively manipulate the media and make them more responsive to.. .wishes and needs, enhancing intellectual functioning with increased opportunities for planful, logical and organized problem-solving." The results quoted above by Ellen Wartella, research professor at the U. of Illinois Institute of Communications Research, stress the "good" effects of videogames.

Obviously, you've succumbed to the video high or you wouldn't be reading this magazine.'So, like the millions of other daredevils willing to risk sanity and self-preservation for the sake of a little stand-up adventure, take the following test. See how you rate on survival and smarts on the video battleground. Determine what your chances are to be terminally bit by the vid buzz. Are you socially integrated enough and physically fit to play video games? Are you vaccinated against the tragedy of loss and the frustration of futile competition? Scoreboard at the bottom, with no coin or medical assistance required.

VID BUZZ QUIZ

Situation #1:

After weeks of trying, you've finally scored over 500,000 on Robotron, saving hundreds of mommies and daddies from the deadly Grunts. You still have several fighters left and it looks like you're on your way to a million. Suddenly, next to you and tugging on your leg, is a crying 5-year-old, lost and looking for his real mommy and daddy. The Brain Wave is about to begin. What do you do?

a) Stick your face up to the game, fire away, and drown out distractions.

b) Pick up the kid, appease him by letting him help play the game, and hope you manage to stay alive until the owners of the child appear.

c) Leave the game and help the child find his parents.

d) Beat on the brat with a baseball bat.

Situation #2:

Last week, they had to pry you away from Joust. You dreamed of Silver Buzzards. The week before that, Q*Bert was your only obsession. You wouldn't eat until you'd arranged the carrot slices on your plate into a pyramid. One week earlier, the only love in your life was Tron, etc.

a) This perfectly describes you, a ficklehearted fan.

b) You've been faithful to your favorite, Buzz Bomb, all along.

c) You play new games but return to old ones now and then.

Situation #3:

The sexiest person you know has unexpectedly invited you over for the evening, dinner included. This comes as both a delight and a disappointment, since a new arcade is having a grand opening that same night, with all games free. As you read over the invitation for the third time, the one waiting for your response winks seductively.

a) You explain and ask for a rain check.

b) Make a counter-proposition that you both go to the arcade after dinner.

c) It's been weeks since you touched another human being. Forget about the electronic lover and accept.

Situation #4:

Both you and your best friend have been trying to reach the fifteenth level of Low Life, the new fave rave of the video arcade. So far your scores have been fairly close, but yesterday you discovered a new strategy for doubling your points in every level by jiggling the joystick up and down. It looks like you are going to be top name on the board, surpassing level 15 easily.

a) You share the new method with your friend right away.

b) You wait until you've broken all existing records before revealing the technique.

c) You immediately challenge your friend to a dual play competition.

Situation #5:

You go to the movie Scanners, and see a telepathic psycho interface his brain with the computer of a large industry through sheer will power. The computer explodes.

a) The idea is tempting, to be the mental equivalent of the computing process, but it's not realistic.

b) You are envious, wanting not only to understand but to BE a videogame.

c) Artificial Intelligence (and particularly the mating of man and machine) is disgusting.

Situation #6:

Last summer, you were touch football champion on the business intermural team, Vice President Squad. This summer, the office gang is counting on your practice and participation, but you're not sure you have the time or inclination for such exertion anymore. Some of the fun has gone out of playing. You wonder why?

a) Videogames provide the same entertainment as sports, anyway, don't they?

b) It's just a matter of getting back into shape after a lazy winter.

c) Exercise is a bore, definitely not the '80s style.

Situation #7:

You go to the movie Rollercoaster.

Every time the screen shows the hundredmile-per-hour trip down the Rocket Loop, you get nauseated and dizzy.

a) You tell yourself it's only a movie.

b) You have to step outside and get some fresh air.

c) You throw up, and enjoy it.

Situation #8:

Little by little, you've noticed that the work around the office has been getting done with more efficiency than it used to. You're getting more adept at organizing, making quick practical decisions, and storing those little odds and ends which used to clog up the works.

a) Your thought processes are becoming much more schematic since you've been outwitting game machines.

b) Jogging is responsible for improved physical dexterity and clearing your mind.

c) You're just imagining things. There's as much clutter as there always was and you're learning to live with it.

...Is the appeal of gaming merely a habituation, a social phenomenon resulting from patterns of competition, ambition, religious ritual, and/or peer pressure?

Situation #9:

You are stranded on a desert island with only three videogames. Which group would suit your needs best?

a) Frogger, Pengo, Dig-Dug.

b) Joust, Galaga, Tempest.

c) Pole Position, Zaxxon, Defender.

d) Popeye, Donkey Kong, Burgertime.

e) You'd settle for just one, your favorite. Situation #10:

The price of Baby Pac-Man has suddenly tripled, due to popularity. You'd really like to see if you could outdo your personal best, but the only way to try is to "borrow" the five-spot your roommate left lying on his desk.

a) Take the money; you can discuss the loan interest later (if he notices anything missing).

b) Decide to watch television more and save money.

c) Rob a bank.

GRADING

Add up your accumulated points:

1. a) 10; b) 5; c) 0; d) 10.

When games override a basic human concern, priorities must be challenged.

2.a)8; b) 2; c) 5.

A certain degree of flexibility is important, as fanaticism is possible on both ends of the spectrum. True addicts can jump from game to game, while diehards contentedly follow the same old patterns burning ruts on their retinas. 3.o) 10; b) 8;c)3.

Do you smoke after a hot game? When videogames replace sex, it's time for some serious evaluation of what kind of programming is going on, at the manufacturers and in our heads.

4. o) 5; b) 10; c) 7.

The real test of gaming is competition and ambition. In the future, corporate executives will likely be chosen on the basis of their ruthlessness with a specifically designed video board.

5. a) 4; b) 10; C) 0.

As Kraftwerk predicted, we are the robots.

6. a) 8; b) 4; c) 10.

Videogames provide many of the same physical sensations as sports, including adrenalin flow, heartbeat, and aggravated tension, without allowing the body to exert itself, build up cardiovascular strength, or relieve the nervous anxiety. Beware static cling.

7. a) 5; b) 0; c) 12

Two-D or Three, our bodies react to visual stimuli. The ability to balance those reactions is an indicator of withstanding ability in front of all forms of media.

8. a) 10; b) 4; c) 5.

Games can improve certain reactions, but they're unlikely to actually improve your regular work habits.. .that is, until they develop specified training games for those purposes. Right now, what develops is mostly random, and can't be considered too greatly beneficial (unless your work involves shooting lasers at Galaxians).

9. a) 3; b) 4; c 6; d) 5; e 10.

Is only your ego satisfied by the content and play of the game? Or do you prefer the ones that encourage human feelings, interaction, and story-telling?

10. a) 8; b0; c) 10.

Eric Lewis McGill, 1 8, of Griffin, Georgia, dropped out of school to play Pac-Man. When his parents threatened to move him to his uncle's house in the country, away from his favorite arcade, he burned the house down. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to 10 years' ban on playing videogames. In Japan, theft among young gamesters who need more yen to play has become prevalent.

In the end, crime does not play.

SCORING

80-100: Cold Turkey recommended without delay.

60-80: High Risk Addict and potential victim of Video Attack.

40-60: Moderation is the name of this game. Able to handle the stress and conflicts, while improving character and learning to interact with technology. 30-40: Overly casual attitude will resist the dangers (and also the benefits) of the video screen.

Below 25: Still playing Pong. ■