Video Game Research Paper Topics

Video games have been a topic of discussion in recent decades. While the rise of realistic video games has been praised as a technological marvel, many parent groups, such as the Parents Television Council, have argued that these games influence children to commit violent acts. Plan a video game research paper that addresses technical or political aspects of gaming, or both.

Electronic gaming has a relatively short history. However, in the brief period in which they have been on the market, electronic games have evolved quite a bit. Since the first interactive video game was created in 1967, the video game industry has grown to include 3-D graphics and online and remote control capabilities. Research paper topics in the historical aspect of video games include the history of video game consoles, the history of PC gaming and the histories of popular game franchises.

Video game design is a fascinating topic. Game design teams work together to develop complex electronic worlds encompassing story lines, graphics, user interfaces and much more. Video game design firms include music composers, 3-D animators, computer programmers and even voice actors, all of whom work together to create a single product. Research paper topics on game design include 3-D animation, artificial intelligence and interactive nonlinear storytelling.

Video games have been controversial ever since 1976, when a game called "Death Race" caused a minor controversy by featuring pedestrians being run over and killed on screen. Since that time, games have caused controversy for allegations as wide ranging as inciting school violence to distracting kids from their homework. Research paper topics on video game controversies include their effect on motivation as well as violence.

Video games are sometimes a topic in the broader discussion over gender roles. Traditionally, the vast majority of the video game consumer market has been male; however, the number of women playing video games has been on the rise for the past decade. Topics for research papers on video games and gender roles include gender stereotypes in video games, the role of video games in male/female gender stereotyping and the changing gender balance in the video game consumer base.