I’ve been reading a lot of articles lately about teaching kids life lessons through sports, and using organized activies to help prepare them for the "real world." That got me thinking: video games do the same thing. People just don’t really talk about it.
With video games, sometimes you enter levels that are rather easy to navigate and play through, but as time passes, the levels get harder, and the bosses become more formidable. And in some cases, the solutions to various traps and puzzles seem to elude you until you are certain that you will never be able to figure things out.
Life is like that sometimes.
Maybe that’s why gamers are so resilient in times of trouble. With my gaming pals, when they’re going though tough times, it’s like, "FTW, I hate it, but I’m going to beat it somehow." Either that or they just laugh and play a few games. Some people say that’s just ignoring the problem, but I think it’s much deeper than just escapism.
We’re conditioned to face challenges in every game we play – whether it’s a causal game of Wii Sports or an intense title like Gears of War, games all seem to teach us a subliminal message – that there’s always a solution to a problem or challenge.
Another thing that gamers excel in (most of the time anyway) is their ability to stick with objectives. I know the typical stereotype of a gamer is usually someone who is a slacker. But in real life, this is far from the truth, and many of the gamers I know past and present are some of the most diligent folks I’ve met.
Gamers are persistent to a fault when it comes to completing missions or goals in games — just look at the Achievement Points. There is a mindset that things have to get done no matter what, and this translates to someone who understands what it means to take up a diificult task and stick to it until it is completed. Pretty good qualities for an individual when facing life’s curve balls, wouldn’t you say?
Ok, I didn’t get my degree in psychology, but this sort of makes sense to me. Of course, life, some would say, is a game. You have to play games with your boss because he’s always hounding you to do more work for less money. Your teachers play the game of "pass this course or you’re just a failure." Parents play the guilt game and say, "If you’d stop playing so many games, you’d do better in school," and so on.
But the bottom line to all of this is that gamers know how to have fun and also realize something about life that most people don’t know: you can always beat the game if you don’t give up.
What do you think? Has playing games helped you out at all?
