Luca Peroni

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The introduction of Gaming can be traced back to the 1970s. Since then, this industry grew exponentially due to advancements in technology. Nowadays, the gaming industry is huge, and it is expected to generate up to $196 billion at the end of 2022 (Clement, 2021). With the introduction of new technologies, we can expect several trends for 2022 and 2023 in the gaming industry.

Interestingly, the future of gaming rests on decentralized gaming economies. With the rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, blockchain gaming is expected to achieve tremendous growth with $4 billion of investments (Chetu, n.d.). The latter led to the creation of new niche games, such as play-to-earn, pay-to-earn, and NFT-based gaming.

*Alien Worlds* is one the most popular examples of an NFT-based game. Reaching over 1.1 million users, *Alien Worlds* offers a variety of game activities. Its objective is to earn Trilium (TLM), which is utilized for gaining control over Planet Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.

My brother introduced me to video games when I was very little. I grew up discovering and playing many different games. My parents used to scold me when I played too much, saying that it was bad for me. Growing up, however, I always wondered whether my parents were right or wrong. Hence, are video games damaging, or can they be beneficial in some cases?

An interesting article from the Harvard Business Review reports that unfortunately there isn’t a direct and clear answer to this question. In general, it seems that there are some benefits, such as better control of one’s attention and improved spatial reasoning (Grinspoon, 2020). However, we still do not know whether these benefits are connected with just the video-games sphere, or if they can be identified also in the real world. Nonetheless, gaming has been proven to be quite beneficial for training procedures. For example, in Rosser’s experiment (2007), the performance of surgeons in laparoscopic surgery has been analyzed. The author hypothesized that surgeons who played training-based video games performed better than surgeons who don’t. Results show that surgeons playing for more than 3 hours per week made 37% fewer errors, were 27% faster, and score 32% better than other surgeons who have never played (Rosser, 2007).

Yet, there are many potential downsides with gaming: recent research associates gaming with obesity in teens, given that if you are sitting in front of a screen for a long time, you might not get enough exercise (Grinspoon, 2020). Also, this effect is increased by increased consumption of food while gaming. This is because when gaming, the signals that indicate fullness get impaired. Also, stress derived from gaming activates the reward center of the brain, leading to more appetite (Grinspoon, 2020).

Conclusively, gaming can have both negative and positive effects concerning its usage. In short, moderated gaming can beneficial for cognitive functions, socializing in the virtual world, and for training purposes. On the other hand, gaming addiction could provoke psychological and physiological problems, such as sleep deprivation, insomnia, depression, aggression, and anxiety (Grinspoon, 2020). If you are interested in seeing a detailed list of the benefits and disadvantages of gaming, check this out https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645

References

Chetu. (n.d.). Top 5 Game Development Technologies and Trends for 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.chetu.com/blogs/gaming/game-development-trends.php

Clement, J. (2021, November 19). Video game industry – Statistics & Facts. Statista. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/topics/868/video-games/

Geyser, W. (2022, May 16). The Top 11 NFT Games You Should Check Out in 2022. Influencer Marketing Hub. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/nft-games/

Grinspoon, P. (2020, December 22). The health effects of too much gaming. Harvard Health. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645

Rosser, J. C. (2007, February 1). The Impact of Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century. Archives of Surgery, 142(2), 181. https://doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.142.2.181

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Augmented Reality (AR) is defined as the expansion of physical reality by overlaying digital or computer-generated information into the user’s field of view (Wang et al., 2020). In recent years, AR technologies gained importance and notoriety. Its market was valued at $3.5 billion in 2018 and it is expected to reach $200 billion by 2025 (Rejeb et al., 2020). Mainly, its presence is more pronounced in the gaming and entertainment industry, healthcare, tourism, and educational industry. Commonly, AR applications are utilized through a smartphone: for instance, barcode scanning and virtual modeling are two common utilizations of AR technologies. The latter can be utilized to visualize items such as clothing, houses, jewelry, cars, and many more.

Above, you can see a picture of the mobile application PokemonGo. This AR-based game allowed users to walk around the real world and chase pokemon, through location tracking and mapping technology. Launched in 2016, this game conquered the hearts of the people. While in 2016 PokemonGo got 232 million users to play, in 2021 they still managed to hold 71 million active users (Iqbal, 2022).

In recent years, AR has been considered a valuable option to increase efficiency and decrease costs in supply chains. Specifically, in last mile logistics processes, which consist of the last leg of the supply chain, concerning the delivery of the product from the warehouse to the customer (Bányai, 2018), it appears that AR could decrease its costs. It is important to note that last-mile logistics processes contribute to 50%-75% of the total distribution costs, thus it is important to find a suitable solution.

Simple graphic of last-mile logistics processes.

Currently, AR has the potential to decrease downtime. One way is from increasing efficiency in the loading and unloading phases. For instance, Head-Mounted-Displays (HMD) can project in the user’s field of view the optimal loading of the truck, visualizing where to place each package in the vehicle, thus maximizing usage of the space available and reducing the number of trips (Wang et al., 2020). Once the deliverer arrived at the customer’s destination, HMDs can project which package must be picked for that address (Wang et al., 2020).

Moreover, AR has the potential to decrease the time of delivery and improve workers’ conditions thanks to HMDs. For instance, it has been tried out a windshield HMD display, which projects to the driver the route to take, speed, location of package delivery, package, and customer information (Lim et al., 2018). The benefits of such practice are increased efficiency, decreased mistakes and accidents, and better working conditions (Blümel, 2013).

Furthermore, in many industries, AR demonstrated to be beneficial for training procedures. Hence, new employees in the last mile logistics can be trained via HMDs, ensuring fewer mistakes and a faster training process (Ferrati et al., 2019). This benefit is of particular importance for last-mile logistics processes as employees in this sector are leaving their jobs frequently, thus increasing employee turnover rates. As a consequence, many costs are involved with turnover, such as downtime, looking for replacement, and training of new employees. AR could be the solution: by giving better working conditions, simplifying tasks, minimizing errors, and increasing efficiency. Also, training could be quicker and more efficient.

References

Bányai, T. (2018). Real-Time Decision Making in First Mile and Last Mile Logistics: How Smart Scheduling Affects Energy Efficiency of Hyperconnected Supply Chain Solutions. Energies, 11(7), 1833. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11071833

Blümel, E. (2013). Global Challenges and Innovative Technologies Geared Toward New Markets: Prospects for Virtual and Augmented Reality. Procedia Computer Science, 25, 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2013.11.002

Ferrati, F., Erkoyuncu, J. A., & Court, S. (2019). Developing an Augmented Reality Based Training Demonstrator for Manufacturing Cherry Pickers. Procedia CIRP, 81, 803– 808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2019.03.203

Iqbal, M. (2022, June 30). Pokémon Go Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.businessofapps.com/data/pokemon-go-statistics/

Lim, S. F. W., Jin, X., & Srai, J. S. (2018). Consumer-driven e-commerce. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(3), 308–332. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijpdlm-02-2017-0081

Rejeb, A., Keogh, J. G., Wamba, S. F., & Treiblmaier, H. (2020). The potentials of augmented reality in supply chain management: a state-of-the-art review. Management Review Quarterly, 71(4), 819–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-020- 00201-w

Wang, W., Wang, F., Song, W., & Su, S. (2020). Application of Augmented Reality (AR) Technologies in inhouse Logistics. E3S Web of Conferences, 145, 02018. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202014502018

The effect of Gaming on society

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How AR can enhance last-mile logistics processes

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