I have been an avid gamer from a very young age. My first experience of video games was racing a car (made of blocks) preventing it from collision with incoming blocks, on a 1 inch handheld device in the early 90s. After that I moved on to Mario, Contra, Aladin, Duck Hunt and other popular games on the 8 bit console. I spent a considerable amount of time on these jewels before moving on to arcade games (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Cadillac and Dinosaurs, Tekken, Metal Slug and many more). Around the same time, I was introduced to PC gaming. Dave, Prince of Persia, Road Rash and NFS 2 were some of the very first games that I played. I even ‘wasted’ time on Minesweeper and Solitaire. At that time, it was hard for me to get my hands on PC. I mostly played in the computer lab of my school or some friends’ place who had a PC (having a PC was rare at that time, especially in my small town).
In 2003 (yes, that late), I got my first PC and there was no looking back after that. I played each and every game that I could get my hands on. I have played Grand Theft Auto (3, Vice City, San Andreas, 4), Need For Speed (from Underground till Shift, lost interest after that), Midnight Club 2, Counter Strike (1.6, GO), Halo, Freedom Fighters, Battlefield 2142, Call of Duty (Modern Warfare, World at War, MW2, Black Ops), Unreal Tournament 2k4, Hitman (Silent Assassin, Contracts), Max Payne (2 and 3), Age of Empires (2, Mythology, 3), Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft, Blood Omen 2, Assassin’s Creed (1, 2), FIFA (a couple of versions) and many more that I have forgotten since then.
My favorite games among this lot were GTA San Andreas, NFS Most Wanted, Age of Conquerors, Counter Strike, Halo, Unreal Tournament 2k4, Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft. It’s not that I did not enjoy the other games, but there is something about these titles (story and gameplay) that I have played them multiple times. These days, I do not play video games (or any other game for that matter) religiously, but at times I do play CS: GO and Age of Conquerors (thanks to Steam). Back then, all the games were played just for the fun of it, but today when I look back, I am a bit surprised to see that not only I have learnt a lot of things from them, but these games have also influenced my philosophy of life. I am sharing some of my experiences below.
Problem Solving: If I look at the basic structure of any game (which I have played), it presented me with a certain problem and I (the player) had to devise a solution to that problem. The problem can be a level in Contra or a mission in GTA or a quest in World of Warcraft or any objective that needs to be achieved in a game. I am not claiming that these games made me good at problem solving or that I am good at problem solving. However, I can say with fair certainty that by playing these games, I have learnt, “how to look at a problem” and I have translated this learning in real life both consciously and unconsciously. I will further break problem solving in 4 steps -
Observation & Analysis: This part is vital for any gamer who intends to finish or win a game. Be it observing the behavior of a boss in Contra or Mario or Warcraft dungeon, the military units your opponent is making in Age of Empires, the strategy the opponent team is using on a map in Counter Strike or the composition of opponent team in Warcraft arena. After observation, comes analysis, where we try to identify the patterns and come up with various ways of countering the opponent (in-game AI or human player).
Planning & Strategy: Then, comes planning and strategy. The strategy can be as simple as standing at a particular location while fighting a boss or as complex as determining the composition of military units for fighting an opponent in age of conquerors. When it comes to age of conquerors, it is a beautiful real time strategy game. A simple thing like ‘how many villagers are mining gold at a particular time’ can affect the outcome of a game.
Decision Making: After listing down the possible strategies, it is time to implement one – to make a decision. Sometimes we just have a split second for the entire process, from observation to decision making (for a very first encounter). What can go wrong?
Reflection (learning from the past): All people learn something from their past experiences, but I doubt how many of them apply that knowledge in the present. A gamer does. A strategy that has failed in the past cannot be used as such in the present or future. It has to change in one way or the other. This aspect is beautifully captured in the novel ‘All you need is kill’ by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The famous movie ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ is an adaptation of this novel. People can say that life is not a game, but only difference I see is the lack of a save-point to restart from.
Team Work: I realized the importance of team-work, when I started playing multiplayer on online platforms. Be it Counter Strike, Age of Conquerors (team multiplayer) or World of Warcraft (arena/battleground), the outcome always depends on the team and not a single player (for fairly balanced opponents). One man can save the day every once in a while, but in the end it is all about the team co-ordiantion and strategy. I can say the same for real life, ‘What can a single man achieve? (Jesus or Chuck Norris might be exceptions)?’
History: The game Age of Conquerors got me interested in History like no book before. The story-driven single player campaigns got me so hooked that I was forced to read about them after completing the scenarios. I still revisit these stories of Attila, Joan of Arc or Genghis Khan.
Economics: Those who have played World of Warcraft and used a profession to earn gold (Auction House or buying/selling in cities) will understand what I am trying to say. The concepts of need, supply and demand and use of channels for advertising can be well understood in the game.
English Language: English is not my first language. I have picked up a lot of words, phrases and contexts from video games which have definitely helped me improve my verbal and written English.
Philosophy of Life: This part might be a bit difficult to understand for some, so I will share a few experiences of mine. The first such experience was when I finished Halo: Combat Evolved single player campaign. It was quite challenging and a lot of my time and effort went into it. At the final moment, when Master Chief defeats the aliens and the ring is collapsing, Cortana (AI) says, ‘Finally, it has all ended’. I had the exact same thought, ‘Finally! It is finished’. Right at that moment, Master Chief says, ‘No, it has just begun.’ That line simply blew my mind. The way I have interpreted it is, ‘Nothing ever ends’. The ending of one thing is just the beginning of another. Another such scenario happened while playing GTA San Andreas, in the mission The Green Sabre, when we find out that Ryder and Big Smoke were playing CJ all along. That particular mission had me reflecting on the fact that how egoistic people are, for a long time. I quite like the story woven by San Andreas for its frighteningly beautiful resemblance to our existing reality. I can go on and on about my experiences with games. Even small things like the line, which NPCs (non-playable characters) in Shattrath city (World of Warcraft) keep on repeating, ‘Be kind to those less fortunate’, has left its impact on my thoughts. All I can say is each game that I have played, has added a new page to my perspective.
The way I see it, learning from games is highly context specific and depends on an individual’s interpretation and pre-beliefs. Every experience of our life teaches us something, but it is only up to us what we learn from it.
*Images for artwork sourced from Wiki, with due thanks to individual contributors.