Posted November 09, 2011
English lenguage, and some russian
Posted November 09, 2011
The meaning of various less than common words. As well, trash talking in online games greatly increased the speed at which I type. I've also picked up the odd historical fact here and there.
Those are the specifics, but the most valuable lessons have been in the area of creative problem solving, teamwork, adapting to changing situations and many other practical skills that, although could have been learned elsewhere, were experienced through gaming during my youth.
Those are the specifics, but the most valuable lessons have been in the area of creative problem solving, teamwork, adapting to changing situations and many other practical skills that, although could have been learned elsewhere, were experienced through gaming during my youth.
Post edited November 09, 2011 by Cameron
Posted November 09, 2011
Video games have taught me How to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Fallout!)
I learned what I need to do in order to survive in post-apocalyptic wasteland and that I would rather be a Champion of the Wastes...but I won't let those little buggers in the Hub pick pocket me!!
Deus Ex taught me about the existence, not the actual function because really in that game they are EVILLLLL, of FEMA.
I learned what I need to do in order to survive in post-apocalyptic wasteland and that I would rather be a Champion of the Wastes...but I won't let those little buggers in the Hub pick pocket me!!
Deus Ex taught me about the existence, not the actual function because really in that game they are EVILLLLL, of FEMA.
Posted November 09, 2011
I'll go the poetic route and say that, besides pretty much teaching me english, video games taught me to never ever give up on my dreams. This largely contributed to my 'be whoever I want to be' attitude to life and for that I am grateful.
Posted November 10, 2011
Games increased my English vocabulary (and even grammar competence) a lot, especially Infocom's text adventures, which had a pretty sophisticated writing style.
My knowledge of certain historical periods, and history in general, has also improved, thanks to strategy games (Civilization, Europa Universalis), and adventure games with a historical setting. Often it's not the game itself that provides the information (though the Civilopedia contains a wealth of information), but the game triggers an interested for reading more about the respective period. Games aren't a very efficient means of teaching historical information (the game itself tends to get in the way of the teaching), but they are uniquely well suited for letting people actually experience a given setting, and/or give them an impression how it _felt_ to live at that time.
There are some abstract skills, like planning/strategizing, which may also have improved due to my gaming habits.
My knowledge of certain historical periods, and history in general, has also improved, thanks to strategy games (Civilization, Europa Universalis), and adventure games with a historical setting. Often it's not the game itself that provides the information (though the Civilopedia contains a wealth of information), but the game triggers an interested for reading more about the respective period. Games aren't a very efficient means of teaching historical information (the game itself tends to get in the way of the teaching), but they are uniquely well suited for letting people actually experience a given setting, and/or give them an impression how it _felt_ to live at that time.
There are some abstract skills, like planning/strategizing, which may also have improved due to my gaming habits.
Posted November 10, 2011
Being a Pole who grew up in Germany English is my third language. I think that I can honestly say that today my English is pretty good (I also regularly get positive comments from native speakers concerning my accent) and I owe this mostly to two things: American TV shows (particularly Futurama and The Simpsons) and especially video games. The special thing about video games is that you really have to understand the language to proceed, it's much more active learning than in case of other media where you only learn the language passively.
Also video games have massively widened my general knowledge, whether it's about military, politics, history, culture, anthropology, philosophy, ethics or psychology. I think particularly the psychological part is something that most people underestimate. Yesterday I attended a conference of the USK (the infamous organization responsible for game ratings in Germany) which included a discussion and a simulated rating by the audience - the USK's representative actually said that I'd be great at this job as my arguments were perfectly valid, covered all the ones used by their own judges (who had PhDs in psychology and pedagogy) and included some that they hadn't come up with and I even taught the guy something about the psychological meaning of rewards - and actually I know shit about pedagogy or psychology, all I said was based on my own observations I have mostly made as someone who has been gaming since he was a young kid.
As a matter of fact I believe that gaming is a very simple way to get a serious insight into the psychology of people and also allows to simulate many different things - which is confirmed by the fact that by now game designers are being used in completely different fields and industries.
Additionally gaming partially teaches logical and very practical skills. A funny case was when I had to read my water meter which was hidden behind a huge shelf. It was impossible to get there without moving it and that wasn't really an option as it was extremely heavy and attached to the wall - and the meter was additionally hidden in kind of an alcove. I used a trick which was based on a riddle from Silent Hill 3. I took a mobile phone and a flashlight and simply photographed the meter. I'm not sure whether I would have come up with such a solution if I wasn't a gamer.
Also video games have massively widened my general knowledge, whether it's about military, politics, history, culture, anthropology, philosophy, ethics or psychology. I think particularly the psychological part is something that most people underestimate. Yesterday I attended a conference of the USK (the infamous organization responsible for game ratings in Germany) which included a discussion and a simulated rating by the audience - the USK's representative actually said that I'd be great at this job as my arguments were perfectly valid, covered all the ones used by their own judges (who had PhDs in psychology and pedagogy) and included some that they hadn't come up with and I even taught the guy something about the psychological meaning of rewards - and actually I know shit about pedagogy or psychology, all I said was based on my own observations I have mostly made as someone who has been gaming since he was a young kid.
As a matter of fact I believe that gaming is a very simple way to get a serious insight into the psychology of people and also allows to simulate many different things - which is confirmed by the fact that by now game designers are being used in completely different fields and industries.
Additionally gaming partially teaches logical and very practical skills. A funny case was when I had to read my water meter which was hidden behind a huge shelf. It was impossible to get there without moving it and that wasn't really an option as it was extremely heavy and attached to the wall - and the meter was additionally hidden in kind of an alcove. I used a trick which was based on a riddle from Silent Hill 3. I took a mobile phone and a flashlight and simply photographed the meter. I'm not sure whether I would have come up with such a solution if I wasn't a gamer.
