Interactive entertainment programs that can be played back on computers or special playing machines connected to television sets. Some games are sold on compact discs that can either be played in CD-ROM drives connected to computers or CD players that are proprietary. For example, Sega games play on Sega players, Data Discman games play on Data Discman players, CD-I games play on CD-I players, etc. Games are generally authored by game vendors and cannot be modified or updated for education uses by users. Educators who think that their students are spending many hours in computer labs for academic purposes may discover that a large portion of computer lab time is taken up with game playing. More research needs to be conducted on the fascination of games so that educators can make better use of building these motivational factors into more serious learning materials. According to
Pereira (1994), CD-ROM games are overtaking market leaders such as Sega and Nintendo that captured the early game markets with players that were not compatible with PC, Mac, or other desktop computers. Games are popular and addictive, in part, due to the release of endorphins in the brain, especially among women according to
Carlton (1994a). (See also
MUDs)
