Video Games as a way to improve brain functions?

[Mark6]

MMORPG's are full of inventorying and questing -- "To make your greensteel +5 warhammer, first collect five ores in Dungeon of Redemption, four meteorites in Chamber of Insanity, and three candles in Portal of Flames. To survive in Portal of Flames you need so-many potions of Fire Resistance, which you get from <skip> in exchange for <skip>... Then combine them on the Altar of Meridia, and take the resulting ingot to Durin the dwarven smith, who will ask you for <skip>... Etc." I actually think my daughter would benefit from this, as her planning skills are very poor.

It is also great for multitasking, as I found myself rapidly switching between a dozen or so weapons, helmets, necklaces, etc. which all do different things, but cannot be used/worn all at once.

 

[Mark6]

Here is an actual crafting guide for an MMORPG (D&D Online):

Stone of Change - Eldritch Rituals Cookbook

If it strikes you as a little insane, I do not disagree. But I would be amazed if someone who actually goes through all this planning and questing does not improve his executive brain functions.

 

[Arrow]

I watched this video this morning. It has a brief mention on the possible harm video games can do to the brain. Great entertaining video over all. It came from Dr Eades Twitter sight:

http://twitter.com/DrEades

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oIiH7BLmg&

 

[StrangeLoop]

I played Call of Duty for three years. My hand-eye coordination and reflexes have become so adroit I catch things with my feet. There are other improvements too, but often the negatives vastly outweigh positives.

 

[Complexity]

A young friend of mine decided to apply to the Navy several years ago. He'd been a serious video gamer for years when he was tested for aptitude in a variety of areas.

He scored at the top of several spatial and hand/eye tests. He would have become a fighter pilot if he were a year younger, but they made him the weapons guy that sits behind the pilot.

They were of the opinion that the right kind of video games significantly improve hand/eye coordination, response speed, and spatial visualization.

 

[Meadmaker]

I learned how to use Excel when I organized my province in Utopia, before it went all graphical.

And I'll bet I'm not the only one who was introduced to database programming by using Borland C++, the Paradox Engine, and a database for tracking Dungeons and Dragons characters.


On a more recent game related note, I know I spent a great deal of time this winter doing the "balance games" on the Wii. I wondered if they were helping me at all. I decided to try juggling while kneeling on a balance ball, a task I had attempted, but never been successful at, before. After a month of balance river, soccer heading, skiing, and other games, I successfully juggled on the balance ball.

Of course, the Wii balance board is a bit more of a workout than Modern Warfare, but I think lots of video games are sufficiently complicated that they could help in some way with cognitive tasks. The danger is that the kid (or adult) spends so much time on those games that they neglect everything else.