There are a lot of studies going around which discuss and analyze the effects of video games on people. The general consensus has always been that they are harmful (like it is for everything that is fun in this world). The world has always given us a hard times.
Even when a lot of modern research and studies have shown that playing video games can have positive effects on a person. For example, this article right here cites medical studies and lists down health benefits of a video game. Another one here takes a balanced view of gaming and tries to Pro and Con the gaming world.
Today, I list down the 5 effects of gaming that I personally feel have benefited me. I assure you there has been no extensive research done before writing this article (except for playing insane amount of video games), and no X number of doctors have observed Y number of kids to come up with this theory. This is all ME.
5 advantages of Gaming that you didn’t know
1. Pattern Matching
Working in the IT industry, I have to regularly look at mile long never ending traces of logs. Reading a log, as would anyone worth a dime in the IT industry will tell you is an art in itself. You have to scroll through rows upon rows of similar looking lines, and trust your eyes to pick out that one line of logged info which is creating all the ruckus. Sounds boring and dreary (not to mention tough), it is. But as a video gamer my eyes are trained to pick out discrepancies visually. Hidden paths, bonus dungeons, shortcuts are all cleverly hidden on a video game screen, hidden in plain sight just like that bug in your program which has blown up in the customer’s face. So if you want your child to be successful IT guy, let him play video games.
2. We are thorough
Gamers are immensely thorough. We collect every trophy, every collectible and every free coin that a game level has to offer. We scourge a map, open every chest, and kill every orc before we move on the next level. We believe in doing something right, or not doing it at all. This makes us better at our work, as we go through every impact and are willing to spend time to get it just right. So if your child isn’t finishing his homework, let him play Assassin’s Creed and make him collect those feathers. You would see the difference in another 15 years or so.
3. We are better at Research
Because we are thorough, we are better at being thorough. No gamer wants to be stuck on a level of Mario, when someone has already figured out the way to beat the dragon. We get it on our first try: awesome, second: great, third: whatever, fourth: meh!, fifth: Its time to bring in the help. We search the internet for the most reliable sources, compare it with other references, stock it against the comments of other before us, and then finally implement them. Walk through, hints, cheats, guides you can find the internet flooded with them, but we know which ones matter and which ones don’t. We know how to use the internet to our advantages, and we apply it when we are up against a code fix in the office or an unknown recipe in the kitchen. Not to mention finding the best “You know what!!!”
4. We are patient
Gamers are inherently patient. It does not mean we are not quick to anger (See game-rage). It just means we are patient. We wait for the game to load, we wait for the multi-player to begin in the lobby, we wait till we have memorized the patterns in which the blades are swinging. Not to mention we sit and patiently wait through tutorials to be over. We are used to sitting on a chair, looking at a screen waiting for something to happen. Remind you of something?
5. We are helpful
As gamers we understand that not everything can be done alone. A COD death match cannot be won alone. Its no shame to use a walk through for Dark Souls. And its not the end of the world, if your character was revived by your friend in Borderlands. Various games teach us that we cannot survive alone or remain egoistic about doing everything individually. We credit those who helped us along the way, because we know that in the end we are the one who push the buttons. This makes us more willing and ready to accept help from people around us. We don’t make a mess about having to ask someone, or using a hand. How many times have you seen a jerk off in your team not sharing responsibility and ending up screwing the project. Bet he wasn’t a gamer.
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Gamers are awesome. They are the best thing to happen to the world after women. They fight over petty things like which console is better, but are completely OK with a team of a Jew, a Catholic, a Muslim and a Black Guy when playing an online death match. Next time you see/meet a gamer, give him/her a break. He just saved a world and is probably tired. Offer him a drink and ask him for life advise, you won’t be disappointed.
P.S. No Gamers were hurt during the writing of this article.
P.P.S. The author in no way is asserting that non-gamers are not cool. They are; gamers are just Cooler.
😀 Brilliant, and clever.. the first one about the logs was a perfect example.. 😛
Yes the one about the logs is something I have experienced personally.