Positive effects of gaming

[Barry Admin]

What do you think you've learned from gaming that's helped you in some way?

I think battle royale games have helped me with my anxiety in some ways. If you hot drop - as people LOVE to do - then you're thrown into a really highly intense 'fight or flight' situation.

I find these games - specifically Apex - so amazingly fucking hard to keep up with as well... There is soooo much going on at all times, that I feel it helps me cope with pressure. Then you also have times where you are the last one alive, and you have to rescue and resurrect your teammates, or even clutch a win.

The reason I was thinking about this was I often see people on here say they hate online gaming because of the conflict, and don't want people screaming at them when it goes bad, and stuff like that. And I think, well, good old graded exposure comes into play here. The more you put yourself into positions like that, the better you learn to deal with them.

Beyond that, I think my reflexes are still rather good for a man of my age, and I feel like my brain gets a good workout.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Beyond that, I think my reflexes are still rather good for a man of my age, and I feel like my brain gets a good workout.

That's the big one, it can't be overstated how much gaming keeps your brain active, your reflexes sharp, and help develop your problem solving skills. Not to mention that it can also help fuel your imagination and creativity.

I don't online game except for sometimes with a couple of friends or the odd anonymous co-op (such as SW Battlefront) but I do find it also helps with my anxiety but for different reasons, for me it's more that it offers an escape, something different to focus my brain on.

[Barry Admin]

That's the big one, it can't be overstated how much gaming keeps your brain active, your reflexes sharp, and help develop your problem solving skills. Not to mention that it can also help fuel your imagination and creativity.

I did nearly mention problem solving!  I think that's absolutely true for sure, and again, I love that gaming puts me in high pressure moments where I have to do that - and consider many other things - all at the same time.

I don't online game except for sometimes with a couple of friends or the odd anonymous co-op (such as SW Battlefront) but I do find it also helps with my anxiety but for different reasons, for me it's more that it offers an escape, something different to focus my brain on.

That's great to hear, and again, I totally agree.  If I'm honest, I do hide away too much in games, but they've been an absolute lifeline for me during the pandemic.  Especially during the first year or so, where I just went into complete survival mode and really struggled to deal with what was going on, particularly given how vulnerable I am to the whole thing.  I had to just stop following the news altogether at one point, and lived in games for months.

[Mr Trumpet]

I learned what polytheism means from playing Civ 2

[Utter Shit]

Living under lockdown conditions with two kids under four over the past 18 months, the vast wilderness of RDR2 was an incredible escape, an oasis of calm for an hour or so here and there. Particularly during the early lockdown when you weren't really allowed out. Galloping around the open plains in the pissing rain felt like a proper getaway.

[Sonny_Jim]

I now have a working understanding of orbital mechanics thanks to Kerbal Space Program, so much so that it irritates me when I see it portrayed incorrectly in films now[nb]Your spaceship has to go sideways very fast to get into orbit, not upwards[/nb].  But I love being a nitpicky arsehole so I guess that's a positive?

[beanheadmcginty]

Assassin's Creed Odyssey made me realise I had vastly underestimated how impressive Ancient Greek civilisation was, especially after seeing an archaeologist on YouTube confirming that it was all a mostly accurate representation (apart from the magic weapons and cyclopses obviously).

[Huxleys Babkins]

The relatively low cost of entry and increased sophistication in racing simulators means that the thrill of motor racing (or at least a bloody close approximation to it) is now accessible to practically anyone regardless of age, income, connections or talent.

For the cost of a PS4 and a copy of Gran Turismo Sport you can attempt to qualify for an FIA-sanctioned world championship event. And some of the very best in the world are competing on £200 Logitech wheels attached to their desks or even the standard controller.

Plus, it goes without saying that the carbon footprint of 40 people from all around the globe racing around a virtual Silverstone is magnitudes lower than the footprint of getting just one of those people to the real life circuit, let alone to get a car out on the track.

[madhair60]

First wank to a pic of Pamela Anderson in the back of PlayNation magazine

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Games have inspired me to read books that influenced their story. Stuff like:

Heart Of Darkness (Spec Ops: The Line)
The Witcher
Bioshock (Atlas Shrugged. Haven't actually read this. It's on my Kindle though. 1000 pages? Hmm)

Then there's films that I watched because they influenced games. Silent Hill/Jacob's Ladder etc.

I also think that due to my training in decades of first person shooters, I'd make for an excellent mass shooter.

[ImmaculateClump]

Shmups are great for teaching yourself how to cope with anxiety in a safe environment, and you can't play them very well when you're wrecked.

They're such a preoccupying thing as well, you have to be firing on all five cylinders, you can't be distracted by anything else so you need your mind totally clean.

A good shmup will whitewash all the other thoughts from your mind, it forces you to live in the moment and pull yourself out of a depressive state, if you're in one.

Yes, it's a distraction, but like Barry says, there's nothing wrong with that. This little quake bit on the latest consolevania is bang on, sometimes you just need to switch off and yes, it is good for you, unsurprisingly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3f3ZaDEOQ

Having one of those spells where I don't really have the enthusiasm to play anything at the moment, but it'll pass, and I'll be back pissing all over your scores soon enough.

[Pink Gregory]

what on earth happened to Rab Florence's accent

I find, being with all the depression and such making my brain not work good, games are pretty much the only thing I can indulge in and remain focused on at the minute. 

[ImmaculateClump]

Yes, it's usually the last thing to go for me. If I'm not finding pleasure in shooting aliens, I have to bring out the big guns.
I walked 11 miles today. That seems to have given my brain a kick right up the arse.

Haha, I didn't notice Rab's accent change, it must have been so gradual, but he did go full on skinny London hipster prick for a good few years there, seems to be over the worst of it.

[Magnum Valentino]

Are youse joking?

Cause he clearly is.

[ImmaculateClump]

Ah right, sorry, I thought he meant after the American accent bit! :D

[Jerzy Bondov]

Games have utterly ruined my life

[Red Lantern]

I'm convinced that I've avoided several car accidents because of my gaming experience.

I've seen crashes happen ahead of me on the motorway at least twice, and managed to avoid them by reacting calmly and quickly to get away from the danger, including changing lanes and accelerating away from a car that was spinning towards me. My wife, in the passenger seat, just screamed, which wasn't very helpful!

[Famous Mortimer]

First wank to a pic of Pamela Anderson in the back of PlayNation magazine

Maria Whittaker in the ads for "Barbarian" mate (along with Wolf off of Gladiators)

I'm convinced that I've avoided several car accidents because of my gaming experience.

I find it's discouraged me from using my brake until a little bit too late, as a 2015 Kia Soul doesn't have quite the oomph of whatever million-quid supercar I'm flinging round some little country lane.

[Consignia]

I'm convinced that I've avoided several car accidents because of my gaming experience.

Opposite for me. I played too much GTA 3 and nearly started driving down the wrong side of the street.

Also failed the driving theory because of applying Crazy Taxi physics to a question about slowing down procedure.

[peanutbutter]

Looking through my activity levels last winter I'm pretty confident Beat Saber saved me from some permanent damage to my fitness levels.

A couple of co-op games last year were probably the most fulfilling social experiences I had for a massive chunk of the year.

Kept me sane through adolescence in the countryside with parents that couldn't be arsed taking us anywhere. My taste in games changed overnight the second I got internet and didn't need that big time drain.



I'm not really competitive enough for the worse aspects of gaming to really get to me. Very few games I've been remotely hooked on in the past few years and its usually because there's some massive void that needs filling if I am.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Seems fairly obvious but strategy and management games help train your brain to keep several plates spinning and think a few moves ahead, also at times judging risk, stick or twist.

Unfortunately megalomania is a permanent side effect

[chveik]

keeps kids quiet

[Cold Meat Platter]

Murder boners

[gmoney]

Seems fairly obvious but strategy and management games help train your brain to keep several plates spinning and think a few moves ahead, also at times judging risk, stick or twist.

Unfortunately megalomania is a permanent side effect

I think Cook, Serve, Delicious! genuinely helped me handle stress at work when things are happening all at once and micro-prioritising in the moment. It didn't make me any better at cooking though.

[Waking Life]

They're also very therapeutic post-breakup, in a way few other artforms can match. And I'm including music in that assessment, comforting though it can be. I fell into the murky grayscale of GTAIV after one long termer fell by the wayside - a combination of a relatively engaging plot, actively distracting gameplay, escapism into another world, longevity, and of course, pool and bowling with Roman, resulted in a good couple of months of R&R. Segued nicely into The Sopranos from start to finish afterwards; what a time to be alive.

Later that decade, it happened again with an even longer term relationship, but I chose poorly at the start - went down the indie route and blasted through Firewatch / Dear Esther / Journey / What Remains of Edith Finch / Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Most of those are bittersweet at best, with Firewatch being particularly difficult (from a mental health point of view). Then I blasted (literally of course) through the Uncharted Trilogy and all was well with the world again.

If there's a moral to the story, maybe set aside some action games if you are having relationship trouble.

[Magnum Valentino]

Might never have got into Buddy Rich if not for the loading screen at the start of Bioshock.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Playing the Shenmue games and their recent remasters over the years has taught me a few stock Japanese phrases. Stuff like "Hello", "Goodbye", "Excuse me" and "Would you like a game of Lucky Hit?". Educational, but it's yet to have been useful in my life in anyway whatsoever. I've never even talked to a Japanese person before.

[Pink Gregory]

Well if I ever need to find some sailors in Japan I know who to ask for advice