Art, Games, and Tech Discussion
May 20, 2015
After watching the Ted Talk by Jane McGonigal about how gaming can make the world a better place. She first starts off by stating that we actually need to spend more time playing videos and this shocked me because I have always though sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end to be a bad thing when you could be out in the world experiencing real life. She then goes on to say how video games actually teach us very important skills like working with others, solving problems, be creative and finding out what it feels like to make a big accomplishment and wanting to be able to do that again. I think that this is a very interesting take on the value of video games and although I think she makes some very valid points, I also think that it is important to learn those skills in the real world, not the virtual one.
So my question is, how affective can the skills learn in a virtual game be applied in real life?
3 Responses to “Art, Games, and Tech Discussion”
May 22nd, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Interesting idea. I agree that it is important to get out in the “real world” and develop skills that way, but I don’t think you should throw out the skills and enjoyment that people get from video games. There is a huge variety of video games, and each one does things differently. I think people turn to video games because they can connect with other people with similar interests very easily, which isn’t always possible in the real world. I think that the problem solving skills, communication skills and cooperation that people learn playing online video games can be directly applied to real life situations. Once you learn to look at a problem analytically, that mindset doesn’t suddenly disappear just because it’s no longer inside a game.
May 22nd, 2015 at 6:47 pm
I was also surprised by the TED talk this week. I thought that if anything people need to play less video games. It can be easily seen in the generation after us given they would rather play video games than play outside like I use to. I do think you can develop skills from playing video games, but those skills need to be supplemented with skills that have been developed in real life situations. Balancing video games and real life can help develop people’s skills. McGonigal did have very interesting points that could very well help society. Good post this week!
May 22nd, 2015 at 11:10 pm
Hi, I agree with you that we cannot totally rely on the virtual world to resolve the actual problems because I think the actual world is more complex than the virtual world. For your question, in my experience, I think we can exercise the cooperative ability through the playing online game. I am a fun of LOL and this games require 5 gamers work together to win the game. I think cooperative skill is very important no matter in the games or in the actual word. I think we can effectively apply the skills that be learned from online games in the actual world. Of course, the experience in the actual world also is very important to us.