It’s no great secret that video games have received a lot of bad press in recent years and words like addiction and indoctrination are often mentioned in the same breath. Frankly, there is a lot of positives that can be drawn from video games to quash the negative opinion that surrounds the past time – many gamers develop key life skills from video games. Continue reading to find out what they are.
Patience and Determination
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Even in the earliest days of video gaming; players were tested to their limits by the sheer difficulty of some games. Replaying the same level over and over again until success was finally achieved can have a beneficial effect on the player as it actively develops patience and the determination to succeed.
Transferring this patient approach and will to achieve to life away from the games consoles makes for more rounded working individuals. Many jobs require workers to be patient with clients and customers or dig in their heels and push on for promotion and greater successes – that infuriating level on Battletoads no doubt shaped some of the best and brightest in your business sector!
Planning for Success
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A lot of the more modern games require the player to think for themselves if they are to beat a certain level or an in-game challenge which promotes strategic planning and, to an extent forward thinking. Even the puzzle games many people enjoy on their smartphones offer a great deal of key skill development.
Candy Crush, as an example, requires the player to plan out their moves to create specific arrangements and patterns of symbols to record the highest scores – a few levels before that major planning meeting and you’ll no doubt find yourself putting forward some great ideas that will get you noticed as an innovator.
Players even develop a keen eye for planning in the online casinos as you can’t rely on reading your opponent when you can’t see them! Understanding how to use your gaming skills to win tournaments or assessing the game when indulging in competitive matches can develop planning skills in a way unlike any other.
Leadership
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Perhaps an odd trait to pick out from video game players but not every gamer meets the negative stereotype’s outline. Many gamers are indulging in the online multiplayer aspects that promote socializing and, more often than not, leadership among players to achieve a common goal.
In truth, the common goal is normally to eliminate the opposing team with a variety of weapons but taking part in a few group contests online will show just how important a leader can be amongst a team – these leadership skills transfer seamlessly to reality and don’t be surprised to see the gun toting mastermind from your favorite game heading up his own department in your office.
Creativity
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Some time ago; a raft of brain training games hit the shelves and promptly flew off them as the world sought a way to improve their mental capabilities without looking to expensive courses and seminars – the system worked too as many players reported improved cognitive experiences after playing over a period of time.
Aside of these specificity designed training games; video games also promote creativity as players have more freedom than ever before to customize their characters and surroundings. A jaunt through someone else’s video game world will have you wondering just how they developed their character’s design so beautifully and you only need look at the exceptional Minecraft creations to know that video games boost creativity.
Sympathy and Empathy
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Two crucial skills for social interaction; sympathy and empathy aren’t just developed through adolescence and nurturing parenthood – the players can become so immersed in a video game that it begins to touch them in ways no-one thought would be possible.
The most obvious example of this, from a gaming perspective, is the crushing realization at the end of Final Fantasy VII where your beloved companion Aerith is struck down by the final boss and dies in your character’s arms – players around the world truly understood sympathy and empathy in that one moment and similar instances have been documented since.
So, in conclusion, video games don’t just promote violence and indoctrinate players into a variety of activities – they are taking the role of nurturing their development and contributing almost as much as parents, friends and role models do in daily life. Appreciate the games; don’t dismiss them.
