For Mom and Dad... Have you ever wondered what your child was rambling on about at the dinner table when he or she started saying things like VR or RPG? If so, you're not alone. VR and RPG arent new text messaging acronyms they're acronyms for gaming and this article is going to introduce you to some of the more common forms. If you at least thought of the Internet when you heard VR or RPG however, you're on the right track. Exclusive to the online environment, VR or RPG which consequently stands for virtual reality gaming and role playing games are just two aspects of a gaming world gone wild. The days of playing scrabble in front of the fireplace are over in today's generation, but we dont believe you'll hear too many people complaining about it. Today's generation is fascinated with online gaming an opportunity to play shooting games over the Internet with hundreds of people at a time. Available to anyone with a computer and fast Internet connection, there are thousands of online games available to play by anyone... sometimes free and sometimes for a fee. They range from the familiar family board games to strange and more complicated games which require a hundred page manual to understand. One thing that they all have in common however is that they're fun to play. The most common type of online game you'll probably run into is the Cool math games - usually located on educational sites or Yahoo! for Kids for example. These games may or may not involve other players, but they're always full of color, they're fast to download, and they're fun to play. Since they run inside the web browser, no special equipment is needed. These are the simple games more intriguing than checkers, but no more difficult to play than chess. Another type of online gaming is more violent than the ones we described above and its similar to the shoot-em-up type games found on the first Nintendo and Playstation systems. Designed from the first persons point of view, the player typically maneuvers around the screen as a weapon-clad hand periodically changing weapons as the games scenario permits. The violence in these games vary from mild to offensive, and as a parent, you're cautioned to monitor your children's access to them especially since these games are played online with other people. Next, in terms of complication or violence, comes the virtual reality gaming and role playing games that we introduced earlier. These types of games like Raze 2 require an extensive amount of time spent online since players assume the role of a game character in play. Players work hard to build up an inventory of weapons or skills none of which can be accomplished in a period of thirty minutes or less. They then go on to interact with other characters which extends game time even longer (if it even stops). Both virtual reality gaming and role playing games require and encourage strategic thinking, but as parents, you may not be comfortable with the violence that's prominent in some of these games. Nor may you be comfortable with the amount of time that playing these kinds of games can consume. Depending on the complexity of the game, any one person could spend at least six months at a game and having access to thousands of other players simultaneously doesn't exactly make them easy to walk away from. Our best advice is to learn about these games right along with your child and make the decision to play them (or not play them) together. You can find some helpful advice about making computer decisions with children in our article entitled, Protecting Children Online.

Its a Hoot! Admit it you still crave a good game of scrolling Super Mario or Dig Dug just like you did back in the day. We all do because playing them brings back some of the fondest memories. But it isnt easy to play these Shooting games the way we used to. Unless weve kept the systems and cartridges of the past in good working condition, our only trip down this jagged pixel lane is through a little known gem called emulation. Through emulation, you can play some of your favorite games from the past including games made for Commodore, Atari, and Nintendo. Emulation refers to the ability of a program or device to imitate another program or device and it tricks the software into believing that a device is really some other device. It is also possible for a computer to emulate another type of computer. For example, there are programs that enable an Apple Macintosh to emulate a PC. All that gobbledy **** doesnt really mean too much until you discover that with the right emulator, your computer can play all your old favorite games. And the news gets even better. You can download emulators from the Internet free. You can download Amiga, Commodore, GameBoy, Playstation 1, and Nintendo emulators plus you can download the games (ROMs) that these machines play. Our favorite emulator is the ZSNES Emulator. This particular program emulates the old Super Nintendo console and you can learn more about it yourself by visiting. This program comes with an extensive help file and walks you through the process of setting up a copy on your own PC. At the very least, your system needs a 486/100 processor, 14.5MB of RAM, a VGA card, and a Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card. However a system with a fast P200 or higher Pentium processor, 32MB of RAM, VGA card, and Sound Blaster 16 or 100% compatible sound card yields the most realistic results. But dont think that just because a console is on the computer you cant enjoy your favorite gaming accessories. The ZSNES Emulator lets users maneuver around games with the keyboard and a joystick. But enough about the emulator - You probably want to know what kind of games you can play, right? Called ROMs, you can play any game on your PC that you played on the Super Nintendo System including: Raze 2 , Bomberman 5 Super Battleship Beavis n Butthead Bustamove Clue Dragonballz DreamTV Final Fantasy 4 Frogger The Great Waldo Search Inspector Gadget Jeopardy Deluxee John Madden Football Mariokart Marvel Superheroes Megamans Soccer Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Monopoly Mortal Kombat 2 Pinocchio Power Rangers Race Driving Carmen San Diego SimAnt SimCity SimCity 2000 Super Mario RPG Sonic Space Football, cursed treasure 2 , Starfox Streetfighter 2, hitstick , Super Black Bass Super Ninja Boy Super Punch-Out!! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Themepark Troddlers Utopia Vortex Wacky Race Wheel of Fortune Wings 2 Wordtris World Soccer 94 Yoshis Island Zelda 3 ... and tons more. Downloading these games is a simple matter of finding them online and there are plenty of websites that host them. Try shooting games for kids for simple but addictive flash games. Be aware that theres an issue with downloading these games and its a legal one. Basically, youre not allowed to download and play any game that you dont already own on a cartridge. If can abide by this law, you can revisit the past, in the present, on your brand new PC.