The Gaming World of Steam

For some people playing video games is a great stress release. You may even say it could help them let off...Steam (pun certainly intended).

The Steam logo

This kind of Steam is not the kind that rises out of a pot of boiling water; it is a vast game distribution and communications platform for people who play video games on their computers. It is estimated to  account for 50-70% of all online game sales, an industry that is about $4 billion big, and support 7.5 million concurrent users as of February 2014. This is ten times as large as the 75 million active users (those with an account) that Valve reported in January 2014. This monster is huge and it's getting bigger.

Some games that a free to play and available once Steam has been installed

The major company behind the Steam platform is Valve Corporation. The platform allows users to download games, save information on a cloud, chat with other players in game space, and keep friends lists. Steam is constantly changing to fit its evolving clientele, a must for any technological company. Until May 2010, Steam users had to have the Windows OS, meaning players on Macs and Linux systems were nonexistent. Steam not only fixed this issue, but made its cloud platform-independent and cross-compatible (Mac people could play against PC people, etc.). It reached out to make some games available on the PlayStation 3 console, and it is currently working on its own video game console project, called the Steam Machine. It even allows iOS and Android users to use Steam on their mobile phones. It's incredible.

Pretty much the most awesome computer game of all time.

One of their most popular games is the FPS game Portal, which features the new portal gun weapon, designed to allow the character to move throughout an obstacle course by shooting start and finish wormholes around the obstacles. It's an addicting game that only takes about an hour to play, but it's wonderful to test problem solving skills and strategy. Its sequel, Portal 2, even has a multiplayer mode and is one of the few available on PS3. Some other games they have distributed include the popular HalfLife 2 series, Crysis 2, and Left 4 Dead 2, and Team Fortress 2.

I know from personal experience that the games Steam offers are some of the most challenging I've ever played. I like that most are suited for a single player, and even if they aren't, the online community is large enough to supplement a single player with a full field of opponents. Most games are available on Steam for cheaper than they would be in a store. One thing that Steam is famous for doing is giving 70% of the profits to the game designers and developers, instead of the 30% they get from retail sales. This has led to some calling Steam an "effective monopoly," but no more has been said about it since then.

Installing Steam is very simple. At the top of the store's home page, there is a green button that says "Install Steam." The system will have to be told which version to download according to your OS, but everything beyond that is pretty much standard installation stuff.

Then all you have to do is make a Steam account, log in, and start playing.

Warning: these games are extremely addictive. Play only over school breaks so you don't fall behind on work.

Good luck!