Have you learned anything useful from games?

[Saregon]

Now, a lot of us have no doubt heard stuff like "You're wasting your time playing games" and "Why play games when you can play football/whatever sport is big where you live?" Basically saying "Your hobby is bad and you should feel bad". At least those of us growing up before/just as games were gaining wider acceptance.

So today, while in my physics class, we were asked to consider a question, to which the answer was basically Newton's first law. Now, I know this from way back, but what made it spring to mind was Mass Effect 2, the sergeant guy. There are probably other examples too, but I can't remember any right now.

Anyway, my question, as in the title; have you learned anything from games that is applicable in real life in some way?

 

[krazykidd]

I learned how the think logically and solve problems with the most in various ways . Also i have excellent hand eye coordination and pretty good reflexes . As well as patience of a saint . As for something i actually learned . Well the earth is round and id you go on one edge of the world map , you come out the other side . I learn this for final fantasy 1 , i was like 3 years old .

Oh and apparently having played call of duty makes me able to use a gun properly in real and makes me a potential threat for people by shooting them . Trollface.jpg

 

[Bostur]

I learned not to break boxes with explosives in them.

Playing Pirates! I think I learned something about American geography. The same happens in a lot of strategy games, after planning a major campaign in a far away country the terrain becomes very familiar. Oh thats where Verdun, Lodz and Hiroshima is.

Learning some English is also a useful side effect.

One problem about learning by playing, is that it can be hard to figure out what information is accurate. Games are often inaccurate either deliberately or because designers didn't put much time into research. Games are often good at inspiring curiosity though. If a game adresses a somewhat real subject, I often get curious and want to know the real story.

Resonance Cascade is a real thing, but unfortunately it doesn't cause a rift to an alternate dimenson. I can't help to be a little disappointed :-(

 

[Zhukov]

Day Z has made me better at reading contour lines on maps.

 

[King of Wei]

Learned how to think critically, something 12 years of school failed to teach.

Larger vocabulary/faster reading speed from RPGs.

Basic concepts of supply and demand from MMOs. Simple but useful, made economics much easier.

Bunch of historical facts, like when MGS 3 came out, during the opening cinematic it mentioned Yuri Gagarin's space flight. My history teacher asked who was the first person into space the following day and I was the only one who knew the answer. Still cracks me up.

 

[AndrewF022]

If there is a problem... a Crowbar can probably solve it.

That and I suppose my years playing certain MMO's (runescape in particular) made me a little better at reading market trends and knowing when to buy and sell items, and what items are in demand depending on certain outside influence. I swear half of my playtime in that game was spent parked in front of the exchange with another page open on my second monitor looking at the market ups and downs. Made a shit load of in game currency (GP) though haha.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Early Final Fantasy games helped me learn how to read.

 

[Vault101]

that being a good person works out best in the end

plus you get better freinds

 

[King of Asgaard]

I learned how to read and speak properly through early RPGs (the earliest I can remember having this effect was Breath of Fire III).
Whenever a word perplexed me, I'd ask my brother to read it out to me and explain it.
Nowadays, I'm one of the most eloquent speakers, compared my peers.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Alundra prompted me to learn how to read and talk well.

Amazing game... and the diction was spot on! Hell... seeing that quote on the loading screen with the use of 'however' in paved the way for my use throughout school!

Man I miss that game... is it on PSN? Would it be worth getting a PS3 for?

OT: Games taught me to navigate on maps really well! Especially ones without minimaps, where you had to pause the game, memorise routes, and then do them! I got better and better, and then after map reading lessons in the Air Cadets I became a map prodigy! A skill I am brilliant at even today!

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I learned never to pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Alundra prompted me to learn how to read and talk well.

Amazing game... and the diction was spot on! Hell... seeing that quote on the loading screen with the use of 'however' in paved the way for my use throughout school!

Man I miss that game... is it on PSN? Would it be worth getting a PS3 for?

OT: Games taught me to navigate on maps really well! Especially ones without minimaps, where you had to pause the game, memorise routes, and then do them! I got better and better, and then after map reading lessons in the Air Cadets I became a map prodigy! A skill I am brilliant at even today!

Yes, it's on PSN, If you have a Vita or PS3, you can get it (I plan to buy it again once I get my Vita) I remember the game being hard as shit (Puzzle-wise) and the bosses were no push-overs either, hardcore game for kids, but I loved every second of it.

Sweet! May get a PS3 then!
The bosses were awesome and difficult... but I don't know if that was because of my age! :S I played super mario land recently again... always found it hard as a kid, but completed it first time this time! :S
I did read somewhere though that the bosses were made harder in the EU version, as they were to easy in the original!

The story was amazing though! You really did care about the characters, and they had so much personality for emotionless sprites with text as dialogue!

 

[RoonMian]

Making an effort to read the according entry in the Civilopedia etc. in Civilization games or games like the Total War series each time you discover a new technology or unlock a new unit is part of the fun. At least to me.

 

[Radoh]

Let's see, I've expanded my vocabulary, I can understand certain types of math mostly including percentages (always had trouble with percentages as a kid), increase in dexterity, the ability to multitask, learned quite a bit about world history, and most importantly, learned how to properly alliterate.
"Oh I get it, Colette's Current Condition is Caused by the Cruxis Crystal."
"What's this? Why is there such a Crude Key Crest upon the Cruxis Crystal?"

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I did a reflex test and I got 98% I think that's pretty good for a 30 year old. I think that's probably credited to games

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well, playing League of Legends is a lesson in human psychology. You have those peope who can't recognise that they made a mistake and have to blame every single other person around. You have people who are on some sort of egotistical rampage to prove that they r teh baist every single game (supreme try hards if you will) and your standard ragers who can't seem to realise that raging only makes you more likely to lose.

And much much more!


I would say games expanded my vocabulary but the huge amount of books I read when I was younger got there first.

 

[hazabaza1]

Certainly helped me to learn read. Don't know if anything else was too useful though.

 

[crazyrabbits]

The original Deus Ex taught me that the truth is often much more complicated than just "black or white". It also taught me to try new avenues of discovery when replaying video games.

 

[CAPTCHA]

As an adult, yeah I've learnt some things through playing games. Mostly techy stuff like writing XML and Scripting. Although I learnt this stuff outside of gaming, modding has given me a good place to practice and see results.

 

[Squilookle]

Sure. It taught me a sense for ballistics that complemented my real life experiences. Real world geography and in some cases history. My overall hand-eye co-ordination has been sharpened, and my views on consequences have been reinforced. Driver and GTA taught me that once you step over the line in the eyes of the poliice, you -will- eventually be stopped one way or another. Operation Flashpoint taught me orienteering in a way school never managed to, either. (For a start it made it interesting for once)

I've learned to lead targets. Feint. Cause diversions then attack from a different direction. I've learnt the very basics of aircraft control, and how to conserve energy when using an aircraft in combat, along with learning through experience aerial combat tactics that seem so static in books. Driver also taught me how to reverse a car properly and easily. Maybe Tricky Truck can one day do the same for reversing trailers

As already said, Pirates! proved very educational. I know what shot to use to damage sails, or whittle down an enemy crew. Mount and Blade has taught me a ton about Feudalism, and how powerful cavalry can be.

The list goes on.