Video Games have benefits
 

I know that many of us have poored heart and soul into one game or another. Many call us nerds, and tell us that we will gain nothing of it. It is a waste of time they say, but this thread shall prove them wrong!

Post anything you've gotten out of video games, or anything you've gained from them.

My example: My reaction time has halved since I started playing video games, and after playing various football games, I've actually gotten better at football. I'm now one of the people the football coach would ask onto his team his both of his QB's were injured. I kid you not, I can now drop a 30 yard pass really easily. Beyond this, I've also become much more of a creative thinker, and I've noticed that my patience seems to have lengthened.

What have you all gotten out of this medium?

Well, patience was really good. But I play a lot of RPGs. I don't know if they helped, but I have always wanted to be a writer. I thought the story for Secret of Mana and Earthbound were great and something I'd one day want to expand on in my own way.

And because of games, I notice I don't need TV. I like the interaction a lot better than say watching someone else interact with things.

Yeah, I don't watch TV for hours on end like some people... call us nerds... at least we do something...

My reaction time has also increased, as well as my creativity. Also, I'm mainly an RPG player (I play lots of other things as well... not sports though) and the themes brought up in RPGs, although mostly on a simplistic scale, can help in recognizing themes in the first place. And there's my A in english, and good night.

Also puzzles in games let the mind flourish and grow as any puzzle ina puzzle book would.

I have great finger dexterity (my relaxed typing speed is about 95 GWAM, 94 NWAM) and I am a whiz at arithmatic, due to all the number crunching I've done in RPG's, not to mention the number MUNCHING that I've done in Number Munchers. People at work often ask me to do calculations (there's not any handy computers). So if for some reason they need to know 17 X 35, they don't have to pull out pen and paper, because I am a good substitute for a computer.

I feel so used.

Wow, I just was going to create this thread. :p

I have a rather good sense of orientation, myself. I can take a look at a map and know where to go with little margin of error - I chalk that up to Zelda and GTA, mainly. And even if I don't have a map, I generally can find my way around by landmarks and, when I do get lost, find my way back just as easily. That would be from playing lots of RPG's without maps. If you can find your way through FFVIII's dungeons, you can find your way through your neighbourhood.

Then there's my analytical method of problem solving and my calmness even in normally stressful situations. You have to develop that if you like puzzle games. :3nod:

Mind you, I'm sure I have a genetic (or whatever) disposition towards these things anyway, but I'm sure video games helped me develop them.

timing, reactions, patience, its all improved a ton. Heck, games have even made me more social (That was a tricky one. All hail WoW).

super mario RPG taught me to read well. I was only in 3rd grade when i got the game, and I played through it like, 10 times in a few months, and i'd always needed my mom to read through some of the more text rich parts, but A.) she was not always handy and B.) i was shamed by mild illiteracy. so by the time i was done with that game i was one of the better readers in my class, now i read big honking novels for fun. Yay for mario!

The combination of gaming and the Internet (as related to gaming) has helped me with at least the following:

Problem solving, reading and writing, being a better person in competition (competitive online gaming), better perception of the world around me (RPGs with decent stories tend to do that), and getting me away from TV (more on that later). Of course, my reaction time improved, and I have become better at adapting and thinking on my feet (the latter of which is still a stubborn point for me).

There is a slight underlying angst I feel, so I will dig it up, but without getting into specifics:

People are interested in assigning values to everything in the world (and video games are no exception), but video games are very much like TV, music, movies, radio, and books. Some are more effective at certain tasks than others (although probably only video games and to a lesser extent books can be interactive), but they are generally all capable of doing great things and horrible things. There is television programming that has no-nonsense but genuine discussions on controversial issues, and there are books that advocate and detail violent torture. Thus, such forms of media should not be considered inseparable.

The point is that you should judge each creation on its own merits, not on whether it is a book, a song, TV show, or a video game. The greater sellers of violence have done so through TV, music, and movies, but I think this has more to do with prejudices and certain industries adapting more quickly than others. And even then, there are many beautiful works that found their way into a movie or a video game.

Just as you shouldn't burn books, you shouldn't block/ban/delete/freeze video games.

being an avid gamer since i was 7, i have noticed subtle increases in many things:

I have much better coordination than I did, say, 3 years ago.
I have a much larger vocabulary (thanks, text-based RPG's!)
I am a much more patient individual and rarely get stressed out
I am an excellent problem solver (and my math grades show it)
I have a much keener perception of detail
I have lightning-fast reflexes (karate probably has also helped, though)
I have good aim
I can kicks my brother's asses without hurting them physically
etc, etc...

I've gotten pretty good with a pistol thanks to using a lightgun, and I've got some pretty dead-on aim. Enough to at least make me a sharpshooter at the rifle range at least. ^_^V

I also tend to notice little things that others overlook, thanks to RPGs.