Scotland’s contributions to the video games industry are nothing to scoff at; the country is home to talented developers like Rockstar North, Realtime Worlds, and Outerlight, as well as Consolevania, the excellent Internet/BBC games TV show.

In order to keep Scotland at the forefront of gaming and educate the next generation of programmers, the basics of video game design and animation will be added to the Scottish National Curriculum as part of the new “Curriculum of Excellence.”

“The draft outcomes for our new curriculum are intended to help teachers make teaching more relevant, exciting and engaging,” says Maureen Watt, Scotland’s Minister for Schools and Skills. “Technologies are important areas of the whole learning process and we are keen to receive feedback on the outcomes from professionals.”

“There is huge confidence that Scotland will continue to play an important part in the future of video games and interactive entertainment and we are focusing on establishing firm foundations for lifelong learning and, for some, specialized study and careers.”

For more information on the Scottish games industry, be sure to check out Consolevania’s A Scottish Games Industry Fluff Piece.

Scottish schools to have ‘games’ added to the National Curriculum [Strategy Informer]

Jane Barnett of Middlesex University in London claims people are more relaxed after playing World of Warcraft. She conducted a study of just under 300 WoW players between the age of 12 and 83 and found “there were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type.”

Barnett claims, “This will help us to develop an emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.”

She will showcase her findings at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference being held in Dublin.

So, there you have it: A laid back, mostly non-violent game doesn’t frustrate or anger those who play it. A shocking revelation, to be certain. Perhaps next time she’ll study the affects of Manhunt on convicted killers.

‘Violent’ games can lower anger says one UK university researcher [Strategy Informer]