5 Things You've Learned From Video Games

[AyreonMaiden]

1: How to speak English. Also to never lose my childish sense of longing and imagination(Ocarina of Time)
2: Heroism is nothing but ego and illusions. You can only ever do your best, so forgive yourself. (Majora's Mask)
3: Characters are EVERYTHING in a story. If you believe in them, you'll suddenly believe in their outrageous plights. Hard. (Metal Gear Solid)
4: How to play Japanese mahjong. And by extension, my sudden passion for learning the Japanese language. (Yakuza)
5: My cardinal directions. (Majora's Mask)

 

[penguindogexd]

that the cute hissing dound from 80's cartoons can be the most terrifying thing that you will ever hear.

that zombies can never infect the main character no mater how many times they rip their chest apart


only two of the things ive learned

 

[SoranMBane]

-Valve games have taught me some physics; I learned what string theory is because of Half-Life and Portal is the only reason I still remember the formula for finding momentum (mass x velocity = momentum).

Spoiler: -Life lessons and Call of Duty 4 spoilers.

I finally learned how truly pointless revenge is because of Call of Duty 4. Sure, I'd heard that moral from plenty of other sources, but only CoD4 made me truly internalize that message by giving me a friendly NPC that I can actually get to like and care about (Gaz), killing them off, and then giving me a chance to exact revenge on his killer (Zakhaev), but I didn't find it satisfying at all. At the end of the day, Gaz and the rest of my squad were still dead and I still felt horrible, and no amount of dead terrorists was going to change that.

-On a less serious note, Portal 2 taught me that I'll forgive someone for absolutely anything if they have an English accent.

-Fallout: New Vegas taught me that, even if I had a chance to make the world perfect, but which required me to take on more responsibility, I'll probably just default to a "lesser of two evils" option that requires someone else to take responsibility in my place. This comes from the way that I immediately opted to put the semi-socialist NCR in power over taking charge myself and creating a more beneficial (in my view) libertarian society. Literally, my reasoning was "okay, I want what's best for the people of New Vegas, but I don't want the responsibility of actually leading," and so I consigned everyone to a future of heavy taxing and bureaucratic inefficiencies because I was lazy and unambitious. Obviously, I'm going to have to get over this tendency.

-Grand Theft Auto IV taught me that it's okay if I'm just a little bit bizarre and not right in the head because it's just a natural part of being part Serbian... Okay, I'm joking here, obviously, but I still find it amusing that the Serbian characters in that game consist of a broken-down drug addict, a very flamboyant gay man, and a sociopath, and that I happen to share a common heritage with all of them. I'm not offended, it's just strange to me. XD

 

[Pyoro]

@CrazyCapnMorgan:

3) "We are all bound by our experiences. They are the limits of our consciousness. In the end, the human soul will ever reach for the truth."

Is this a quote from the end of Metroid Fusion? It sounds familiar. I recall trying to figure out what it actually meant, alongside being suprised that something so overtly philosophical was in a Nintendo game.

Anyway, I like this quote. It seems like you have mostly taken inspiration from games that have been influenced by books; most video games don't try to be poetic or go out of their way to make some kind of statement.
I'm personally trying to think of learning in terms of what I've learned from the actual play or game mechanics, instead of the stories that are often used as justification for playing...

But going back to Metroid for a reference point, I have learnt a lot in general about limits and abilities and how the structure of games limit, offer, or condone behaviour. It's interesting how you can look at games from being tight systems that force your mind to work creatively to solve problems, to massive open arenas for exploration and free thought. Metroid deals with lots of issues though...power, weakness, spirituality, nature, science, isolation, self-fullfilment, discovery of your environment. Lots of really interesting things.

I think gamers are more likely to want to search for truths because of the innate problem-solving nature of the medium.

 

[Judgement101]

League of Legends taught me people are douchebags
Call of Duty taught me people are immature
Brink taught me that diving over the counter and landing face first and a pot of coffee can happen
Shadow of the Colosus taught me that running in a straight line can be fun
Bulletstorm taught me that Co-op no longer exsists.

 

[Pyoro]

1. Banjo Kazooie

Probably learnt a lot about the solidity and structure of 3D worlds, as it was the first real 3D game I got into. It also reminded me a lot of summer holidays and stuff.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time greatly expanded this awareness of the environment, which actually takes players right back to Miyamoto's original inspiration for the series; the outdoors.

2. Final Fantasy 7

The first game that stirred my emotions and made me feel a sort of lust for revenge; I had never felt this in life before. It was also probably where I got melancholic and misty-eyed for the first time; Uematsu's evocative music contributed a lot to this.
Actually, previous to this the Donkey Kong Country games were also emotionally compelling for me.

3. Cave Story

I learnt that most of my actions were simply reactions and that I had no freedom of choice. Lol.


~

Really, when I think of learning from games I think of what I have learned about myself. So the collection of games that I have aquired represents the cumalative (A word I learnt in FF8!) experience of who I am because people are generally attracted to things that tell them more about themselves. So you can learn about, and also shape, your own consciousness.

But when playing games you learn all about systems and rules and choice and freedom. So you are also learning about the same rules and systems of society, and basically everything.

 

[Corkydog]

Anything with a morality system practically begs us to be good to get the "best" ending, the "best" gear, and the storyline that actually makes sense. Honestly, if you played Red Dead or GTA IV as a violent menace upon society, the story makes zero sense. In cutscenes you are remorseful about all the killing you've done, then two minutes later you've just committed mass murder.

 

[Moontouched-Moogle]

1: Life is precious, and should be preserved. (Most games, especially MGS series)
2: Persistence is rewarded with victory. (Most games, especially Castlevania series and Megaman series)
3: Conserve resources and use them wisely. (Silent Hill series, Resident Evil 4)
4: Be prepared for any and all eventualities. (Shin Megami Tensei series, Silent Hill series, RE 4)
5: A helping hand makes for a lighter load. (Crystal Chronicles series, SSBB, most FPS's I've played)

 

[Pyoro]

Shadow of the Colosus taught me that running in a straight line can be fun

SotC isn't that linear! There's a whole big open map to explore and stuff.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Oblivion: Lawmen are psychic, omnipotent beings who sense when you do a wrong deed. Towns are no longer safe for criminal scum who violate the law.

Correction: Towns are no longer safe for player characters who violate the law. Anyone else is perfectly fine, unless reported to a guard by a player character.

 

[Pyoro]

1: Life is precious, and should be preserved.
2: Persistence is rewarded with victory.
3: Conserve resources and use them wisely.
4: Be prepared for any and all eventualities.
5: A helping hand makes for a lighter load.

Good ones. Video games have been great at teaching its players about persistence and determination.

 

[Moontouched-Moogle]

1: Life is precious, and should be preserved.
2: Persistence is rewarded with victory.
3: Conserve resources and use them wisely.
4: Be prepared for any and all eventualities.
5: A helping hand makes for a lighter load.

Good ones. Video games have been great at teaching its players about persistence and determination.

Indeed. Another good one I just remembered is from the movie "The Mechanic":

"Victory Loves Preparation"

 

[Atticus89]

1. It's dangerous to go alone so always take the weapon given to you by the crazy old man who speaks in broken sentences and lives in a cave.

2. When smashing robots, a popping noise will be heard as all parts of the robot disintegrate to free cute woodland creatures. The creature will be unharmed despite the inability to eat, breath, or relieve itself as a robot nor be harmed by being jumped on as a robot.

3. Everyone should become a Marine or you will die a gruesome, horrible death. With the exception of being a fighter pilot, anything else is inferior and not worth the effort.

4. If you become a Marine or a fighter pilot you may die a gruesome, horrible death.

5. Cake is a metaphor for either "sexual favors" or "unobtainable prize" depending on the context. They are also not reliable sources of truth.

 

[Innegativeion]

1. Half my vocabulary
2. Strategy and adaptivity begets victory
3. Nothing is out of reach if you're willing to sacrifice something of your own for it
4. Nothing is ever hopeless. You can always make any given situation into something positive. In a recent example, if life gives you lemons, MAKE LIFE TAKE THE LEMONS BACK.
5. With patience and a little creativity comes great accomplishment.

 

[sanquin]

1: To be curious about everything and always keep asking. (side quest obtaining, random fun info in games when not just clicking through dialogue, ect)

2: Reflexes. Got my times in counterstrike made my reflexes better...even when testing my eyes for new glasses I was told I had quick (eye) reflexes.

3: Balance. I played a lot of DDR, and if anything it teaches you how to balance your body and keep steady while moving around like crazy.

4: That the most obvious answer, is not always the best or correct one. (mostly the rare, -good- moral choice options in games)

5: To pay attention to what you buy. So you don't later regret buying it, or buy the wrong thing.

 

[ultrachicken]

I actually learned a fair bit about history from Assassin's Creed.
I also learned a bit about how guns operate thanks to MW, but not much.
I must have learned at least 50 words thanks to games.

That's all I got.

 

[Hyperactiveman]

1. Dodge
2. Spam
3. Heal
4. Kite
5. Cover
6. Save

Or you might as well try throwing your shoes at 'em. ^_^

 

[Ravenseeker]

patience and perseverance, because that jerk who's killed you 5 times isn't going to snipe himself.
Also, never underestimate how fast you can find something to build. I think we all know what I'm talking about here.