Regrettably, in this post I have almost no progress to report regarding my chosen Genius Project: investigating the properties of different video game genres as they pertain to helping reduce anxiety in anxiety-prone individuals. The main causes of this delay and lack of progress have been a busy course load at school in addition to a looming college application deadline; both of these responsibilities have surpassed my Genius Project in terms of priority in recent weeks. I HAVE, however, resumed the process of sending my video game survey to the students of Sage Creek High School to fill out at their leisure; in this way, I will hopefully be collecting data in the next few days. And I must admit, it has been fascinating to both gather data first-hand from none other than my fellow students and analyze it to determine the most popular video game genre for anxiety-alleviation purposes.
Because I do not have any other progress to report, I will get straight to the point. In terms of passion, I am still firmly committed to and passionate about my chosen project. As I stated in previous blog posts, this project is the ideal combination of two of my most prominent interests: the field of medicine and my favorite leisure activity, video games. I have been interested in medicine ever since I enrolled in Principles of Biomedical Science at Sage Creek High School, and I have enjoyed video games since I was first introduced to them at age three, so, for an individual like myself, a Genius Project that examines the ability of certain (if not all) video game genres to alleviate anxiety is the perfect project! All things considered, and my explanation aside, I can say with confidence that I am indeed still passionate about my project idea.
I can also say that I am being considerably challenged by this project. While there are certainly particular activities that are known to alleviate anxiety and can thus be recommended to people suffering from it, not all of these methods will accomplish this goal for all individuals. Henceforth, while it is my goal to determine the most effective video game genres at alleviating anxiety, I could very well discover at the conclusion of my data collecting that there is NOT one particular genre that is best suited for this purpose. An additional challenge is the fact that within the main genres of video games are contained various subgenres that combine aspects of one, two, or more main genres. A prime example is the Platformer subgenre, which can fall under either the Action or Adventure genres. Therefore, if an individual selects "Platformer" as their favorite type of video game to play to relax, I must consider both the Action and Adventure genres in addition to the Platformer subgenre when determining the most effective overall genre of video games at alleviating anxiety. Finally, I am unsure whether a neurologist, an endocrinologist, or a video game designer would be the most appropriate mentor for a project such as my own. As I mentioned in previous posts, I believed myself to be set with a mentor earlier this year, but plans unfortunately changed, and I found myself once again searching for a would-be mentor for my Genius Project.
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| Popular video games such as Super Mario Bros. (shown above) and Super Mario Galaxy (shown below) both fall under the Platforming subgenre of video games. The Platforming subgenre falls under both the Action and Adventure genres of video games, as platformers consist of both action and adventure elements. Photo Credit Super Mario Bros: Polygon Photo Credit Super Mario Galaxy: Nintendo Life |
At this point in my project's timeline, I can not say that I have had any impact on my community. I have currently been both surveying the students of Sage Creek High School to gather data on their favorite genres of video games for relaxation as well as writing blog posts updating you (my readers) on my progress every two weeks. Therefore, my project has currently had no community impact, especially considering how I have no concrete product as of this time. As the first trimester wraps up and I move into trimester two, however, I will be enrolled in Biomedical Innovations, a course which incorporates many research skills into its core curriculum; this will prove immensely helpful to me as I pursue the ultimate goal: the formation of a report detailing the various genres of video games and their effects on the human brain. This report will be made available to the public free of charge, and this is how I see my community impact being made.
I hope that you all continue to stay tuned for future updates; the journey has only just begun, and it is sure to prove to be a memorable and exciting one.
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