ABSTRACT
The toy designers, developmental theorists, and researchers who have predicted positive or negative effects of technology-augmented play materials often focus on one or two aspects of the toy or virtual product to make their predictions about the potential effects of play with those products. The contexts may be physical or virtual, and the virtual context can be further divided into digital games and online play environments. Technology-augmented play materials also can be described for three age levels: infants, toddlers and preschoolers; elementary-age children; and adolescents. Platform action games are those in which a virtual player is controlled by the user through a series of obstacles, obstructions, or other types of actions that require a combination of basic actions such as jumping and running. Sandbox games are those that give a virtual space for creation, experimentation, building, and similar activities. Similar to digital games, the transparency, challenge, and accessibility of online play environments may vary greatly depending on the environment.
