In response to “Goodbye, Cruel World” from The Escapist Forum: This article reminded me of my wife’s uncle, for whom the old AD&D Gold Box games were a frontline defense against his alcoholism. It also got me thinking about why my brother-in-law has been glued to his laptop since he wrecked his ankle playing softball.
This article explains why I find Child’s Play to be such a great idea. Hospital stays can be miserable for kids, especially when in pain, and distractants like the games Child’s Play provides go a long way to helping kids cope with a very alien experience.
To those fearing this will lead to an addiction, it’s far better to get hooked on games than on painkillers.
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In response to “Steady Hands Save Lives” from The Escapist Forum: They do improve hand-to-eye coordination. Thanks to FPS games I’m a better marksman than my father with military and police experience. And I’m only a bit worse than my cousin forester (in Poland they are required to be expert marksman using a scoped or sniper rifle).
For non-English speaking people, games are the first step to learning a new language. I started learning English by playing computer games (Arcade America, Diablo 2), watching English cartoons and listening to what people say in English.
When I got to 1st grade I was waaaay ahead of anyone in my class. In fact, when it comes to English, I’m one of the best students in my class. And from then it was easy to learn the basics of German and now Spanish.
– Abedeus
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In response to “What Would Yoshi Do?” from The Escapist Forum: Um… this article didn’t seem to have too much of a point. I mean, for me, it turned into more of a “Oh, what will the wacky writer try next?” extravaganza than an intelligently written article. I mean, I understand that it was trying to decipher role models in a video game world, but couldn’t that have been better accomplished by drawing a comparison between the archetype role model and a particular video game character, and then analyzing similarities and differences.
But I’m rambling. It did get me to think about which character I’d choose as a role-model. But other than that… it gets a resounding “meh.” from me.
Nice article, I’m sort of finding myself agreeing with Emu on this one though. However, that aside, I think it could have been more useful to act as a character more easily… human. “What would Yoshi do?” makes for an eye-catching article name but I’d rather if Yoshi wasn’t actually in the article.
However, I find it odd, as someone half touched on above, that some of these characters are, in essence, sociopathic killers. In fact, most heroes tend to be. I’m just wondering if it’s actually okay to treat any kind of murderer in such a light. Maybe I’m missing the point though, maybe it’s precisely the fact we could never do it that makes us worship them? I don’t know.
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In response to “The Joy of Videogame Cooking” from The Escapist Forum: Nice article. I’m both a video game enthusiast and a cooking enthusiast, so I’ve got a bit of a different perspective. I can survive quite well in a kitchen, thanks… but I DID pick up a skill or two from Cooking Mama. Onion chopping? Seriously, it’s an excellent way to make sure you get just the size pieces that you want. Also, you wouldn’t think that ketchup was appropriate to add to spaghetti, but…
Strangely, I’ll often have my DS in the kitchen with me if I know I need to mind a pot or a dish. Likely just to play Pokemon or something easy to while away a few minutes with, but… it helps. Some things, you must keep an eye on, but I’ve got an easily distractable brain, too. Solution? Distract yourself whilst in the kitchen!
…just don’t drop the DS in a pot. That’s bad.
Oh jeez. My mum has done the exact same thing. I think she was trying to make a cup of tea, but ended up going to sleep for about five hours. All the while the kettle sounded it’s piercing whistle. Kind of odd too, since she’s normally such a good cook.
I can cook fairly well *pokes picture in profile* but I’ve found that I don’t do it so much these days. The odd thing is that videogames have inspired me to cook in the past. Back when I played World of Warcraft, a few minutes of grinding the cooking skill would be all the motivation I’d need to get up and make an omelette. Potion making in TESIV: Oblivion made me thirsty a couple of times (not for a bread and apple smoothie, thankfully)
Great article. I liked it a lot, and it gave me a laugh.
– Novajam
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In response to “Gaming the Brain” from The Escapist Forum: Unfortunately, therapies that are time consuming like neurofeedback for ADHD(and in my case, phototherapy for SAD) are often going to fall by the wayside in favor of drugs that only take a second or two to swallow. I know I’m so busy that I value every second of sleep I manage to scrape together, and there’s no possible way I’d be willing to get up 20 min earlier than I have to just to sit in front of some high intensity light. I’d far rather throw an antidepressant down the hatch–even with all the side effects that come along with it.
So I suspect that neurofeedback might be an excellent option for students or older people, but no matter how effective it is, I can’t see it becoming widespread for those of us with more hectic lifestyles. Which is, well, most people.
– Solipsis
Interesting concept and an excellent read.
I wish I had heard of this when I was still in college – might have made those essays and study sessions a little easier. Granted, I’m still broke enough and without enough work to do that it’d still be a good option for me, but for people with more to do or simply more available spending money, a quick pill in the morning is still going to be favorable.
– Karisse
