Computer Gaming IS Good For You

Well of course it’s you, I knew you’d be back for some extended loving.

Now I’ve had a bit of a mini break away while I deal with people that have no concept of how to use their brains, I’m back and on the subject of using brains…

I stumbled across THIS article on Forbes.com (I don’t really read Forbes, it was linked from the incredible listverse.com website). Basically the outline of it all is that playing computer games is not only good for you, it’s fucking brilliant!

After reading the article, and re-reading it, it correlates with a lot of things that I’ve thought of regarding computer games.

Article Points:

• They teach you how to think critically, how to solve problems.
• They teach you collaboration skills.
• They teach you how to fail.
• They make you happy.

So let’s just delve a little deeper into those 4 points, and then ladies and gentlemen, if you get shit from your significant other or a parent who’s moaning at you for being on the Xbox instead of enjoying the weather outside or being in your room all day you will have some sexy ammunition for them.

They Teach You How To Think Critically, How To Solve Problems.

The first point raised in the article is quite an obvious one when you think about it. Think about when either you were a child playing computer games or when your current little bastard is sat trying to get further on his or her chosen game.

There is usually a moment in every game that you approach it like the rest of the game…you think you’re getting somewhere…you’re certain you’ve done something right, that large platform just moved…oh no, wait…now you’re dead.

Something along those lines happen to you? Mayhaps, or maybe you’ve been playing a game like Football Manager, or Call of Duty, or Civilization? All of these games present their own challenges, their own ways of getting through problems, and their own ways of making you think differently. Solving problems in games, is about trial and error, about seeing where YOU the gamer is flawed, and how you can change and adapt in order to progress. These are key life skills, and can give you key advantages over others in being able to “think outside the box”.

They Teach You Collaboration Skills

That’s right. You’ve heard of Multiplayer right? Well generally (unless it’s like an Unreal / Quake Style all in Death Match) you are playing Multiplayer as a part of a team. Be it 2 massive teams fighting each other which generally limits the amount of actual teamwork and results a lot of lone-wolfery from what I’ve seen, or small teams – much like in Mass Effect 3 MP.

Now I prattle on about Mass Effect a lot on this blog – you may have seen – so it should come as no surprise that the game I’m going to use as a perfect example of teamwork and collaboration is Left 4 Dead.

In L4D you are effectively punished by the AI Director for wandering off and trying to be Rambo of the Dead. If you wander off, you get punished. If you work together, the AI Director in game essentially gives you more breaks. Say you get a massive horde of zombies, you deal with them but sustain enough damage to warrant using a med-pack or painkillers, once dealing with the horde as a team, generally you get a bit of breathing space to patch up, reload and progress before the next batch of enemies.

However, if you were to deal with a horde of zombies as say 4 individuals, not working together, covering each other – separated from each other, then the game might still provide you with a breather, but not as long and certainly nowhere near guaranteed.

This forces the players to work as a team to progress and succeed. This goes well for the Verses mode on the game, in which 2 teams of 4 face off, 4 suvivors vs 4 Special Infected. The infected will work a lot more like a team than the survivors, talking more, planning more and generally being more tactically aggressive.

They Teach You How To Fail

The example given of Forbes is one that is cropping up not just in the USA but in the UK as well. A culture among schools that there are no winners and losers at this can breed negative emotions and undue rivalries or whatever the fucking weak sauce case may be. The example being that a ribbon is given to everyone who participates in a race – shit of the bull. This if anything suppresses the competitive nature in humans, as if there is no reward for outperforming everyone else, what the fuck is the point of trying?

Essentially, this is one where Computer Games kick the royal arseholes of schools for younger kids these days. In Computer Games, there are definite winners and losers. Say you are playing Mario Kart – not everyone can win, obviously, there are winners and losers. You get chances to win, say in a Grand Prix where you get 4 or 5 races, you might win a couple of them but lose a couple – it’ll be seeing who earned the most points that is the winner.

In a nutshell though, computer games teach you to fail, but not only that, they teach you that if you want to succeed and you fail along the way, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again.

They Make You Happy

Happiness. If computer games didn’t make people happy, would they be the multi billion £/$ businesses that they are today? Would Computer games sales have outstripped Movie and Music Sales for the past few years?

Right, OK, it might be a bit of an obvious one but it has wider connotations. Basically, the happier you are, the harder you work. The happier you are, the better quality your work. The happier you are, the happier others around you will be. It’s true, happiness breeds happiness.

Ladies, gentlemen…have you ever been brought down into a bad mood because your other half wasn’t happy? Have you ever been put in a better mood because your other half was generally happy?

This works especially well for parents as well here. As a parent myself, I am much more willing and able to be the fun, stupid Dad my kids like more when I know I’ve either had a good bit of playtime myself or I know that later on, I’m gonna enjoy myself playing on the PC.

That’s a bit of a poor point however, you could get happiness from reading books, or stargazing, or drawing – it would produce those same feelings and feelings in those around you as computer gaming. I’m going to quote directly from the Forbes site however for this point, as it puts it better than I.

“Dr. McGonigal says, “games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves.” Another name for ‘hard work we choose for ourselves’ is mastery.  When we work toward mastery, it stretches us – we go past our limitations, learn how to do new things….we get smarter.”

So there you go. If you want to spend a couple of hours playing a game, you fucking do it. If anyone gives you shit for it, you put them straight. You tell them that by playing games, you’re getting smarter, you’re getting ready for the challenges, ups and downs of life, you’re learning how to communicate effectively and work well as a part of a team and it makes you happy.

Got it?

I’ll see you later then.

Toolbox 24

Video Game Addiction?

Are Some Games (COUGH EA COUGH) Promoting an Addictive Culture Among Kids?

That’s right, I’m going from my last post which was very staunch in its defence of video games in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shooting, to what might come as a surprise but a blog warning of the addictive nature of some games.

Addictions come in many forms. The more recognisable addictions like smoking, alcohol and drugs are common place in the world, and other addictions like gambling, junk-food and shopping are also fairly common in the world, even if they are not thought of in quite the same class as the former examples.

I’m going to generalise somewhat, considering that for example I’m not a drug addict or alcoholic.

It seems that people latch onto things like booze, junk-food, cigarettes or drugs to escape – even for 5 minutes – from the stresses of everyday life. Mild addictions such as someone saying they need their morning coffee to function for the day, aren’t usually thought of as an addiction, but quite clearly is – even if it is quite mild. Some people need that glass of wine at the end of the day, and some people need to walk away from things just for that 5 minute nicotine fix.

That's no cigar...it's a SPACE STATION...of meth.

Some of these addictions are quite harmless and just thought of as a part and parcel of day-to-day modern life. I’m guilty of falling into this category as well – just ask my wife.

I’ll give you my own personal example – video games. After being at work all day, I walk the couple of miles home, stopping off at the shop to top up on milk and bread, and then when I get home I either help Mrs Toolbox make the dinner, or enjoy the meal that’s waiting for me. Eventually the kids get sent up to bed, and after settling them in and making my way downstairs (for once the kids are up to bed, our sitting room becomes our bedroom) the wife gets into entering her competitions, and I pull out my gaming chair, flick on the Xbox or PS3 sit back and escape. You may know from previous blogs my penchant for Mass Effect, but games like that, GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Gears of War, Unchartered etc all fall into the same kind of category for me. To escape the crappy country the British Government is determined to make for us all (apart from the rich) I indulge myself in my games, becoming Nico Bellic or Commander Shepard or Nathan Drake for a couple of hours before getting into bed, watching something funny and going to sleep to start another day again.

If for whatever reason, I can’t get my fix of game playing, I do become more ratty, more irritable and less like the cheery person I usually am from day to day.

My wife knows this all too well. J

But it wasn’t me that I was thinking of when I thought of writing this blog. It was our eldest son.

For his birthday, he got FIFA 13 – not unusual, he plays football for the local youth team, he watches Sky Sports News religiously, scans the internet for football news regularly and is a keen Football Manager and FIFA fan. He plays them both…almost addictively. But not quite. You see, yes he’s a typical gaming teenager, but he does well at school, he’s got a good network of friends, is active and has gone through girls in his year like people go through underwear. Not what most people probably think of when they think of teenagers who play copious amounts of video games. But there is a twist in this particular tale…

As I mentioned, we got him FIFA 13 for his birthday as we do every year for either his birthday or Christmas, and things were normal – at first. He has been playing online more with his mate who, admittedly comes from a more affluent family ours. And this time around, the main thing with FIFA hasn’t been playing the occasional online game while focussing on playing careers offline. Oh no. It’s been playing FIFA Ultimate Team.

O FIFA...y u want moar muni?

And the hatred for EA Games will begin. You see, EA Sports have always had this particular motto which is probably familiar to most people – “It’s in the game.” which is just a shortened version of its original motto “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.” basically showing off their expertise at being able to replicate its aim of making sports games as true to life as possible. And with the birth of the Ultimate Team in FIFA 09 it’s become a monster with FIFA 13 and the introduction of FIFA Points, designed to make purchasing packs (spit spit spit) easier.

Previously, our resident teenager was happy playing FIFA without the UT, however this year things have changed. Suffice to say, that shortly after his birthday, for Christmas we bought him some MS Points so he could play the UT with his friend. Harmless enough we thought, and we thought that would be that. I mean come on, A premium gold pack, costs about 100 FIFA Points, which costs 80 MS Points, which costs about 62p. Not much harm to be done there no? Uhhh, ya think?

You see as an adult, I understand the concept of patience, if I were to indulge in the FIFA UT, I would play the game to raise in-game credits, to then buy the packs for free. As a teenager with all the patience of a fruit fly, this would take far too long, and require a bit of commitment.

So he used all of his MS Points to buy FIFA Points, to buy gold pack, after gold pack, after gold pack. Then all would be good, he’d come downstairs with grand proclamations of his now amazing team, one that is predominantly Spanish, and one that is pretty awesome. Cool.

Then it happened. The addiction to opening these packs began. He would get itchy. He would get bored. He would get the urge to get more packs. So he’d sell his entire team, to get in game credits, to spend on more packs, then when he found that he had no players left he’d look at his wad of cash. He got quite a bit of cash for his birthday from various family members you see. And what at first was going to be so he could go into town with his mates, or treat himself to some treats, become something far more insidious.

“Mum, can you buy me some more MS Points for the Xbox, I need them for my Ultimate Team?” he’d enquire.

“But you already had a load of points, and what happened to your Spanish-y team?” she would enquire back. “You were only talking about how glad you were yesterday!”

“Yeah, I sold them to get more packs, I wanted a change.” He’d reply, quite bluntly.

“Are you sure this is how you want to spend your birthday money?” she probed, trying to make sure that it was definitely what was wanted.

“Yeah, it’s only a bit though, I mean I still got loads to go to town with!” he’d answer, immediately, he’d obviously thought it all through.

“Ok then, how much do you want to spend?” she’d ask…

It would continue. We thought, sod it, it’s close to Christmas, and his prezzie pile is looking quite small, let’s get him some points for Christmas as well! Oh how we regret that decision, and regret the initial decision to help him get his first pack.

You see, just after Christmas he basically did exactly what he did before Christmas – but with a Spanish team. And then he found out that there was an Ultimate Team “Happy Hour” where packs were cheaper or some shit. And the tell-tale signs of addiction game to the fore. He’d gone through his points like a hot knife through butter, and then had sold off all his players in a bid to get more packs. And when we told him that, no we wouldn’t let him spend his money on such a load of old bollocks the withdrawal symptoms began.

The sad face. The sulky posture. The zombie-like shuffling. The groans. The slumping. And the flopping. To anyone who didn’t know, they’d have thought his puppy had just been hit by a car. To us, we knew it was for one thing and one thing only.

We succumbed. L

OK FINE! If you want to waste your money on these bloody packs, then do it. And he did, and he did. Until enough was enough.

A few days later and after having spent the equivalent of about £100 in game on fucking packs we stopped it all. Cut him off cold turkey from the fucking packs. And it started all over again. The sad face. The sulky posture. The zombie-like shuffling. The groans. The slumping. And the flopping. Only this time we persevered. 

Apt.

Then we had the ultimate stereotypical addict catch-phrase. “I know that if I get one more lot of points, it’ll be different this time.” How that sentence alone inspired me to write this you’ll never know. It rings of “I just need one more fix/drink/cigarette/snort/etc and then I’ll sort myself out.”

But we persevered. And the reaction from the boy was most telling. Not even a month after being given the game for his birthday, he told us he wants to sell it. In previous years, many a happy hour had been spent plying his trade, becoming a formidable FIFA player, enjoying playing the game, navigating the transfer windows, overcoming challenges of playing higher division clubs, playing the game for what it always was. And now, he feels that he needs to get rid of the game to avoid the temptation of the packs. The normal game offers no replay value for him anymore, and he’s now trying to get into other games…but things just don’t quite seem right with him still.

(As a side point, check out almost any EA Game now, almost all of them have little micro-transactions in them, from FIFA to The Sims 3 to Mass Effect to Star Wars: The Old Republic.)

So let me sum up. Basically, the example above of the boy who zombiefied himself due to not being able to get his “fix” of FIFA Points, is quite extreme. Look at myself as an example instead. I’m in my mid-twenties, I love to game and I get a bit shitty if I don’t sometimes. BUT I’m a father of 4, I’m in full-time work as a Civil Servant in the MoD and I’m part of a happy family. I’m not a recluse, I’m not massively overweight (OK I’m a bit chunky but not that bad!), I don’t have awkward social skills and I do have friends that don’t just exist on the screen in-front of me. Basically, let your kids play, let them have their fun, because God knows that if I knew that by my mid-twenties I’d be in the position I’m in now, I’d have made the most of every minute of gaming that wasn’t interrupted by a crying toddler or a moody-hungry teenager.

I just hope that in 16 years time (when my youngest will be old enough to go to University or work or whatever) I’ll still be a happy gamer with more actual time to game. Either that, or I’ll be in my 40’s enjoying things like Midsomer Murders and waiting to die.

TTFN!

Toolbox 24

The Walking Dead

Evening all.

As a gamer (in my spare time between working in the MoD and being a dad) I find that sometimes you just feel like a complete change. Sometimes you might want to read, listen to music, scan YouTube for hilarious videos of people eating ghost chilli peppers and other such ventures in your free time.

A couple of years ago I had the misfortune to contract pneumonia, bad times indeed but it did give me a ton of time to lay back on the sofa and rest...albeit whilst struggling to breath without pain, but still beggars can't be choosers.

Anyway, one thing that got me through that shitty ailment was a little something called The Walking Dead. I don't mean the tv show that's returning to our screens later this month, I mean the comics that the series is loosely based on. I say loosely because if it followed everything in the comics tv audiences would be a bit more shocked than they alread are. However, I digress.

I read through volume after volume of the comics reaching a point where the events of Hershel's farm in season 2 seems like very old news to me. He'll even the discovery of the prison that is going to dominate season 3 seems like a distant memory.

The books captivated me, and for the times when I was reading them, the pain seemed to fade for a while. So, good times yes? Yes. Well when the tv show came out they originally had this little online game you could play which looked a bit poor if I'm honest, so I never indulged in it. Earlier this year however TellTale games brought us The Walking Dead Season 1, done much like their Back To The Future games. And that is well.

The games are riveting, immersive and so fun it feels much like the comics and the tv show, while creating a new story arc, and every couple of months they have released a new episode, with ep4 due to come out this month, and the season finale due in December along with a boxed retail version of the game.

Well that's all great, and what's even more great is that apparently TellTale have been commissioned to make Season 2, eps 6-10 in 2013. Excellent news ja?

Not just that but The Walking Dead fever doesn't stop there, nosirree bob. Coming soon will also be a TWD FPS game featuring tv show characters Daryl and Merl Dixon in a story set before the tv show started. Not too bad, but me? I dunno, it looks good but you gotta understand, I'm a TWD purist, and I hate to tell you but Daryl and Merl are characters that are only in the tv show, they don't appear at all in the comics, so for me, they shouldn't be there. And to have a game that is based around them seems a bit weird.

Now the TellTale games story and (almost) all new characters feel great be ause they aren't a part of Ricks group, they are a different set of people following a different course. And I like that. I think the potential is there in TWD universe to create something like a great RPG or even MMORPG, too many zombie games take the "BLAST THEM ALL TO SHIT" route, which admittedly is something that happens a fair bit, but it's the survival aspect, the people, the food shortages, the looking for shelter that is what a zombie survival game should be about. Christ even a Sims mod could work.

In fact an RTS TWD game could work as well...that's usually about resource gathering, keeping your base or "safe zone" well...safe. There's an awful lot of scope for TWD but predictably, they're going down the FPS route. Oh well.

Anyway, I've written this blog over 2 nights because of various technical reasons, and the flow I had when I started has gone a bit really. So I'll leave it there.

Basically the outcome of this blog is that TellTale games TWD Season 1 has episode 4 coming out this month with episode 5 coming around Christmas with an expected Season 2, Eps 6-10 coming out in 2013. Not just that but The Walking Dead Video Game is coming out focusing on the Dixon brothers before they joined the group outside Atlanta in the TV show. But you know all this. You've just read my blog.

TTFN

Toolbox 24