Video Games 101

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AuthorTopic: Video Games 101
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
Profile #0
I'm sure many of you have seen the list, "What Video Games Taught Me", on shirts and posters and such, and some of you remember the 1001 topic(s) here ("##. kats r skary lolz" sort of thing). I was wondering today, though, what do video (and computer) games actually teach us? I mean, we've all heard about hand-eye coordination and video game violence, but surely there are other lessons packed into what is the primary means of entertainment for quite a few of us. I know I learned more about history playing CivII than you'd think I could (only because I played when I was 11ish). So, seriously, what have video and computer games taught you?

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And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it.
-The Last Pendragon

Polaris = joy.

In case of emergency, break glass.
Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00
Agent
Member # 2820
Profile #1
"Age of Empires" has taught me a few things about some general Roman history. But, usually the historical background information that precedes every mission, to which I must give credit for being well done considering that it is in a game, would be read and promptly forgotten.

"Rainbow 6" for some reason made me value human life a little more, and deterred me from carelessly thinking about gun violence. As those who have played the game will know, bullets are very fast killers in that game.

Sadly, the type of hand eye coordination from video games does not have much application anywhere else. You can learn to flick a mouse with extreme precision in split seconds during tense moments, but can you perform a delicate incision along a straight line while nervous?

If games were really designed to have a clear message that was to be taken seriously, then I would think certain thoughts.

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What do I put here?
-Garrison
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00
Warrior
Member # 4484
Profile #2
The Spiderwebs games teach me english. :)
Lost Souls works like a chess game, so you have to use your brain, it can't be bad ! :)

When I played the Avernum trilogy, I made a full map for each game, on 1 meter square paper. I made a 1/1 scale with the automap, it was a lot of work, and it teach me patience and design...

I think scenario writting for BoA and BoE can teach you a lot of stuff,(especially programming and patience, of course), although I never try...

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"Il est interdit de se battre sur le Champ du Massacre; dit-il avant de marquer une pause, le temps de reflechir a la logique de ses propos."

Discworld, The Colour of Magic
Posts: 178 | Registered: Monday, June 7 2004 07:00
Warrior
Member # 4590
Profile #3
When I was little I remember playing the Hugo adventure games, that had graphics, but you had to type in the commands. That game taught me how to spell elephant! I had to type "shoot elephant" so many damn times, quickly, before the elephant got away, I never forgot how to spell it! I also learned what bullion cubes are from that game!

Playing the adventure type games also helped with basic deductive reasoning skills, too, since you have to figure out all kinds of puzzles and stuff. Not to mention they teach you to be patient and careful about what you're doing and pay attention to details, and recognizing patterns. RPGs do a lot of that too, and you have to figure out the plot as you go along, too, with lots of games.

All the FPS games that I've played have thought me to strafe around corners so I don't get shot before I have a chance to get them! Not to mention valuable life skills about bouncing grenades off walls, and being careful when shooting a rocket launcher when standing near a corner, because it can hit the corner and take you out instead! And Doom taught me about demons from hell, and spider-brain things!

I played a lot of the puzzle games as a kid, too, and those are obviously helpful somehow!

But really, I do think pretty much all games are good for kids to play, even the FPS-type ones, as long as they play a variety of games, and not just one type of games or something. They also help with reading skills, expanding vocabulary (because, really, how else will you learn words like strafe!?), and paying attention to plots and stuff.

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I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.
- George Bernard Shaw
Posts: 103 | Registered: Sunday, June 20 2004 07:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #4
Mind you, the FPS usage of the word "strafe" isn't quite the same as the Standard English usage...

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Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Warrior
Member # 4590
Profile #5
Airplanes attacking troops, people attacking troops, whatever, it's all the same thing! :)

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I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.
- George Bernard Shaw
Posts: 103 | Registered: Sunday, June 20 2004 07:00
Guardian
Member # 2238
Profile Homepage #6
Doom taught me to face my fears, regardless of any "odds". (psshh... odds)

Ultima Online taught me to think about the way others feel sometimes.

Quake taught me to think outside the box. We don't live in a 2D world anymore...

Sinistar taught me that sometimes you just won't win.

Mario taught me that shrooms are good for you.

On a side note, this topic gains my Stamp of Approval for being the most original topic in quite a while.

[ Thursday, February 03, 2005 12:05: Message edited by: Retr-O ]

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The critics agree!

Demonslayer is "a five star hit!" raves TIMES Weekly!

"I've never heard such thoughtful comments. This man is a genious!" says two-time Nobel Prize winning physicist Erwin Rasputin!
Posts: 1582 | Registered: Wednesday, November 13 2002 08:00
By Committee
Member # 4233
Profile #7
Video games haven't taught me much at all - they've mainly served as entertainment and have been a big diversion from things I probably ought to have done instead that would have improved the quality of my life greatly. No one to blame on that but me, though. :(
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Warrior
Member # 37
Profile #8
In a technical sense...
Tales of Phantasia taught me that, unhindered, translators will screw up a perfectly good game by adding fanservice.
Breath of Fire II taught me that, under regulations, translators will screw up a perfectly good game to a far greater extent.

In a practical sense...
The Legend of Zelda taught me that you can strike other people with your sword and no harm will come to them.
Final Fantasy taught me that you can only sell something at half the price you bought it.
Dead Or Alive taught me that all women have voluptuous bodies and, at any time, may rip their clothes off to reveal a skimpy karate outfit and start casting ninjutsu.

[ Thursday, February 03, 2005 13:23: Message edited by: ZARDOZ SAYS HARBL ]

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{Tempus} jack thompson? ppl actually admire that freak?
{@Fanateeq72802} Not everyone disagrees with him.
{+iris} Someone should send him a few of the more steamy Japanese dating sim games. His head would explode.
{@Fanateeq72802} And I'd laugh. Hard.
{Tempus} im on it. brb
Posts: 179 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 444
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How to make bombs.
Posts: 661 | Registered: Thursday, December 27 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 3719
Profile Homepage #10
How to backup save files

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Scandalous Stories, fishing,and great photos
Posts: 294 | Registered: Monday, November 24 2003 08:00
Master
Member # 1046
Profile Homepage #11
Doom taught me how to use a chainsaw.

... yeah.

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Polaris - Weather balloons, ninjas, and your big daddy Wise Man. What more could you want?
Undead Theories - Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Posts: 3323 | Registered: Thursday, April 25 2002 07:00
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
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You people are just playing the wrong games. Final Fantasy, Dead Or Alive? Yeah, maybe that'll teach you how to briefly survive some kind of screwed-up Japanese convention. The Fallout series, on the other hand, reads like a textbook.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 3898
Profile #13
Alpha Centurai taught me that sufficiently experienced worms can beat gunmen armed with weapons that harness the power of a black hole and have armor that protects those wearing it by stopping time.

Warcraft III taught me that standing near fountains causes you to regain life, that four night elves need as much food as one chimaera, and that the average peasant will only start running away if he is hit by a sword, not the guy next to him (and it takes many hits to kill him) and that most bows are more powerful than rifles.

Halo taught me that a torus about 1/10000 times the size of the earth has equal gravity, that every alien weapon is usable by humans exactly as well, and that any alien race has no goal other than annihilation of humanity.

Video games provide a useful window into the real world.

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~Note : The professional newbie's advice should not be taken seriously, or at all.~
LINKAGE
Posts: 364 | Registered: Saturday, January 17 2004 08:00
Warrior
Member # 37
Profile #14
quote:
Originally written by Bad-Ass Mother Custer:

You people are just playing the wrong games. Final Fantasy, Dead Or Alive? Yeah, maybe that'll teach you how to briefly survive some kind of screwed-up Japanese convention. The Fallout series, on the other hand, reads like a textbook.
Zardoz does not approve. Come back when you have read this.

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{Tempus} jack thompson? ppl actually admire that freak?
{@Fanateeq72802} Not everyone disagrees with him.
{+iris} Someone should send him a few of the more steamy Japanese dating sim games. His head would explode.
{@Fanateeq72802} And I'd laugh. Hard.
{Tempus} im on it. brb
Posts: 179 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #15
Might want to take a look at that entry yourself, seeing as how Alec isn't really a deranged survivalist, at least as far as I am aware.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Warrior
Member # 4973
Profile #16
Battle for Middle Earth: Dead men and ancient demons are really, really powerful. Orcs are no good for fighting. Or scouting. Or anything else.

Praetorians: The fortress that cannot be taken by a determined, well equipped army has yet to be built.

Runescape:If something can be killed, it will be killed. If something can be sold, it will be sold. If some aspect of the game can be exploited, it will be exploited.

America's Army: All it takes is one shot.

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There are three kinds of people in the world: those who think, those who think they think, and those who would rather die than think.
Posts: 104 | Registered: Thursday, September 16 2004 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 444
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:) Its true about the worms. Honest.... Those worms are very terrifying. Weapons are useless if you can't maintain concentration. Also, Civilization III teaches tactics on how to use spearmen and swordsmen to defeat guys with machine guns. But only if its the computer with spearmen.
Posts: 661 | Registered: Thursday, December 27 2001 08:00
Warrior
Member # 3978
Profile #18
What have games taught me?

Not much, directly.

But games shaped my interests. Heres what games are RESPONSIBLE for my learning:

I played Arcanum and the Rainbow Six series. As a result, I spent a great deal of time studying guns and terrorist/counter terrorist tactics. The result is I now know a great deal about guns, all the way from the industrial era all the way up to the modern era, including how to build them.

I also as a result know a great deal more about our culture and american history during the industrial era, as I studied that as a result. I also read a lot about survival tactics as a result of both.

What else have I learned? Games encouraged me to learn how to fight, fueling my desire to learn martial arts and swordplay. I was encouraged to study more history after Civ III, I read more about stealth manuevers after playing splinter cell.

I studied war tactics before and after playing Warcraft III and Age of Empires. I studied some basic nuclear physics after reading tom clancy's Rainbow Six, as well as a few other novels of his, which I read because I'd played a few Rainbow Six games.

And I've learned several other things from games as well. But you get the idea, I think.
Posts: 125 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00
Master
Member # 4614
Profile Homepage #19
quote:
Originally written by cfgauss:
When I was little I remember playing the Hugo adventure games, that had graphics, but you had to type in the commands. That game taught me how to spell elephant! I had to type "shoot elephant" so many damn times, quickly, before the elephant got away, I never forgot how to spell it! I also learned what bullion cubes are from that game!
Hey, dude, I've played Hugo too, but I could never figure out how to get past that **** dog in the first one. How? It drove me crazy. ;)

Anyway,
Triple Play Baseball 2001 taught be that Mark McGwire will not hit a home run in every at-bat, even on Roookie mode.

Age of Empires taught me that without a strong economy, you cannot have a strong military. Good political value, but I don't know if you'd ever use it in real life.

NHL 2003 taught me that a game will not run well if you don't have the right hardware. They will run, but not well.

Fishy! taught me to eat, or you will become eaten. :)

[ Friday, February 04, 2005 15:57: Message edited by: ben2 ]

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-ben4808

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Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00
Bob's Big Date
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quote:
Hey, dude, I've played Hugo too, but I could never figure out how to get past that **** dog in the first one. How? It drove me crazy. ;)
THROW STEAK TO DOG

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
Profile #21
CivII and AoE2 taught me quite a bit of history, much of it indirectly (by getting me interested in learning more by myself). Both also taught me many military history definitions, while D2 fleshed that knowledge out a bit by adding weapon names to my arsenal. Computer game music in general has helped me to write and play my own music, which is nice. Strategy and logic, I guess, could be considered blanket lessons as well.

I't likely that I've learned more, at least subconsciously, but I couldn't say what it is that I've learned. Although this is kind of stretching the "taught by video games" rule, coming to these forums has certainly been a learning experience.

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And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it.
-The Last Pendragon

Polaris = joy.

In case of emergency, break glass.
Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00
Master
Member # 4614
Profile Homepage #22
Oh, okay, thanks Alec!

Huh, I messed for hours with that stupid whistle. Some games are just frustrating. I really don't see that much of a difference of whether you DROP STEAK, which I tried or throw it.

*sigh*</needlessrant>

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-ben4808

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Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00
Infiltrator
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Doom has taught me to cheat in every game I play.

Wolfenstein 3D has taught me that big doctors throwing knives are scary and hurt a lot. So are cross-dressing women toting huge machine guns.

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—Zxquez Zolohahni
I eat blueberries in pie square.
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I miss you, but I haven't met you yet.
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Posts: 549 | Registered: Thursday, October 17 2002 07:00
...b10010b...
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Castles: Siege and Conquest taught me a bit of history, most of which I've since forgotten. The bits that stick in my mind are that a castle can be defended by 15 archers if you design it properly (this being an actual bit of history rather than a quirk of the game mechanics), and that a trebuchet can be used to fling dead animals over castle walls for military purposes (likewise).

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00

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