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Everyone on these forums plays games, but have we ever sat back and thought "What did i learn from playing that game?" it might sound silly but when you sit back and think about it you learn something about every single game that you play.
Many people think games are just something to do when your bored, but many people see games as hobbies, a hobby which they enjoy and they can share with friends, but is playing games a learning process as well?
Controls
It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have great controls, while others have very poor controls which take a lot of getting used to, many games today offer various different control set-up's which will suit each players own personal preference, but controls for some games take a while to get the hang of, it depends on the game and the player, but learning the controls is probably the biggest key to success if you want to be a true player for that particular game.
Reflexes
A question that needs to be asked is do reflexes depend on how quickly, you as a gamer get to grips with the controls for games?
Imagine if we all had equal reflexes, would that make us better gamers? Well i'd say not, we are all inviduals but many of us like to explore games before we dive head first into it, but others like to spend their time getting used to the controls, todays games tend to have the same control set-ups, whether its for racing games or shoot-em ups, its to help us speed up our enjoyment of the game especially if we can get to grips with it straight away. But there's also a bad side to it, surely if all games have fairly similar control set-up's then developers could shy away from trying new and exciting things with controls? We can only hope that this does not happen as many games have some excellent set-ups.
Realism
Realism for many of us plays a big part in the learning process for playing games, driving games in particular for many are easy to get into, especially if you are a driver yourself, you tend to know how a vehical should handle. Many people stick with automatic gears in driving games, but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use automatic gears and how many use manaual.
Shoot-em-up's these days are getting even closer to reality, but is there more to just picking up a gun and aiming it at your target?
Is there a link from learning in games to how you would tackle that particular task in reality?
We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much different in reality?
Certainly reality helps us figure out things in games, but is it really as real in games as it is in reality? perhaps not, but reality in games is getting better all of the time, learning from reality teaches us many things, but maybe its not as real as we first thought.
Routes
Many games require you to follow a certain route or path and many games such as Grand Theft Auto give you the freedom to do what you wish or to follow a storyline, are you the gamer who follows the path? or one that strays away from it to enjoy the freedom of the game?
This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in games the way you want, games today allow us to tackle the problems head on or using stratergy, giving you the choice of which way you would like to deal with it, more choice in learning routes is the way forwards.
Puzzles
Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are? or just to make you think about what you are doing? many games include some very tough puzzles which require you to really think about the problem and others where the solution is staring you in the face, but does startergy and puzzle solving make us enjoy the game more or just drive us insane, well again it depends on the gamer but are we afraid to stick at the puzzle and succeed? or maybe its just lack of faith in ourselves, these types of games are there to test us, lets make sure we give it our best shot and solve the puzzle.
Instructions
Probably the easiest learning process when playing a game is actually reading the Instruction booklet, which gives you advice and tells you how to perform actions during the game. One of the main problems is that many of us don't read the instructions and become stuck at some point during the game, maybe there is more to the booklet than meets the eye? is the instruction booklet the key to our success in the game? perhaps its been staring us in the face all along, that many of our failures are due to not reading the booklet which is there to help us.
Development
When developing a game, the main targets that a developer must aim for is surely, "Which type of gamer is this aimed at?"
Developing a game must be a difficult task as it is, but so many things need taking into account, controls must be fairly easy to learn, the puzzles to test us but not driving us over the edge and giving us the freedom to do what we like, games must be a test for our learning process and the developers hold are the key to our success, they created that world we play in and its those people that influence our learning, next time you sit down and play, ask youself one question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
Spike
Many people think games are just something to do when your bored, but many people see games as hobbies, a hobby which they enjoy and they can share with friends, but is playing games a learning process as well?
Controls
It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have great controls, while others have very poor controls which take a lot of getting used to, many games today offer various different control set-up's which will suit each players own personal preference, but controls for some games take a while to get the hang of, it depends on the game and the player, but learning the controls is probably the biggest key to success if you want to be a true player for that particular game.
Reflexes
A question that needs to be asked is do reflexes depend on how quickly, you as a gamer get to grips with the controls for games?
Imagine if we all had equal reflexes, would that make us better gamers? Well i'd say not, we are all inviduals but many of us like to explore games before we dive head first into it, but others like to spend their time getting used to the controls, todays games tend to have the same control set-ups, whether its for racing games or shoot-em ups, its to help us speed up our enjoyment of the game especially if we can get to grips with it straight away. But there's also a bad side to it, surely if all games have fairly similar control set-up's then developers could shy away from trying new and exciting things with controls? We can only hope that this does not happen as many games have some excellent set-ups.
Realism
Realism for many of us plays a big part in the learning process for playing games, driving games in particular for many are easy to get into, especially if you are a driver yourself, you tend to know how a vehical should handle. Many people stick with automatic gears in driving games, but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use automatic gears and how many use manaual.
Shoot-em-up's these days are getting even closer to reality, but is there more to just picking up a gun and aiming it at your target?
Is there a link from learning in games to how you would tackle that particular task in reality?
We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much different in reality?
Certainly reality helps us figure out things in games, but is it really as real in games as it is in reality? perhaps not, but reality in games is getting better all of the time, learning from reality teaches us many things, but maybe its not as real as we first thought.
Routes
Many games require you to follow a certain route or path and many games such as Grand Theft Auto give you the freedom to do what you wish or to follow a storyline, are you the gamer who follows the path? or one that strays away from it to enjoy the freedom of the game?
This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in games the way you want, games today allow us to tackle the problems head on or using stratergy, giving you the choice of which way you would like to deal with it, more choice in learning routes is the way forwards.
Puzzles
Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are? or just to make you think about what you are doing? many games include some very tough puzzles which require you to really think about the problem and others where the solution is staring you in the face, but does startergy and puzzle solving make us enjoy the game more or just drive us insane, well again it depends on the gamer but are we afraid to stick at the puzzle and succeed? or maybe its just lack of faith in ourselves, these types of games are there to test us, lets make sure we give it our best shot and solve the puzzle.
Instructions
Probably the easiest learning process when playing a game is actually reading the Instruction booklet, which gives you advice and tells you how to perform actions during the game. One of the main problems is that many of us don't read the instructions and become stuck at some point during the game, maybe there is more to the booklet than meets the eye? is the instruction booklet the key to our success in the game? perhaps its been staring us in the face all along, that many of our failures are due to not reading the booklet which is there to help us.
Development
When developing a game, the main targets that a developer must aim for is surely, "Which type of gamer is this aimed at?"
Developing a game must be a difficult task as it is, but so many things need taking into account, controls must be fairly easy to learn, the puzzles to test us but not driving us over the edge and giving us the freedom to do what we like, games must be a test for our learning process and the developers hold are the key to our success, they created that world we play in and its those people that influence our learning, next time you sit down and play, ask youself one question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
Spike
Great post there speckles.
Yes I think we do learn a lot from playing games.The question is whether the knowledge we gather in the game extends to just that game or whether it can be applied elsewhere. Yes I agree that playing games enhances our reflexes and it does have many positive effects on us - my whole media coursework project is about this but I am just going to say a coupel of things.
First of all games exercise our minds-when we are faced with problems or puzzles, we actually need to physically use our brains to find a solutions. I would disagree with you when you said that games may test how clever we are.While the developer is likely to have a general idea of who is going to play the games, their solutions must be logical and not to require extra knowledge which some people may simply not have. I dont think it tests how clever we are but how much attention we have payed to the game up to that point and whether we can associate the puzzle with a real life situation and find a logical solution to the puzzle.
The freedom of our movements is also important. Games like GTA3 allow the player to be more independent in what they do-it actually makes them feel its up to them how they tackle each situation. And again this encourages the person to think logically about their moves and logically find a solution to each problem.
Realism is always a cause for concern from many peoples' point of view. How real is real?How real will games get? Do they portray anti-moral images and sent out negative values?But of course realistic games often make for compelling play and undoubtedly they enhance the experience.
I agree with most of the stuff you wrote there but again, do we have any use for stuff we use in games-or is it just somethin that sits at ther back of our minds and only comes up when we start playing again. Id like to think that it teaches us things that we can use for our own benefit in real-life situations and other games.
Again, good post :)
Yes I think we do learn a lot from playing games.The question is whether the knowledge we gather in the game extends to just that game or whether it can be applied elsewhere. Yes I agree that playing games enhances our reflexes and it does have many positive effects on us - my whole media coursework project is about this but I am just going to say a coupel of things.
First of all games exercise our minds-when we are faced with problems or puzzles, we actually need to physically use our brains to find a solutions. I would disagree with you when you said that games may test how clever we are.While the developer is likely to have a general idea of who is going to play the games, their solutions must be logical and not to require extra knowledge which some people may simply not have. I dont think it tests how clever we are but how much attention we have payed to the game up to that point and whether we can associate the puzzle with a real life situation and find a logical solution to the puzzle.
The freedom of our movements is also important. Games like GTA3 allow the player to be more independent in what they do-it actually makes them feel its up to them how they tackle each situation. And again this encourages the person to think logically about their moves and logically find a solution to each problem.
Realism is always a cause for concern from many peoples' point of view. How real is real?How real will games get? Do they portray anti-moral images and sent out negative values?But of course realistic games often make for compelling play and undoubtedly they enhance the experience.
I agree with most of the stuff you wrote there but again, do we have any use for stuff we use in games-or is it just somethin that sits at ther back of our minds and only comes up when we start playing again. Id like to think that it teaches us things that we can use for our own benefit in real-life situations and other games.
Again, good post :)
awwww aint won a GaD yet, nm matt
good post tho, gets my vote
good post tho, gets my vote
sPiKeCaSt wrote:
> Controls
> It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have
> great controls,
TimeSplitters taught me something new in this respect. Before playing the game I would always use the left stick for turning and forward/backward motion. But since using TimeSplitters I`ve got used to the strafing motions of the left stick with the turning motions for the right stick. Best control setup I`ve ever used I reckon - though I know a fair few people actually took the game back because of it!
> Reflexes
In games like Burnout, or shooting games like TimeSplitters, and other stuff like that, its often down to fast reflexes. Once you have the controls firmly under your belt, I find that its all down to how fast you react to what you see. Swerving out the way of oncoming traffic can make all the difference in Burnout... do you get extra boost for a near miss, or do you end up in a 3 second crash sequence?
Other games though, as you say, are less reflex reliant. Final Fantasy requires you to think fast, but you are given enough time to plan your next move, and push the buttons when you are ready. Other games similar to this include strategy games like Kessen.
> but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt
> for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use
> automatic gears and how many use manaual.
I`ve only been driving for three years, but I expect that makes me a person who is used to using manual gears. However, I almost always stick with automatic gears in games, and only tend to use manual when I really need every ounce of everything out of the car. For example, some of the GT3 licence tests - I could only get gold if I used the manual gear setup.
> We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much
> different in reality?
I think games probably increase your brain activity, and help you hone your reflexes, and perhaps make you better learners, but I don`t think it helps you pick up a gun (despite what GTA haters would have you believe). I still have no better idea of how to use a gun than I did back in the childhood days of cowboys and indians.
> This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer
> that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in
> games the way you want,
Going back to GT3 again, thats certainly one where you sit and learn things. I have each course and turn engraved on my brain from endless endurance races, licence tests and other races etc...
> Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are?
I don`t think I`ve ever seen a really decent puzzle in a modern game... but I have seen some real stinkers from back in the "old days". Good old BBC computers etc... :D
> Instructions
No comment :D I almost never read the manuals.
> next time you sit down and play, ask youself one
> question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
In recent weeks:
- Driving on the wrong side of the road could lead to accidents, but will not cause any serious injury, merely a three second delay.
- Throwing myself off an icy cliff will cause me to call out wildy, but will not hurt no matter how I land.
- Monkeys can carry guns, and are extremely satisfying to shoot.
etc... :D
I guess I just learn the wrong stuff in games really. There are serious lessons to learn though, stuff like drive safely, shoot only those who shoot you, extreme sports make you less fat, etc...
Isn`t gaming great!
> Controls
> It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have
> great controls,
TimeSplitters taught me something new in this respect. Before playing the game I would always use the left stick for turning and forward/backward motion. But since using TimeSplitters I`ve got used to the strafing motions of the left stick with the turning motions for the right stick. Best control setup I`ve ever used I reckon - though I know a fair few people actually took the game back because of it!
> Reflexes
In games like Burnout, or shooting games like TimeSplitters, and other stuff like that, its often down to fast reflexes. Once you have the controls firmly under your belt, I find that its all down to how fast you react to what you see. Swerving out the way of oncoming traffic can make all the difference in Burnout... do you get extra boost for a near miss, or do you end up in a 3 second crash sequence?
Other games though, as you say, are less reflex reliant. Final Fantasy requires you to think fast, but you are given enough time to plan your next move, and push the buttons when you are ready. Other games similar to this include strategy games like Kessen.
> but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt
> for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use
> automatic gears and how many use manaual.
I`ve only been driving for three years, but I expect that makes me a person who is used to using manual gears. However, I almost always stick with automatic gears in games, and only tend to use manual when I really need every ounce of everything out of the car. For example, some of the GT3 licence tests - I could only get gold if I used the manual gear setup.
> We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much
> different in reality?
I think games probably increase your brain activity, and help you hone your reflexes, and perhaps make you better learners, but I don`t think it helps you pick up a gun (despite what GTA haters would have you believe). I still have no better idea of how to use a gun than I did back in the childhood days of cowboys and indians.
> This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer
> that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in
> games the way you want,
Going back to GT3 again, thats certainly one where you sit and learn things. I have each course and turn engraved on my brain from endless endurance races, licence tests and other races etc...
> Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are?
I don`t think I`ve ever seen a really decent puzzle in a modern game... but I have seen some real stinkers from back in the "old days". Good old BBC computers etc... :D
> Instructions
No comment :D I almost never read the manuals.
> next time you sit down and play, ask youself one
> question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
In recent weeks:
- Driving on the wrong side of the road could lead to accidents, but will not cause any serious injury, merely a three second delay.
- Throwing myself off an icy cliff will cause me to call out wildy, but will not hurt no matter how I land.
- Monkeys can carry guns, and are extremely satisfying to shoot.
etc... :D
I guess I just learn the wrong stuff in games really. There are serious lessons to learn though, stuff like drive safely, shoot only those who shoot you, extreme sports make you less fat, etc...
Isn`t gaming great!
Mattastic wrote:
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!! If it gets it I'll sell my soul to the
> devil for £1.27
I hope this wins just for the sake of that then :D
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!! If it gets it I'll sell my soul to the
> devil for £1.27
I hope this wins just for the sake of that then :D
KR wrote:
> Mattastic wrote:
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!!
>
> Tart.
>
>
> Anwyays good post mate, aint seen a good post for a while and this is
> certainly one that no one has touched upon before.
>
> You just wasting some time waiting for Vice city? ;)
hehe, vice city is going to be great, i'm really excited, it feels like Christmas again!
> Mattastic wrote:
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!!
>
> Tart.
>
>
> Anwyays good post mate, aint seen a good post for a while and this is
> certainly one that no one has touched upon before.
>
> You just wasting some time waiting for Vice city? ;)
hehe, vice city is going to be great, i'm really excited, it feels like Christmas again!
Mattastic wrote:
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!!
Tart.
Anwyays good post mate, aint seen a good post for a while and this is certainly one that no one has touched upon before.
You just wasting some time waiting for Vice city? ;)
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!!
Tart.
Anwyays good post mate, aint seen a good post for a while and this is certainly one that no one has touched upon before.
You just wasting some time waiting for Vice city? ;)
Great post, BTW.
Mattastic wrote:
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!! If it gets it I'll sell my soul to the
> devil for £1.27
Oh shut up. Some people actually post here for the sake of it. Unlike you who only stays for GAD, which you just confirmed by saying your last post.
Gimp.
> Such a blatant attempt at GAD!! If it gets it I'll sell my soul to the
> devil for £1.27
Oh shut up. Some people actually post here for the sake of it. Unlike you who only stays for GAD, which you just confirmed by saying your last post.
Gimp.
Everyone on these forums plays games, but have we ever sat back and thought "What did i learn from playing that game?" it might sound silly but when you sit back and think about it you learn something about every single game that you play.
Many people think games are just something to do when your bored, but many people see games as hobbies, a hobby which they enjoy and they can share with friends, but is playing games a learning process as well?
Controls
It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have great controls, while others have very poor controls which take a lot of getting used to, many games today offer various different control set-up's which will suit each players own personal preference, but controls for some games take a while to get the hang of, it depends on the game and the player, but learning the controls is probably the biggest key to success if you want to be a true player for that particular game.
Reflexes
A question that needs to be asked is do reflexes depend on how quickly, you as a gamer get to grips with the controls for games?
Imagine if we all had equal reflexes, would that make us better gamers? Well i'd say not, we are all inviduals but many of us like to explore games before we dive head first into it, but others like to spend their time getting used to the controls, todays games tend to have the same control set-ups, whether its for racing games or shoot-em ups, its to help us speed up our enjoyment of the game especially if we can get to grips with it straight away. But there's also a bad side to it, surely if all games have fairly similar control set-up's then developers could shy away from trying new and exciting things with controls? We can only hope that this does not happen as many games have some excellent set-ups.
Realism
Realism for many of us plays a big part in the learning process for playing games, driving games in particular for many are easy to get into, especially if you are a driver yourself, you tend to know how a vehical should handle. Many people stick with automatic gears in driving games, but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use automatic gears and how many use manaual.
Shoot-em-up's these days are getting even closer to reality, but is there more to just picking up a gun and aiming it at your target?
Is there a link from learning in games to how you would tackle that particular task in reality?
We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much different in reality?
Certainly reality helps us figure out things in games, but is it really as real in games as it is in reality? perhaps not, but reality in games is getting better all of the time, learning from reality teaches us many things, but maybe its not as real as we first thought.
Routes
Many games require you to follow a certain route or path and many games such as Grand Theft Auto give you the freedom to do what you wish or to follow a storyline, are you the gamer who follows the path? or one that strays away from it to enjoy the freedom of the game?
This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in games the way you want, games today allow us to tackle the problems head on or using stratergy, giving you the choice of which way you would like to deal with it, more choice in learning routes is the way forwards.
Puzzles
Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are? or just to make you think about what you are doing? many games include some very tough puzzles which require you to really think about the problem and others where the solution is staring you in the face, but does startergy and puzzle solving make us enjoy the game more or just drive us insane, well again it depends on the gamer but are we afraid to stick at the puzzle and succeed? or maybe its just lack of faith in ourselves, these types of games are there to test us, lets make sure we give it our best shot and solve the puzzle.
Instructions
Probably the easiest learning process when playing a game is actually reading the Instruction booklet, which gives you advice and tells you how to perform actions during the game. One of the main problems is that many of us don't read the instructions and become stuck at some point during the game, maybe there is more to the booklet than meets the eye? is the instruction booklet the key to our success in the game? perhaps its been staring us in the face all along, that many of our failures are due to not reading the booklet which is there to help us.
Development
When developing a game, the main targets that a developer must aim for is surely, "Which type of gamer is this aimed at?"
Developing a game must be a difficult task as it is, but so many things need taking into account, controls must be fairly easy to learn, the puzzles to test us but not driving us over the edge and giving us the freedom to do what we like, games must be a test for our learning process and the developers hold are the key to our success, they created that world we play in and its those people that influence our learning, next time you sit down and play, ask youself one question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
Spike
Many people think games are just something to do when your bored, but many people see games as hobbies, a hobby which they enjoy and they can share with friends, but is playing games a learning process as well?
Controls
It might sound the most basic thing to learn, but some games have great controls, while others have very poor controls which take a lot of getting used to, many games today offer various different control set-up's which will suit each players own personal preference, but controls for some games take a while to get the hang of, it depends on the game and the player, but learning the controls is probably the biggest key to success if you want to be a true player for that particular game.
Reflexes
A question that needs to be asked is do reflexes depend on how quickly, you as a gamer get to grips with the controls for games?
Imagine if we all had equal reflexes, would that make us better gamers? Well i'd say not, we are all inviduals but many of us like to explore games before we dive head first into it, but others like to spend their time getting used to the controls, todays games tend to have the same control set-ups, whether its for racing games or shoot-em ups, its to help us speed up our enjoyment of the game especially if we can get to grips with it straight away. But there's also a bad side to it, surely if all games have fairly similar control set-up's then developers could shy away from trying new and exciting things with controls? We can only hope that this does not happen as many games have some excellent set-ups.
Realism
Realism for many of us plays a big part in the learning process for playing games, driving games in particular for many are easy to get into, especially if you are a driver yourself, you tend to know how a vehical should handle. Many people stick with automatic gears in driving games, but is it only people who can drive that tend to opt for manual gears? it would be interesting to see how many use automatic gears and how many use manaual.
Shoot-em-up's these days are getting even closer to reality, but is there more to just picking up a gun and aiming it at your target?
Is there a link from learning in games to how you would tackle that particular task in reality?
We all know how to operate a gun in a game, but is it really that much different in reality?
Certainly reality helps us figure out things in games, but is it really as real in games as it is in reality? perhaps not, but reality in games is getting better all of the time, learning from reality teaches us many things, but maybe its not as real as we first thought.
Routes
Many games require you to follow a certain route or path and many games such as Grand Theft Auto give you the freedom to do what you wish or to follow a storyline, are you the gamer who follows the path? or one that strays away from it to enjoy the freedom of the game?
This is where the learning process kicks in, depending on the gamer that you are, you will learn how to tackle problems or situations in games the way you want, games today allow us to tackle the problems head on or using stratergy, giving you the choice of which way you would like to deal with it, more choice in learning routes is the way forwards.
Puzzles
Are puzzles in games there to test how clever you are? or just to make you think about what you are doing? many games include some very tough puzzles which require you to really think about the problem and others where the solution is staring you in the face, but does startergy and puzzle solving make us enjoy the game more or just drive us insane, well again it depends on the gamer but are we afraid to stick at the puzzle and succeed? or maybe its just lack of faith in ourselves, these types of games are there to test us, lets make sure we give it our best shot and solve the puzzle.
Instructions
Probably the easiest learning process when playing a game is actually reading the Instruction booklet, which gives you advice and tells you how to perform actions during the game. One of the main problems is that many of us don't read the instructions and become stuck at some point during the game, maybe there is more to the booklet than meets the eye? is the instruction booklet the key to our success in the game? perhaps its been staring us in the face all along, that many of our failures are due to not reading the booklet which is there to help us.
Development
When developing a game, the main targets that a developer must aim for is surely, "Which type of gamer is this aimed at?"
Developing a game must be a difficult task as it is, but so many things need taking into account, controls must be fairly easy to learn, the puzzles to test us but not driving us over the edge and giving us the freedom to do what we like, games must be a test for our learning process and the developers hold are the key to our success, they created that world we play in and its those people that influence our learning, next time you sit down and play, ask youself one question, "What did i learn?" you might be very surprised.
Spike