What games have you actually learned from?

[Ordinaryundone]

Point and Click adventure games taught me resourcefulness, and also selective kleptomania. I.E. if it isn't nailed down, and no one objects, take it. You never know when it might come in handy.

Survival Horror taught me that fighting isn't always an answer. No matter how tough you think you are, you can't always just smash your way through life. Its wasteful, and eventually you are going to hit something that hits you harder. But just because things look bad doesn't mean you should be afraid: there is always a way out of every predicament.

Shooters taught me the importance of teamwork. Everyone has a role they can play, even if they aren't directly working with you, and if you know how to use all the resources at your disposal you will always be successful. They also taught me the importance of noticing small details and acting on them. Sometimes, being able to spot a small change in your environment, and knowing what to do about it, can draw the line between success and failure. Stay frosty!

RPGs taught me that everything, at the end of the day, is a series of processes. There is a logic behind everything, no matter how inane or random it may seem.

Strategy taught me how to multi-task, and more importantly think in advance. You can't get ahead in life if you are always just reacting to things around you. Plan ahead, make people react to you, and you'll go far.

Fighting games taught me the difference between memorization and motor control. I can know a combo inside out, but it doesn't mean jack if I can't do it. Applicable to real life in that it showed me the wisdom behind things like tests in school.

Dead or Alive taught me that a generous application of T&A really will make up for any sort of disappointment.

 

[LazerStallion]

Math Blaster taught me I hated math,
Reader Rabbit taught me I loved and was good at reading
Gran Turismo taught me a really good line for the Suzuka track in Mie prefecture

Oh man, Math Blaster! That was the best part of 2nd grade, teacher was like "go do your individual work" and since I was done because Pokemon already made me smart, I got to go play Math Blaster. *ponders how to get a copy of Math Blaster...*

 

[Obrien Xp]

Civilization
Total War
Age of Empires

I must be one of the few people who reads those long historical descriptions, let alone cross-references them.

Also, Silent Hunter 3 spurred my big U-boat craze, learned a lot there too.

 

[Lerasai]

I learned a lot about history from Age of Empires and Age of Mythology and quite a bit about how awesome classic music is from Bioshock and Fallout 3.

 

[Backstabber]

Assassin's Creed 2 taught me how to curse in Italian. Does that count?

 

[Chrono180]

I like to call Everquest the most expensive typing tutor I have ever played. It quintupled my typing skills, but cost my family over a thousand dollars over a five year period.

 

[Bravo315]

Assassin's Creed II - Taught me about Renaissance Italy.
Grand Theft Auto III - IV - Taught me about USA which is odd considering it's the only game that's made literally just down the street from me.

 

[gunheads]

Knights of the old republic 1 & 2 some of biowares best games.

 

[EllEzDee]

Rome Total War ^^ theres a lot of neat stuff in there about ancient history e.g Rome,Greece and Egipt.I always liked RTW,and I replay it time and time again with pleasure...

I've gotta agree. I've learned so much from RTW and M2TW that i'd love to go back in time to my history classes and be like LOOK AT WHAT I KNOW NOW! IN YOUR FACE!

 

[exarkunsith]

i learnt a large amount of history that is considered medival from Age of Empire II, from Byzatium to Agincore.

 

[Calbeck]

Back in the '90s I played a lot of computerized wargames such as Rise and Decline of the 3rd Reich, as well as WWII combat sims (Gato, Silent Hunter II, Aces over the Pacific, Task Force 1942, etc).

Most of the time, these came with thick box-filling manuals that spent a little time telling you how to play the game and a LOT of time immersing you in the period with historical background and explanations for why your small part in the larger virtual war would have been important had you really been there.

I learned, for example, that Hitler's nephew actually served in the U.S. Navy, where he was decorated with high honors for heroism in defiance of his uncle. And yes, he got crap about his relations, which he bore with good grace. I learned about the Sullivan Brothers and the loss that their ship's going down cost a family. I learned about the charge of the "Tin Can" destroyers against the Japanese fleet under Kurita which successfully turned his battleships back against all odds. Just as importantly, I learned the reasons why each nation, not just America, went to war, what they were hoping to achieve, and how they went about it.

As a result of gaming, I easily learned five times as much about the Second World War than I did in high school.

 

[Goldeneye103X2]

I'm actually learning a fair amount about renaissance Italy in Assassins Creed 2, and a lot about cars in Forza Motorsport 3. That's pretty cool.

 

[newdarkcloud]

Most of my vocabulary comes from video games. They tend to have better word choice than the friends I have and socialize with.

I'm American BTW.