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Video Games Boost Visual Skills
cmburns69 writes "A new study published in Nature Magazine (MSNBC summary) suggests that playing action games improves visual skills. Among other things, young adults who played action games such as Grand Theft Auto and Medal of Honor regularly could track up to five objects at a time - 30% more than non-players. Apparently, the game type is important, as ten hours of the block-rotating game Tetris failed to improve test scores."
Several friends of mine credit their above average vocabularies and problem solving abilities to RPGs among other games. There's a reason why most nerdy smart people play video games!
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
... is that people who can't track that many objects at once are turned off by games and don't play them. The article doesn't say whether they tried to account for this factor or not.
I had to track radar, what weapon i was on, ammo amounts, and what direction my top toros was facing!
what did they say about mech games!
oh man, I feel so left out.
But on a more serious note. I think these games do increase twitch re-actions for people, to be even remotely good you have to be able to identify a things distance, and even slight variations on where it exists in space to determine if you are going to fire at it.
Just taking medal of honor for example, many times on servers which force the skin type, it can be very hard to determine if someone is behind a wall because of the lack of contrast between default uniforms and the background.
The ability to know how thick an object is can really help determine how abnormal its shape is versus what it should be.
Anyone thats played these games a while, and has become familiar with where things are on there maps can almost run them backward. I used to play on a map called canalzone (the original for qwtf) that was "huge" and I could run it backward, or looking straight at the ground, as long as i knew where my start positon was. You need a good feel for how large the 3d space is relative to your character in the game to be able to do these kinds of things.
Now on games where weapons have travel time in space, knowledge of 3d space is even more important, games such as mechwarrior 4, coupled with some lag, require to know the movement speed in space so you can lead the target. If you dont have any idea how they are going to change relative shape vs distance in space, you are much less likely to hit your target.
so the hypothesis that games can affect how you determine things in 3d space seems completely plausible to me, because having "trained" people to play many 3d games myself (planetfortress.com/canalzone) (www.themfb.com search on wayback machine or google) I can tell you that the ability to have a good twitch instinct and judgment factors about objects in 3d space can really help.
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Sitting in front of a CRT all day playing games does wonders for your eyes. Those l33t visual skills aren't going to help when you can't see more than 10 feet in front of you. You're better off playing with yourself, at least going blind that way is an urban legend.
I think the ability to program is far more valuable than the marginal hand-eye coordination/spacial orientation that playing video games offers. You should feel fortunate that you childhood was spent in more valuable ways; I pissed mine away with nintendo, and sometimes I regret it.
the article said "playing action games improves visual skills." it said nothing about enhancing reasoning skills... if you cant drive: dont.. and dont play with knives no more
I tried driving defensively for a while, but I just got shat upon. Now I still zoom up alongside people who don't appear to be paying adequate attention, I just assume they're going to fuck up and I watch for it. I don't get myself into situations I can't brake or accelerate (or otherwise manouver) out of.
As for the food, though, you're spot on. Eating properly helps a lot. Getting enough rest does just as much for you. Your body needs fuel and sleep, and not giving it enough of both will ruin your productivity, or at least your consistency.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Tetris will help you develop different skills than, say, a flight simulator. Tetris helps you identify shapes rapidly, and identify relationships between shapes (the dropping piece, and the holes in the playfield.)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The other major thing they have reinforced, and that I have noticed has affected both my driving habits and the driving habits of my friends who play games (like GTA3 and GT3) is that while the game reinforces the fact that if you hit things, bad shit happens (ie. you spin out of control and the car bursts into flames.....now if that ain't incentive not to hit things i don't know what is) but also, that your perception of how close is too close goes WAAAAY down. I've noticed myself thinking that "as long as I don't HIT the person crossing the street, it's ok to drive very close by them at my present speed".
How's that for a double-edged sword.
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Oh really? No kidding? =P /. is why so many people see a gaming article and then instantly want to talk about how evil game playing is and how all of us gamers should go outside, get a girlfriend, etc..
One thing I always wonder about on
Why not accept that playing games can be fun? I mean you know, moderation and variation are the keys here.. I get out every day (have to for work/school anyway), I also (as you suggested) right my bike as well as a lot of other outdoor and indoor sports.. At the same time though.. My girlfriend and I both play multiplayer games at least an hour a day.. Why? Because they're fun.. Enjoy yourself instead of criticizing the world..