CCP Games Partners With University of Iceland

To produce The Friendship Machine.

CCP Games this week announced a partnership with the University of Iceland for an online course titled Friendship Machine: Forming a New Type of Human Connection. The online course explores the science behind how people forge relationships and how videogames create a new type of human connection. The course is available online and includes the first three weeks with unlimited access, final quiz, and certificate available for $50.

“There has been a growing concern over the past years that computer games could have seriously detrimental effects on gamers’ mental well-being and social skills,” Ársæll Arnarsson, a professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Iceland School of Education, said. “In selected cases, this may be true. But for the vast majority of people involved, studies actually indicate findings that gameplay platforms can effectively function as friendship formation devices. The communication and information technology can create an alternative space for disconnected individuals to meet, transcending geographical and socioeconomic barriers.”

For more information on the course, check out its website.