The paper describes research on the role and place of computer games in the lives of children and adolescents, and also perceiving how young gamers estimate the impact of various aspects of computer games and experience games in general on themselves.

The study involved gamers between the age of 11 and 19 years. The study is conducted using surveys and interviews. The issues are related to those aspects of games that are perceived as most important, attractive, and cause the greatest emotional response, and also determine the selection of games; how users appreciate game characters including users’ attitudes to the games and the place of the computer game in their lives.

The study revealed that children and adolescents generally have a positive attitude towards computer games and find them a useful and enjoyable part of life, they do not feel shame and remorse for wasting time playing computer games, and are going to continue to play on into adulthood. Playing computer games they learn to communicate and make decisions.

The most important aspect of evaluating game characters is their visual representation.

The character appearance in the game is one of the main factors of their attractiveness. Adolescents do not appreciate only important aesthetic component of the visual images, but also their meaning: reflection of personality or actions of characters in visual images.

Preferences in selecting games are largely determined by the player actions in the game rather than the game plot. For adolescents computer game is an opportunity to try themselves in different situations and get the experience of interacting with other people, who may get inaccessible in real life. A computer game for children is a model of a successful living, so it can be used as a means of personal self-development. Computer games make a full-fledged sphere of life in adolescents through which they gradually realize the importance of school and studies, sports, and hobbies. Playing computer games adolescents relax, socialize and gain social and cognitive skills