[Ockham]

I had a thought about gaming just recently and I wanted to expand on the idea and see if anybody has anything to say about it.

I'll use Starcraft as an example throughout the post, but really any complicated game would work in it's place. If you are unfamiliar with this game, just bear with the first paragraph or skip it, the main point comes after.

A video game like Starcraft is extremely complex. There is so much to learn in order to become even a mediocre player, partially because it is so competitive, and partially because the game operates like a fast paced chess game. You constantly need to out think your opponent using the rules and timings within the given system. And the rules are many. Different unit combinations counter others, you need to know when and how to expand, you need to constantly be making judgments about the current tempo and flow of the game in order to effectively beat your opponent.

These are just a few examples. Really scores of other things need to be considered. Pages have been written about different strategies and tactics employed in the game in an effort to achieve perfect play.

The name for such a line of reasoning with a game like this is called "theory crafting". Basically you logically analyze a game in order to gain an advantage and divine the best possible strategy in any given situation.

Now it seems to me as though such a game would attract a more intelligent and active mind, simply because becoming adept at that game is no mundane task.



So a game like Starcraft may attract a more intelligent person. It takes their mind in and makes the rest of the world less appealing. When you get right down to it, logical analysis of a video game is not all that much different than the logical analysis of a math or science problem. This area may be open for dispute, but I really think there are many connections between the two.

If a system like a video game becomes more appealing than say scientific research, or some other complex aspect of the real world, then a person may play more than focus on real world problems, but still maintain the same satisfaction that they are achieving something worthwhile, creating a sort of quagmire for motivation and drive to focus on what is real.

Perhaps this is little more than a convoluted analysis of gaming addiction, but it is my argument that this is an (unintended) evil of modern video games.

[qingdom]

@theorycraft, you are summoned!

doesn't need to be starcraft... tetrinet carries on the same dynamics. it's tetris + multiplayer + special utility bombs.... it all falls down to whoever has the fastest hands, makes the quickest tetris, horde special blocks and BAM! insta-win!

But yea... with so many variables to carry out and the player adds on the dynamic and level of 'control', the outcome depends on the factors of concentration and quick thinking for starcraft... Micro your Macro... and all is good!


the true evil of gaming.... besides attempting to learn so much of the game, it doesnt help much in the overall picture of 'life' in general... i.e. in the presence of impending doom, the skill of starcraft will not save anyone nor let them know how to 'survive'... unless you count burrowing as an acquired skill.

[BUtheBabyUnicorn]

My cousin is currently addicted to this game called Maplestory, a popular MMORPG based in Korea that is similar to WoW, except with 2D characters that are actually pretty cute (lol).
What you described sounds very much like him. He's so obsessed with the game, he just thinks about it, theorizes about it, and researches it constantly. It's ridiculous.
I try to not get too involved with video games, because it seriously distracts me from everything else. OTL

[Epherion]

A video game like Starcraft is extremely complex. There is so much to learn in order to become even a mediocre player, partially because it is so competitive, and partially because the game operates like a fast paced chess game. You constantly need to out think your opponent using the rules and timings within the given system. And the rules are many. Different unit combinations counter others, you need to know when and how to expand, you need to constantly be making judgments about the current tempo and flow of the game in order to effectively beat your opponent.

Hehe, adorable.

[Proteus]

Gaming leads to Satanism



you've been warned

[Ockham]

Hehe, adorable.

Adorable, eh? Not sure about that, but k.

@Proteus

Hyberbole.


@review

Definitely. Stay away from that one.

[qingdom]

OTL

ORZ

Final Fantasy XI: orz (Hume), orz- (Mithra), ORZ (Galka), o-rz (Elvaan), Orz (Tarutaru)

[nadjasix]

@theorycraft, you are summoned!

doesn't need to be starcraft... tetrinet carries on the same dynamics. it's tetris + multiplayer + special utility bombs.... it all falls down to whoever has the fastest hands, makes the quickest tetris, horde special blocks and BAM! insta-win!

But yea... with so many variables to carry out and the player adds on the dynamic and level of 'control', the outcome depends on the factors of concentration and quick thinking for starcraft... Micro your Macro... and all is good!


the true evil of gaming.... besides attempting to learn so much of the game, it doesnt help much in the overall picture of 'life' in general... i.e. in the presence of impending doom, the skill of starcraft will not save anyone nor let them know how to 'survive'... unless you count burrowing as an acquired skill.

It's a good thing I'd never heard about this until just now. Or I'd have failed school.

[Richard]

It's a good thing I'd never heard about this until just now. Or I'd have failed school.

I thought the exact same thing, “Dafuq ? Why have I never heard of this ?!”

Waiting for my gaming buddy to come online and then it’s on.

[nadjasix]

I thought the exact same thing, “Dafuq ? Why have I never heard of this ?!”

Waiting for my gaming buddy to come online and then it’s on.

I wasted a good portion of last summer playing the cheesy Linux version of tetris called Quadrapassel.