OSAKA -- Japan's first academic society to conduct research on computer games held its commemorative opening on Sunday.
Some 140 researchers and company representatives participated in the event in Shijonawate, Osaka Prefecture.
A group of researchers and professors established the Game Amusement Society to study computer games with an interdisciplinary approach. They will also construct and analyze new digital games, the society said.
In addition to analyzing the relationship between people and games, the society will look into utilizing games in such fields as education, welfare and art. It will also lecture junior high and high school students on creating games.
"We would like to create a new academic society with no precedent," said Katsuhide Tsushima, a professor at the Osaka Electro-Communication University and the society's president.
The society is also considering holding competitions for computer games created by individuals and providing an opportunity for amateurs and professionals to share their creations on the Web and comment on each other's work.
The society has about 100 regular members, mainly academics, and over 300 Web members.
Anyone interested in computer games can join the society for free at www.dmic.org/game
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