It is held that about 10000 hours of doing are needed to become an expert in something that is not entirely new. At the same time I have seen observations that many playing games as a hobby easily have such time investments but the question then becomes what useful skills might they have. While truly high level skills might be debated there are an awful lot of lower level ones that are unarguable. For instance I have met many only know how to truly use a map today (I first used a GPS in anger some 20 years ago, they got popular not long after that) because of games.
Similarly on computers themselves. While I may not have lacked an interest in computers it was not that which saw me learn networking but wanting to play Carmageddon with my friends, and as the thing used [long list of profanity removed] IPX networking and it thus saw whole bunch of other troubles to sort first. If you have similar such things then please share.
A few years back there was a news report going round that a guy had learned to do emergency wound care thanks to the America's Army game.
Similarly many of the simulator games that got popular the other year do fairly well for it; an anecdote from someone I know that runs a car garage was that mechanic simulator had seen one of his customers far more able to articulate their problem than the average one.
It need not be at such a level either; all those hours of Tetris might have made you a master packer, did some reference in a game spark an interest in something maybe historical, did playing a computerised version of an activity see you take it up in real life (the skateboard boom of the late 90s and early 2000s very much owing a lot to the first Tony Hawk game), or maybe a game just got you to think about space and forces more than you had previously?

It is of course taken as a given that we are all master gunmen thanks to mouse controls and twin analogue sticks. Though more seriously Goldeneye really did teach me to be ultra observant for security cameras.

This is one of a new series on GBAtemp that considers mechanics in games, game design, concepts in games and related topics. Previously we have discussed games on the PS4 and Xbone that will stand the test of time, games that got better after launch, cancelled games and shuttered devs, and story canon in games. We have a long list of things to cover in the future but guest spots and suggestions are welcome.

 

[slaphappygamer]

I’ve learned how to manage money (thanks to all rpg). I’ve learned how to problem solve (Tetris, The lost Vikings, and klax). I’ve also learned how to prioritize my inventory (those games with limited inventory slots, Diablo). Most importantly of all, I’ve learned patience (all games, ever). It really is a virtue.

 

[Deleted User]

I have issue with the word defined in that.
I like games which have emergent gameplay, and rules that go unstated or undefined until you figure them out. Like read the manual to xbox ninja gaiden and you can expect a fairly standard beat em up, actually get into the game and all but the most unobservant will find there are serious rhythm and timing aspects to the fighting, as well as a few very useful hidden moves.
More abstract you also have games that introduce mechanics and then throw them at you randomly. A game from a little while back called Thoth is probably a good example here, though I see it in everything from some of the Warioware minigames to stealth sections if I want to look at it that way.

I probably should've mentioned that "rules" of a game also encompasses everything in a game world, from how your character moves and interacts with the world, and aspects like hidden moves, what to do in certain situations, and, probably more importantly, what not to do in certain situations are just as important, if not more important, than the more obvious rules of the game.

I should also say "understand said rules" might only apply in solo games. I got to playing Battlefield 4 on the PS4. I am not anywhere near as good with a joypad as I am/was with a mouse and keyboard, however I found it works really well for me to hang back and keep in cover as it seems nobody else does that and I have easy pickings and minimal danger as a result.

Yeah. As someone who plays single-player games most of the time, I tend to forget about the emergent rulesets and strategies that are found in a lot of competitive-oriented multiplayer games.

The unquestionable thing I also would ponder further. They are not my main thing but I have done a lot of board games and similar such things. There house rules are a thing nobody really thinks about. In computer games though with most people having behaviours hard coded in basically unchangeable silicon it does alter something fundamental. As it stands were are already seeing the start of this (be it stuff like https://sgimenez.github.io/laby/ or things where you combine aspects in unknowable ways). This is also before we consider mods, be they the classical PC type or the more ROM hacking side of things.

I was mainly thinking of video games, as rulesets in video games do tend to be more strict than those in more traditional board games and the like. However, I do concede that there are some mods out there that significantly affect the gameplay of any given game, be it the introduction of a simple mechanical, or something more fundamental to the workings of the game itself.

 

[migles]

that if i end up lost somehwere i can punch a tree, and then stone, make a table by arranging the tree pieces in a certain way
then after some days i will have an entire house for myself and i can then proceeed to mining tons of metals and minerals like iron, gold, diamonds..

that a gun is weightless, magically disappears in your pockets and the recoil is something minimal which i can just shoot a gun like a desert eagly without any strength and worrying it will make me loose teeth and my nose

a silencer will make the gun sound completely disappear or nearby person will note there was some odd sound but after a minute it thinks it just it's imagination

if you deal a lot with explosives your body will adapt and don't take damage for explosives you set yourself. even if they get off in your feet

ok now seriously:
like everyone else, english. if it was not because videogames that were not translated in my language i wouldn't understand a thing of english...
i will think of this subject later, i can't remember more serious stuff that i learned

 

[jimmyj]

Learned to write English read English and reflexes. Plus video games got me into coding which I now love

 

[MarkDarkness]

Ability to set goals and see them through to the end. This was inexistent during my early life, and only started becoming a concept after I decided to stop dropping games halfway and almost always see them through to the end.

 

[Jacklack3]

Playing Ace Attorney kinda helped me in arguments, but mainly in debates.

 

[RustInPeace]

Patience, and button mashing, specifically with my right thumb and index finger, whether together or apart, can really fire away. On that, specifically from StarFox Adventures, there was a test of strength challenge that really made me improve on general button mashing. Over a decade later it helped me out with Mortal Kombat X's Test Your Might challenges...until they became ridiculous and I just used a double A battery and moved it up and down. I still used the powerful thumb and index finger, so, that counts for something.

I didn't learn patience from other areas in life other than video games. Specifically some clock based events in pokemon games, and I didn't know about clock skipping. Learning how to take defeat better, that involves patience and self-control, and I've largely been good at that. The key word is "largely," I still get really mad at certain things, nowadays the competitive community on Pokemon Showdown.

 

[APartOfMe]

What not to do in social settings

 

[Bimmel]

You learned that from Phoenix Wright? I could sort of understand had you said L.A. Noire but other than teaching you to read into words and analyse sentences (and technically press people on details*) I don't see it.

*the game never taught it explicitly but if you are used to it then it works either way. Pressing people on details in then a good way to break a rehearsed script, as is asking them to tell it backwards or stop and start at arbitrary places.

Well, good point. It was more about the pressing part, or more or less to "think around the corner" I guess. Retracing the steps and compare it to the persons statement so you can find the lie in the first place. :-)

 

[Nerdtendo]

Large scale thinking and puzzles

 

[DKB]

Coding in Java because of private servers of a game.

 

[Deleted User]

I think one of the most important things that I've learned over the years from playing video games is critical thinking skills. Problem solving skills is a close second.

I'm sure by most people know about that time scientists created a game that revolves around protein folding a while back. Those who played ended up figuring something really important out. There was another article I remember reading about how someone who had managed money in World of Warcraft ended up in a job doing something similar (and doing it well.) Applied, skills like these can really have an impact.

Having played things like Metroid and Zelda growing up, and then later on different puzzle games or RPGs, it was apparent that in order to fully enjoy them, I couldn't just dick around and do whatever. I stopped playing Metroid when I first had my hands on it because it seemed too different. I didn't know where to go. The next time I played it, I was so excited I found the Long Beam (not that you need it.) Fast forward many years, and I've got Zero Mission for the GBA. Along the way you find different paths that let you skip sections you may have thought were previously required. So I skipped around and eventually realized I needed to get a 15% or lower item collection rate to get one of the images at the end. That was a fun challenge to figure out - it required you to get places without certain power-ups. I did the same in Mega Man X 1-3 with some of the capsules - if I saw that I might be able to make it without using the proper power-up, I stayed until I did.

And for real-world application, having hacked Super Smash Bros. Brawl (the Wii, really) and trying to make everything work taught me that with proper understanding of the situation, whatever the problem was could be fixed. At work right now we're in the middle of a temporary move, so we've had to think of lots of temporary solutions. It all has to do with time and resource management combined with critical thinking/problem solving.

Concerning people, the Phoenix Wright games helped me to be more observant of people's speech. Not to mention just more observant in general. There's usually always a reason behind why people are the way the are. It may be a shallow reason, but there's a reason.

All of these things really contribute to the way I think and how I do things today. There are bigger reasons that don't have to do with gaming necessarily, but I wouldn't be who I am today were it not for these experiences.

oh and I beat a large portion of Metroid Fusion with half a screen, so... perseverance?

 

[GaaraPrime]

I learned how to play the game of Cricket (the basics and its mechanics) only after I played it on my PC as a kid

 

[GhostLatte]

How to bang a hooker without paying! Thank you GTA.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

An interesting question.

I suppose there are things like precision timing, critical thinking and problem solving, hand eye coordination, and maybe even memorization to a certain degree that might count, but otherwise I can't think of to many other "actual" skills that I've really learned or improved upon purely because of video games.

Typing is probably the one that comes up the most for me, if it weren't for video games I probably couldn't type the 80+WPM I can today. Special thanks goes to Typing of the Dead (of course), Age of Mythology/Age of Empires, and easily the thousands of hours I have in Halo 1 on PC without a mic. Being able to quickly type before getting shot was one of the more useful things I learned from that era of gaming

Otherwise, not much else comes to mind.

 

[jamezfat]

patience...

lots of patience.

being a kid who grew up with a gameboy color, and my only game being dragon quest 3.
and no, as much as i begged my parents, they would not let me order the guide...

i swear, it must've taken over 1000 hours to beat the game my first run through...
(but then again, i was like 5)

 

[VinsCool]

- English (like everyone else mentionned)
- Patience (like playing a strategy game, calculating every move carefully)
- Observation (noticing little details, and patterns where people wouldn't immediately notice)
- Thinking outside of the box (which has given me a lot of help in real life)
- Reflexes, and spontaneous moves (Tetris is the first one coming in mind)

A combination of them generally helped me a lot, both for irl situations and games.

 

[Jayro]

I have never been good with shooters on a console, since I was raised playing them on a PC. But GoldenEye 007 on the N64 got me used to inverted aiming, like Starfox uses by default. Since then, I've always struggled with modern shooters on consoles because they used non-inverted aiming, and I always sucked at them. But thanks to my Nintendo Switch with Zelda, I had no choice but to learn how to control the camera with the right stick, and that also got me into adding the right stick in Splatoon 2, in addition to the motion controls I am used to. Now I can pick up basically any console shooter and do pretty okay for myself, thanks to Zelda and Splatoon 2.

 

[VitaType]

I guess supporting the developing of my hand–eye coordination and reflexes mainly.

I can't be the only one who is shocked to see how many people with anglo-saxon flags in there profiles said English. I just hope they speak about learning "more fancy" English thanks due to old-school D&D-RPGs and other games using more old-style English. I played a fair share of RPGs in my native language as I was younger and yet I wouldn't link these games to my ability to speak or write my mother tongue. It really shocked me to be honest.
Yet none of these posts showed horrible English skills, so maybe I overreact abit

that if i end up lost somehwere i can punch a tree, and then stone, make a table by arranging the tree pieces in a certain way
then after some days i will have an entire house for myself and i can then proceeed to mining tons of metals and minerals like iron, gold, diamonds..

That's a easy one: Minecraft.

that a gun is weightless, magically disappears in your pockets and the recoil is something minimal which i can just shoot a gun like a desert eagly without any strength and worrying it will make me loose teeth and my nose

Hm, I go with Counter-Strike because of the mentioned Deagle, yet that game knows weapon-weight but it only counts as long as you hold the weapon in your hand. A tough one.

a silencer will make the gun sound completely disappear or nearby person will note there was some odd sound but after a minute it thinks it just it's imagination

Hm. I think the same happens in these Splinter Cell games, but I think it's a Metal Gear Solid reference.

if you deal a lot with explosives your body will adapt and don't take damage for explosives you set yourself. even if they get off in your feet

I really have no idea. Which game does that refer to?

I have never been good with shooters on a console, since I was raised playing them on a PC. But GoldenEye 007 on the N64 got me used to inverted aiming, like Starfox uses by default. Since then, I've always struggled with modern shooters on consoles because they used non-inverted aiming, and I always sucked at them. But thanks to my Nintendo Switch with Zelda, I had no choice but to learn how to control the camera with the right stick, and that also got me into adding the right stick in Splatoon 2, in addition to the motion controls I am used to. Now I can pick up basically any console shooter and do pretty okay for myself, thanks to Zelda and Splatoon 2.

You get a couple of extra points for avoiding to read the OP-post or any post of this thread at all I guess

 

[Geezerdorf]

Hehe. I owe a lot to videogames for the most part, as they have and still are helping me to stay sharp on certain things.

The first thing they helped me with was with learning proper english. I got Link's Awakening and a DMG long long time ago in 1993. Back in that era, you didn't have the luxuries of consulting something on the internet like we do now; and knowing what they told you on a game was crucial to advance. I struggled on the second dungeon because i didn't understood the context of a phrase on how killing in order certain enemies gave you the Nightmare Key of the place.
After i merely discovered the result by accident, i swore that i would learn proper english for me to not to happen again in that or any other game.

Then they have helped me and still help me to maintain myself sharp on language. Not just english, but japanese as well, which i'm grateful.

Also, reaction times (not counting QTEs on games), since games helped me to get some great hand-eye coordination, something i've been thankful on the long run for driving and other life stuff (looking at you Ninja Gaiden)

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Those who say that the games just incite violence without trying one, be it a puzzle or a driving simulator or what have you, don't know at all what they're bashing.