The Indian warriors in America where usually much more fit than the colonial frontiersmen from England, because they played games (the modern sport of lacrosse is based on an Indian game). The colonials didn't exercise their warrior skills unless they were in a war, consequently they became soft-muscled and out-of-practice during peace times.
The games of the Indians were extremely important to the warrior's development. A sport could be played at any time and didn't cause deaths. Most of the important skills needed in war could be practiced and learned by beginners, without most of the beginners dying in the process.
The mental skills used in today's society (which include creativity, resource management and planning, personal interaction, interaction in the context of laws and morality, and analysis of technical situations) can be learned in games like video games. But current video games are absolutely trash, and train people in all kinds of stupid mental habits.
Do video games train people in creativity? Most gaming experiences are almost completely passive from the creativity perspective. Artistic creation is something that only game designers do and players do not take part in. You might not think that games can be any other way, but there are many ways that game-playing can be a creative process. The game experience should ideally be a cooperative creation process, the game designer providing tools and incentive for the player to use for unique "works of art".
Do video games train people to interact in the context of laws? (mostly I'm talking about MMORPGs, games with many people interacting) No, the laws of an in-game society are enforced the same way the laws of in-game physics are enforced. This leads to people trying to circumvent the societal laws of a game the same way a scientist tries to circumvent physical restrictions. Cheaters are honored as "haxors" and no one is encouraged to work to help the society, because creating the society is the responsibility of the game creators. Game players are not pulled together, but encouraged to be loners, antagonistic, and dependent on an external "government".
Do video games encourage resource management and planning? Most games completely ignore any kind of conservation laws: objects, energy, and everything is created and destroyed at will. The economies of MMORPGs are completely made-up. Nothing really wears out in most situations... Gamers who have played for longer are ALWAYS richer than newer players, because nothing requires effort to maintain. No character ever needs to buy food to eat.
Do video games encourage any analysis of technical situations, like experimentation to figure out unusual situations? Is deeper understanding requiring abstract thinking of any kind encouraged? Not even close. Becoming an expert at a game requires nothing more than memorizing a list of completely arbitrary facts. Most everything you encounter has a label describing exactly what it is.
(More "Making Stuff Move" soon!)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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