Video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a two- or three-dimensional video display device such as a TV screen, virtual reality headset or computer monitor. Since the 1980s, video games have become an increasingly important part of the entertainment industry, and whether they are also a form of art is a matter of dispute.
The electronic systems used to play video games are called platforms. Video games are developed and released for one or several platforms and may not be available on others. Specialized platforms such as arcade games, which present the game in a large, typically coin-operated chassis, were common in the 1980s in video arcades, but declined in popularity as other, more affordable platforms became available. These include dedicated devices such as video game consoles, as well as general-purpose computers like a laptop, desktop or handheld computing devices.
The input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, joysticks, mouse devices, keyboards, the touchscreens of mobile devices, or even a person’s body, using a Kinect sensor. Players view the game on a display device such as a television or computer monitor or sometimes on virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game sound effects, music and voice actor lines which come from loudspeakers or headphones. Some games in the 2000s include haptic, vibration-creating effects, force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets.
In the 2010s, the commercial importance of the video game industry is increasing. The emerging Asian markets and mobile games on smartphones in particular are driving the growth of the industry. As of 2018, video games generated sales of US$134.9 billion annually worldwide[1], and were the third-largest segment in the U.S. entertainment market, behind broadcast and cable TV.
Homeacre-Lyndora
Homeacre-Lyndora is a census-designated place (CDP) in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,906 at the 2010 census.[1]
Lyndora was linked to Butler, Evans City and Pittsburgh in 1908 by the Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler and New Castle Railway, an interurban trolley line. The line closed on 15 June 1931, and the trolleys were replaced by buses.
Homeacre-Lyndora occupies a broad portion of central and northern Butler Township, north and west of the city of Butler. The U.S. Census Bureau locates the CDP at 40°52′10″N 79°55′14″W (40.869461, -79.920460),[2] but it consists of several developed areas separated by forested valleys. The Homeacre portion of the CDP is located on high ground west of Butler, while Lyndora is directly adjacent to Butler in the southeast corner of the CDP, in the valley of Connoquenessing Creek. The CDP is bordered by Meridian on the west and by Shanor-Northview in Center Township on the north.
U.S. Route 422, the Benjamin Franklin Highway, passes through the CDP, leading east 22 miles (35 km) to Kittanning and west 25 miles (40 km) to New Castle. Pennsylvania Route 356, New Castle Road, follows the old routing of US-422, leading east into downtown Butler, and joining 422 in the northwest corner of the CDP. Pennsylvania Route 68 joins PA 356 in the Homeacre part of the CDP, leading east into Butler but traveling west to Connoquenessing, Evans City, and Zelienople. Pennsylvania Route 8 passes through the eastern part of the CDP, interchanging with US 422 and leading south into downtown Butler and north to Harrisville and Franklin.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.2 km2), all of it land.[1]