The BBC News article Gaming">http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/12/gaming_is_good_for_you.htm... is good for you ([color=red]WARNING: THERE IS ONE GAMING GRAPHIC, POSSIBLY FROM WOW[/color]) mainly discusses a conversation with David Laux who is the global executive in charge of games and interactive entertainment at IBM. The article says:
Quote: Mr Laux reiterates the fact that the stereotypical spotty loner gamer is far from reality as is the belief that gaming turns people into dead heads.
...
Depending on the type of game someone is playing, and the amount of time dedicated to that task, Mr Laux says the gamer will develop certain desirable skills.
"We have found across the board, if you look at different categories of games, they all have the ability to develop unique skills.
"That's from the casual games which improve memorisation and the ability to discern details, to console games and shooter games that develop rapid decision making and to role playing games like the World of Warcraft that are very unique in producing leadership skills."
All these skills are "directly transferable to a real life environment," Mr Laux told me.
Of course, keep in mind that Mr. Laux can hardly be very objective regarding this topic. Anyway, he then goes on to give a real-life example with his 11-year old daughter. He also later says:
Quote:For the players of the World of Warcraft, Mr Laux is especially complimentary.
"The game produces tremendous leadership skills among players. It teaches you how to evaluate risk, build teams for specific tasks and it also teaches individuals not to over react if they are not selected for a specific task."
On the other hand:
Quote:All of which is tremendously good news to WoW devotees who are getting it in the neck according to a report this week in the ">http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/world-of-warcraft-players-need-... New York Times.
It said that players are being told not to mention their love of the game if they are in the market for a new job.
The main source for that other article is one Australian person's conversation with an online media industry recruiter who said that "employers specifically instruct him not to send them World of Warcraft players".
Like most other things in life, there are pros and cons to playing video games. Although I don't deny that there are benefits from playing some of them, there are some of us, like myself, who need to stay away from these games. I am glad that this BBC News article tries to keep the balance by also mentioning about some of the potential problems even though Mr. Laux did not seem to be willing to do that himself.
[color=red]WARNING: AS MENTIONED AT THE TOP, THE PRIMARY LINK CONTAINS A GAMING GRAPHIC.[/color]
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
Not very objective indeed. Mr. Laux's interview sounds more like a bunch of marketing talk, emphasizing the positive elements and ignoring the negative.
If anyone ever hears of a mega corperation looking to hire employee's to help them slay an ancient dragon or some terrible god, let me know, I have plenty of experiance. On a serious note, I think I see what theyre getting at, sure, there are some positives in every situation, I would hope to maybe find something I could use from my past experiances, though I certainly wouldnt want to go back for any more 'training'. Truth of the matter is, anyone from IBM or any other computer based industry is bound to be a little bias. Computer gaming has become a huge industry, even topping over the movie entertainment industry, and there is alot of money in trying to make it appear as positive as possible, while avoiding any negative perception. Im not quite sure how I feel about all this yet. I know for sure though that MMO's are very very bad for me, and I may have to seriously rethink all of my gaming hobbie interests. I know well enough that addiction is a cunning, baffling, and powerful disease. I dont want to get taken under its control again, even if it means I might have to give up simpler games, even if I do gain something positive from them.
"...pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization..."
Leadership in the game does NOT transfer to leadership in real life. If it did the person would not have time to game, because leaders in real life are leading, not gaming. A big difference between the TWO! A game is a game. As adults we put away our childish ways and GROW UP! Liz
Liz Woolley
When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children do. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11
The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
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