Beyond the High Score – Getting More From Games

Beyond the High Score – Getting More From Games

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Article by Dave Cooke

It’s safe to say that video games get a lot of bad press. It’s hard to hear about some kind of travesty being committed, especially in America, without also hearing that the murderer, torturer or nasty person in question having played Halo, COD or Pong at some point in their life. Add to this the fact that even being in the same room as a copy of a Grand Theft Auto game turns you into a gangster with a penchant for beating prostitutes to death, it means that a lot of people still have a bad view of video games and video gaming culture in general. Joking aside, this view of the gaming community isn’t helped by the problems it genuinely has, such as a toxic online communities, addiction and sexism. So I thought it might just be nice to have a look at one of the more positive effects of video games, with some specific reference to the contribution playing games has had on my life, in an effort to provide some small redemption to our beloved medium, and perhaps  give some people a greater defence of their hobby than “Ya know, they’re fun and stuff.”

It is my firm belief that video games can provide real life skills. Now, I’m not talking about the ability to headshot a n00b from five hundred yards with your directional stick tied behind your back, as impressive as that may or may not be I talk of skills and knowledge that can actually be useful in the non virtual realm. I’m talking about actual games here, not teaching tools disguised as games (pipe down typing tutors, know your place), as its pretty much cheating if the specific aim of the programme in question is to provide you with a skill.  Due to the interactive nature of video games, compared to a more passive medium such as television or literature, reaction is a key component of nearly any game and, while the pace in question dictates the extent of this (you have to react far quicker while playing Guitar Hero than say Myst), games provide a great environment in which to train reaction times and split-second decision making. I want to go beyond fringe benefits here however, and provide a specific example from my gaming life, which has actually provided me with skills that I use every single day.

I don't care if you have zombies, I'm still not counting typing tutors.

I don’t care if you have zombies, I’m still not counting typing tutors.

I spent the vast majority of my teenage years playing an online MUD called Imperian, Sundered Heavens (for those unaware, and to be honest I can’t really blame you if you are, an online MUD is essentially a text based MMO, think World of Warcraft crossed with Zork). The best part of this game for me was the combat, and to this day it is some of the most fast paced and complex combat I’ve ever experienced in a video game. As fun as interesting as the PvP in this game was, at first it was very challenging, and although this had much to do with the aforementioned complexity, the speed of the game was equally to blame. You see, the problem was that although I was used to pacy action in games, I was also used to seeing what was going on, you don’t quite realise how much of what is happening you take in without specifically thinking about it. Furthermore, whilst I was used to reacting quickly in games that was usually because it took a button press or a short series of clicks in order to provide the desired response. Put a game into text and most of this goes away. So in order to succeed in Imperian’s combat system I was forced to develop two skillsets that have stayed with me to this day: fast touch-typing and the ability to speed-read. These two skills became absolutely necessary to survive in a combat system that required split second action and the ability to parse reams of text flying through screen faster than a Star Wars intro scene on fast-forward. Ignoring the fact that I am using said touch typing at the very moment as I write this article it is a skill that I use nearly every day in some way or another whether it’s for contributing here at Voletic or just updating my Facebook status, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the ability to type, and type fast, is probably going to stay a relevant skill for most of my life. Speed-reading was a skill I never realised I was acquiring while playing Imperian until quite some time later. Most of my early flounderings in the game had me focused on the typing side, making sure I could actually do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. However it has become no less a valuable skill, coming to the fore during my time at university. As someone who spends a lot of time playing video games, its safe to say that I didn’t quite spend enough time doing some of the other university activities such as attending lectures or studying in the library, which meant that most of my ‘revision’ came down to mass cramming sessions just before exams. During these intense educational journeys the ability to take in a paper or a chapter of a book really quickly was invaluable. Plus as someone who spends a good deal of time on the internet, which still presents most of its information via text, I use this skill all the time.

This is just one specific, and admittedly somewhat niche, example of video games providing a tangible benefit to someone’s life, and in this case, mine specifically. Speak to any gamer and they could probably tell you of some similar story either a skill they’ve gained from playing video games or another way in which it’s positively affected their life. Video games are a wonderful and dynamic medium and the contribution they can provide to us and the world in general will only increase as they continue to develop and progress. Plus at the end of the day “Ya know, they’re fun and stuff.”

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