My View on Videogames

[Choate]

Much of my life, I've been a hard core gamer. Not just any type though: ever since I've had internet, games have had to be online, and have a strategy/team effort involved. These are the types of games I'm talking about.

Back in 2009 I was a semi professional MLG Halo 3 player and ranked top 32 with my team at an event in Meadowlands, New Jersey where hundreds of the best competed. More recently I was a top tier League of Legends player. I'm here to tell you what I think all of that means once you reach the top of it all.

Halo was a game of 4v4 where information has to be processed fast, decisions made, teamwork perfect, and leadership perfect. In a way it is like chess, or a swordfight. But people take those two activities much more seriously. For example, look at how the Book of Five Rings is so highly thought of in todays business world...Halo, not so much.

But, underneath all of the gunfire, graphics, and noises, its something else: its a ...

(Pause here - I know what I am now going to write an eBook on! - OK resume)

Underneath all of that, its the most level playing field in existence of a human duel of mentalities. The best part is immediate feedback.

Once you reach a certain level of understanding a game, and your hand eye coordination level is optimal, the rest is fast paced chess. Strategy, communication, and team work are essentials to success. You immediately learn what works and what doesn't through immediate feedback, such as dying, putting your team behind and creating success.

There is so much to be learned from video games of such a nature. I am not advocating only the games I've played, but all games which are a competitive nature with a limited amount of variables. Not candy crush, racing games, etc - I mean games of war, real time strategy.

Before you think I have a limited scope of life, I played varsity rugby in college, captain of my water polo team, and tons of other sports growing up. Everything has its place, but I think people underestimate the power of online competitive gaming.

Like anything in life, it can make you or break you. If you exercise for 6 hours a day your body will breakdown. Do the right exercises for one hour or two and it will strengthen you in ways you never thought possible. Play the right videogame for a set amount of time and you will find yourself more competent in mental capability, understanding others, making split second decisions under pressure, team communication, etc etc. Play video games wrecklessly without care and you will find yourself on the sidewalk, an outcast with no real friends and unable to use your newfound skills anywhere else.

Halo was great because its 4v4, you have 3 other people on your team with unique styles and skill sets you have to mesh together for a team dynamic to be successful. Chemistry is definitely a thing. Reaction times, decision making, communication is key. You must understand your environment and resources available to beat your opponents. Sounds a bit like entrepreneurship, eh?

In League, it gets more complicated having to know thousands of variables and outcomes of certain actions. More strategy, team dynamic, slower paced for more thought out actions. Almost like a different industry of business.

I could go on but I think my point is self evident: subject yourself consciously to various types of video games. They provide a highly controlled environment where key decision making problems are always evident and waiting for you to make a choice, then immediately giving feedback as to whether it was the right choice or not. Do this, and I think you will find increased confidence and cognitive functions pertaining to other areas of life, such as your fast lane ventures.

 

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[SBS.95]

Y'know how some old people will say "video games will turn your brain to mush" and we laugh at them?

I kind of have the same knee-jerk reaction when someone starts talking about how video games are good because they teach you problem-solving or teamwork or whatever. I just don't buy it. Sorry. Maybe it's my perspective having never been a "professional" gamer, just a dude that likes Forza.

It's a form of entertainment. Can games teach you something? Sure. But I'm not ready to start riding the train of people who try to argue that playing video games is objectively a better use of time than watching TV. They're both just leisure time-sinks, even if one activity keeps you a bit more engaged. If you like games then cool, so do I, but I don't think it's healthy to try and lie to myself about how some game is teaching me valuable life lessons.

 

[Charnell]

I'm not going to lie, my entrepreneurial spirit probably stems from spending too much time in middle school playing RuneScape. Trading resources, taking advantage of different prices based on world/location. I'm not saying it gave me advanced insight into copywriting, but basic concepts were there. Supply and demand, competitive monopoly, etc. I didn't know it at the time, but nearly everything I'm learning and applying nowadays can be related in someway to those days buying raw lobsters from fishermen for 100gp each, trading them to cooks for cooked lobsters, and then selling cooked lobsters to fighters for 150gp each.

It even grew into my first hustle of pop-tart arbitrage in HS. Good times.

 

[DevIncredible]

I can agree to some extent. As someone who was/is in the midst of the recent pc gaming era, online gaming is something much more than what most people see. Sitting 9+ hours a day on my custom built pc (Which tbh, I dont need anymore because of what im doing now.) really took a hit on my social skills, grades, my relationship with my family... It got to a point where I was not eating dinner with my own family, and putting off homework until 12:30 at night. They took action immediately, cutting my time back to 3 hours a day on weekdays. This hit hard for me, I put myself in a hole where I wish I never would have gone. But, I found something else to occupy my time!

 

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[wade1mil]

There is definitely a difference between competitive gaming vs gaming for fun. Competitive gaming is just as strategic as major sports. I'll play any game as long as it's fun.
It's playing video games for so long it takes over your life where it becomes a problem. Unless you are a professional gamer...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/technology/esports-call-of-duty-nadeshot-celebrity-success.html

 

[Charnell]

There is definitely a difference between competitive gaming vs gaming for fun. Competitive gaming is just as strategic as major sports. I'll play any game as long as it's fun.
It's playing video games for so long it takes over your life where it becomes a problem. Unless you are a professional gamer...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/technology/esports-call-of-duty-nadeshot-celebrity-success.html

It's amazing that people can actually get paid to play games competitively. Hell, even casual gamers can get paid to play by doing a "let's play" on YouTube. I remember when I was in the Marine Corps there was a guy who would watch this one guy play Minecraft on YouTube all day (the joys of IT). He watched someone play video games more than he actually played the game himself. And every video he watched earned that guy money.

 

[AubreyJ]

my view on video games is the same as Boxster- It is a form of entertainment, nothing more in my opinion. Yes, there are people like you who say that you have learned a lot from them- but there are hundreds of thousands of people who sit in front of the TV all day long playing them and don't learn anything....I know, because I have 2 brothers who do just that.

But, with that being said- video games are a form of entertainment which is fine, in moderation. I love to play guitar- I've been playing since I was 9, I play for an hour or so everyday, it's fun for me, and it's something I really enjoy- but I am never going to be a professional guitarist. I could try to nitpick all the little things that playing the guitar for 12 years has taught me: hand/eye coordination, memory skills..etc. But trying to nitpick each little skill I've learned would be like me trying to justify the thousands of hours I've spent playing the guitar over the last 12 years.

Hobbies are great- but don't try to turn them into something they aren't. A video game (like playing the guitar) is a hobby, and unless you will make a legitimate income/business from it, I don't think they should be justified or treated like an extremely beneficial thing when they aren't.

 

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[GuestUser113]

Much of my life, I've been a hard core gamer. Not just any type though: ever since I've had internet, games have had to be online, and have a strategy/team effort involved. These are the types of games I'm talking about.

Back in 2009 I was a semi professional MLG Halo 3 player and ranked top 32 with my team at an event in Meadowlands, New Jersey where hundreds of the best competed. More recently I was a top tier League of Legends player. I'm here to tell you what I think all of that means once you reach the top of it all.

Halo was a game of 4v4 where information has to be processed fast, decisions made, teamwork perfect, and leadership perfect. In a way it is like chess, or a swordfight. But people take those two activities much more seriously. For example, look at how the Book of Five Rings is so highly thought of in todays business world...Halo, not so much.

But, underneath all of the gunfire, graphics, and noises, its something else: its a ...

(Pause here - I know what I am now going to write an eBook on! - OK resume)

Underneath all of that, its the most level playing field in existence of a human duel of mentalities. The best part is immediate feedback.

Once you reach a certain level of understanding a game, and your hand eye coordination level is optimal, the rest is fast paced chess. Strategy, communication, and team work are essentials to success. You immediately learn what works and what doesn't through immediate feedback, such as dying, putting your team behind and creating success.

There is so much to be learned from video games of such a nature. I am not advocating only the games I've played, but all games which are a competitive nature with a limited amount of variables. Not candy crush, racing games, etc - I mean games of war, real time strategy.

Before you think I have a limited scope of life, I played varsity rugby in college, captain of my water polo team, and tons of other sports growing up. Everything has its place, but I think people underestimate the power of online competitive gaming.

Like anything in life, it can make you or break you. If you exercise for 6 hours a day your body will breakdown. Do the right exercises for one hour or two and it will strengthen you in ways you never thought possible. Play the right videogame for a set amount of time and you will find yourself more competent in mental capability, understanding others, making split second decisions under pressure, team communication, etc etc. Play video games wrecklessly without care and you will find yourself on the sidewalk, an outcast with no real friends and unable to use your newfound skills anywhere else.

Halo was great because its 4v4, you have 3 other people on your team with unique styles and skill sets you have to mesh together for a team dynamic to be successful. Chemistry is definitely a thing. Reaction times, decision making, communication is key. You must understand your environment and resources available to beat your opponents. Sounds a bit like entrepreneurship, eh?

In League, it gets more complicated having to know thousands of variables and outcomes of certain actions. More strategy, team dynamic, slower paced for more thought out actions. Almost like a different industry of business.

I could go on but I think my point is self evident: subject yourself consciously to various types of video games. They provide a highly controlled environment where key decision making problems are always evident and waiting for you to make a choice, then immediately giving feedback as to whether it was the right choice or not. Do this, and I think you will find increased confidence and cognitive functions pertaining to other areas of life, such as your fast lane ventures.

 

[Mattie]

I kind of have the same knee-jerk reaction when someone starts talking about how video games are good because they teach you problem-solving or teamwork or whatever.

http://www.cog.brown.edu/research/ven_lab/publications/TarrWarren_NN02.pdf

Being on Second Life I have to say what they're finding in studies of changing your behavior did happen with me. It may not happen with everyone, but it does stretch your brain to be more creative, spacial, senses, building things in 3d and getting over fears and phobias. So yes, a lot of people say video games are bad, but I don't regret the experience. I see how it applies to real life with obstacles and choices as well in regular video games. If you think about all the obstacles you go through in life even the small ones, you do have to make choices quickly or game over.

There's a light and dark side to it like anything else. It's just how much time you spend doing it and whether it consumes your life. It can be addicting and people avoid their real life to escape their issues and problems. For me it was the way I used it. I was learning business skills, meditation, writing, education, being creative, versus just playing a repetitive game.

 

[Gsuz]

Definitely agree with @Boxster. I'd also argue that if one was really interested in acquiring those skills, there are a lot of better options with a much higher time/skill ratio.

 

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[Shades]

Yep just another form of entertainment. A fun distraction. Just limit it to that. Some people play softball, play guitar, airsoft, golf...gaming is no different. Just a hobby for your down time.

 

[JAJT]

I see gaming as no different from playing sports. I really don't.

Both have players who play it for fun.
Both have players who play it to win.
Both are (or can be) social.
Both have a very small % of people making a living out of it and a much larger % of people trying to get there.
And most importantly - a ton of people sink time into both that could be used on more productive endeavors if they were so inclined.

Obviously playing sports is a healthier activity since it gets you moving but the attitudes and time spent on both are probably about equal.

The only time sports OR gaming becomes an issue is when it gets in the way of other goals you are trying to achieve (like running a business).

 

[contract]

Rather play the video game called: Life.

I hear it's as real as it gets.

Hobbies are one thing, video games are another.

With hobbies you learn a new skill or master it. Leatherworking, screenprinting, motorcycles, etc.

What real world skill will you even learn from video games?

I agree though, it's merely entertainment. Better than watching TV since you're using mental power.

But by not much..

I would LOVE to buy a new PS4 and GTA, but I know it's a distraction I don't need.

Haven't owned a console or video game since I was a child. I'll play them at a friends house, but nothing outside of that.

 

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[Solrac]

I think i learned a lot from playing video games. I think they are a waste of time now, but they have established a few good habits in me. No regrets

 

[Charnell]

Rather play the video game called: Life.

I said this in another thread a month or so back:

If you like playing video games, there's this game I like to play a lot. I call it getting a new high score in my bank account.

 

[wade1mil]

Hobbies are one thing, video games are another.

With hobbies you learn a new skill or master it. Leatherworking, screenprinting, motorcycles, etc.

Playing video games is exactly a hobby. You learn the skill of playing a video game. Not valuable to society unless you entertain. But if you're hobby is leatherworking, screen printing or motorcycles, it's just as valuable to society as playing video games. Not valuable to society unless you utilize them. They mean nothing to anybody but yourself.

 

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[Esquire]

I don't play video games ... not because they are not fun ... just strikes me as a huge waste of time.

Sort of like watching sports.

Or even playing sports, for that matter.

I used to love playing basketball when I was younger ... and was very good at it.

I'd walk into the hood ... and white boy would take em to school.

But each time I go back to the court ... I can't help but think ... I am taking a round ball ... and sticking it through a round hoop ... over and over again.

Surely there must be something better to do with my time ...?

Yep.

I'd rather have sex and travel.

But if that's what makes you happy ... go for it.

 

[Shades]

I don't play video games ... not because they are not fun ... just strikes me as a huge waste of time.

Sort of like watching sports.

Or even playing sports, for that matter.

I used to love playing basketball when I was younger ... and was very good at it.

I'd walk into the hood ... and white boy would take em to school.

But each time I go back to the court ... I can't help but think ... I am taking a round ball ... and sticking it through a round hoop ... over and over again.

Surely there must be something better to do with my time ...?

Yep.

I'd rather have sex and travel.

But if that's what makes you happy ... go for it.

Basically a life filled with just work isnt much of a life IMO. Trying to "make it" in the world doesnt mean a hell of a lot if you cant have fun times along the way. So for that reason I dont think any of that stuff is a waste of time. Unless it overtakes your life.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I think the discussion is much like the "do I go to college" or "do I learn to code" topic. Not really an universal answer, depends on the person, and there is no right/wrong. I generally lean to the side of games being a waste and another mindless entertainment distraction, but I do see the argument that it can help teamwork, reflexes, and creative problem solving.

In the end, life is one big video game. You try, fail, assess, retry. The game is won by winning your life back from the scam that is the 9-to-5, 50 year retirement scheme.

 

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[ChasingPaper]

Have not read replies but is playing video games a lot for fun a waste of time? I think so. I play games, but I do it for that cold cash. YouTube and such. There are some professional gamers that make HIGH six figures and a couple who makes 7 figures a year. One of them was actually just in the New York Times.

 

[Jake]

Basically a life filled with just work isnt much of a life IMO. Trying to "make it" in the world doesnt mean a hell of a lot if you cant have fun times along the way. So for that reason I dont think any of that stuff is a waste of time. Unless it overtakes your life.

Life is a journey and your destination should forever be just out of reach. All work and no fun doesn't make for much of a journey. Live Life (Like it's the 2 minute warning as per my avatar) Work hard, play hard yadda yadda. Build something and have fun doing it.

 

[Mattie]

In the end, life is one big video game. You try, fail, assess, retry. The game is won by winning your life back from the scam that is the 9-to-5, 50 year retirement scheme.

And us silly people don't think Life is a game. Basically mastering the game of life is overcoming incredible odds and obstacles in some cases. That's why we call it the Matrix! The mind games, the illusions, and even in business using some type of method or technique to capture customers to buy products.

Before we had video games we had board games to teach us about life. Still obstacles and problem solving, losing and winning, just another form.

 

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[decaobr]

My experience with video games are really, really bad, even if they give you something back,they take much more, i work home since 2007, and buying a Xbox was the WORST decision i ever made, i became totally addicted and every time i failed to do something related to my work, instead of keep trying i would just, give up, and play a little to relax, that little would end up being all day, everyday, until about a year ago when i sold my Xbox.

I see my brother complaining that he wants to leave the rat race, but he has no time to work on side business, ironically he plays Xbox every single day for at least 2 hours.

 

[mt_myke]

I used to play World of Warcraft, many years ago. There were a few times when I was raiding with people that I felt I was getting legitimate experience that could be applied to real life. As OP said, when you play these types of online games competitively you have to effectively coordinate and work with a group of people. You have to know exactly what your role is and how to do it best, and what everyone else's roles are so you know and understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. I've even read articles about guild leaders who claim to have gotten good management jobs based on the skills they honed running their guilds and dealing with the many types of problems and people that tend to occur.

Having said that, these experiences were far and few between. I spent much more time "grinding" (mindless activity required to get the gold to buy the gear/enchantments/etc to be effective in raids) than I did raiding, and eventually dropped out of gaming entirely.

 

[loop101]

I've been involved with gaming since the late 70s. Going back to Dungeons & Dragons, Squad Leader, Traveler, etc. Several of the people I use to game with currently work in the game industry at very high levels (owners, creative directors, etc). Different people game for different reasons, but I generally agree that there are a lot of good skills you can develop.

Actual role-playing games are a good way to get people out of the house and interacting with other people. Computer games are good for teaching risk-taking and asset management skills. I think a major educational opportunity is being squandered. Since kids will memorize the worlds they are playing in, they could learn a lot if those worlds were the *real world*. For example, I can still remember where the different regions of Glorantha are (in Greg Stafford's Runequest world), but I couldn't tell you the capitols of all 50 states.

Immersive games tend to suck me in. I remember playing "Seven Cities of Gold" back in the 80s, until my computer fried. The online game City of Heroes was very immersive. Fallout 3 was very immersive. I readily admit these games are just like drugs. At least they are a lot cheaper and safer than other drugs. I had a LAN-party at my house in the 90s where we played Duke Nukem for 48 hours, and a coworker told me I needed to get a life. He got a DUI, and was caught cheating by his wife, over the same 48 hours.

I think there are 2 major drawbacks to games. The first, is that people learn to expect immediate feedback. In the real world, you don't always get feedback that quickly. You might run an ad campaign, and not know how it worked until weeks later. The second is that people learn to expect outcomes that are limited to what is possible in the game. You might be able to build a major oil business in Oil Tycoon, but in the real world, your competitors might sue you, your kids might need attention, you could have a health crisis, etc. In these cases, the gamer is not only unprepared for the unexpected, but they are surprised that something unexpected even happened. I suspect this second type of problem would work against an entrepreneur.

In the final analysis, I agree with MJ (if I understood him correctly). There's no real reason to play a new game, because you're already in a game. Your score is your bank account balance (or other measure of freedom). If you win this game, or at least do very well, you can then spend as much time as you want playing video games, or whatever else your want to do. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work the other way around.

 

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[Deon]

This thread is very timely... As I have an Xbox 360 and Xbox One that I haven't used in about 8 months (apart for streaming videos from my computer), and even then, rarely used them.

BUT today is black friday and those suckers just dropped the price of Titanfall, arguably Xbox's best game, from $50 to $12... it's tempting haha!

The thing is, even when I play, I never play that much because I get impatient. So that's a good thing, and I never got addicted to video games.

This deal is pretty cool though

 

[BlakeIC]

ive been hardcore cod kid since 2007 i will say gaming has helped with hand eye coordination (and sports) and reaction time + overall awareness in a situation where you need to focus with your eyes

i feel the whole team work thing is blown out of proportion

 

[daivey]

I see gaming as no different from playing sports. I really don't.

Both have players who play it for fun.
Both have players who play it to win.
Both are (or can be) social.
Both have a very small % of people making a living out of it and a much larger % of people trying to get there.
And most importantly - a ton of people sink time into both that could be used on more productive endeavors if they were so inclined.

Obviously playing sports is a healthier activity since it gets you moving but the attitudes and time spent on both are probably about equal.

The only time sports OR gaming becomes an issue is when it gets in the way of other goals you are trying to achieve (like running a business).

i agree. except with sports you get a physical improvement. working out makes your body release endorphin that are good for you.

 

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[Draven Grey]

A young boy raced past them, deftly using a stick to guide a rolling metal hoop down the street.
"I see kids everywhere with those sticks and hoops lately," Albert observed.
"It's gotta be bad for their brains, right?" said Edward.
"It has to be. Stunts their attention spans. There was an article in the paper."
"I read that. It said it's making them unable to focus on more long-term, thought-intensive, tasks."
"Exactly, it's the death of innovation. I'm telling you, when intellectual progress comes to a screeching halt twenty years from now, you can thank the stick hoop."

~Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West: A Novel

 

[Davo]

I'm not going to lie, my entrepreneurial spirit probably stems from spending too much time in middle school playing RuneScape. Trading resources, taking advantage of different prices based on world/location. I'm not saying it gave me advanced insight into copywriting, but basic concepts were there. Supply and demand, competitive monopoly, etc. I didn't know it at the time, but nearly everything I'm learning and applying nowadays can be related in someway to those days buying raw lobsters from fishermen for 100gp each, trading them to cooks for cooked lobsters, and then selling cooked lobsters to fighters for 150gp each.

It even grew into my first hustle of pop-tart arbitrage in HS. Good times.

RS was great and looking back I think if you played the game and want to be an entrepreneur, that was one of the better games to gain experience.

We had the following:

• Buyers of R2Hs, P-Hats, crackers, those terrible pkers, questers, etc (side walkers)
  
• Fishers, miners, fletcher, rune runners, monster killers, etc (slow laners)
• Merchants - knew where and when and how much to buy/sell to make a profits (fast laners)
• good pkers (fast laners)
• Level 99 at a skill players - those who did only ONE SKILL till they became successful e.g. smiths, runecrafting, herblore, . After that, they were able to power through the other skills at a much faster rate than people do did multiple skills at once instead of focusing on one skill (fast laners)
• Networking - forums, clans, ingame
• Rules/Law of the game - knowing when to stay within the boundaries or risk losing your months/years worth of work (the government/tax) - also meant you had to adapt whenever a change in the game weakened your position
• Need to be patient/resist urge - knowing that it was better to keep working on getting to level 99 at something rather than constantly going pking or killing kalphite with mates
• Competition - other clans wanting to take your members, other pkers killing you, other merchants wanting a price war,
• Things out of your control - bad internet suddenly getting you killed during a pk trip, power outage, etc
• Membership benefits - faster leveling, access to better things/items/locations/quests (it's like the INSIDERS here lol)
• Outside of RS profits - e.g. I was better than mates at pking so I'd sell them R2Hs etc for real cash (which I used to buy fantastic lunches at school lol)

I'd say all those things above combined to make RS one of the best games you could play while still learning about becoming an entrepreneur without even planning to.