{"id":41412,"date":"2021-07-07T12:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T16:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=41412"},"modified":"2021-07-11T13:32:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T17:32:00","slug":"what-are-the-benefits-of-playing-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-the-benefits-of-playing-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Raph Koster: What Are the Benefits of Playing Games?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the benefits of playing games? Can games teach you skills for the modern day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the fact that many people think games (especially video games) are a negative influence and distract you from the real world, Raph Koster asserts that games are actually beneficial in many ways. Koster says that games can teach you a number of skills including teamwork, lateral thinking, and can even teach you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/self-insight\/\">self-insight<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are the benefits of playing games according to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/a-theory-of-fun-for-game-design\/\">A Theory of Fun for Game Design<\/a><\/em> author Raph Koster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Benefits of Playing Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So games are fun because they teach patterns. But what are these patterns? And what are the benefits of playing games? The author of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/a-theory-of-fun\/\">A Theory of Fun<\/a> for Game Design<\/em> offers these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Calculation of odds, prediction of events<ul><li>This applies to any game involving probability, such as games where you roll a dice, Monopoly, dominoes, and card games.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Social power and status<ul><li>Playing \u201chouse\u201d with a group of kids is about jockeying for social status.<\/li><li>Games involving force projection and territory control, like chess or Starcraft, are about social status as well.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Spacial relationships\u2014 examining the environment<ul><li>In these games, you understand how the environment reacts to change, so that you can exercise power over it.<\/li><li>This is true of Super Mario, chess, and sports games.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Memory\u2014recall and manage complex chains of information<ul><li>Counting cards in blackjack<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Visceral responses<ul><li>This includes shooting games, where you aim, shoot, and move in response to what\u2019s on screen<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Teamwork<ul><li>This is true of games as wide-ranging from basketball to Counter-Strike.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are universally helpful patterns to learn and have been helpful in evolutionary history. Consider how useful teamwork, memory, and social status were when humans were cavemen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many games we play today thus existed to train us to be better cavemen. But many skills we learn today are no longer immediately relevant, such as archery or running marathons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Skills for the Modern Day<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We could use more games that teach relevant modern skills that might also be counterintuitive, and possibly against our nature.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To use an analogy, we\u2019ve evolved to find certain types of things revolting, such as green, slimy, smelly things. We\u2019ve learned these rules because green slimy things were often toxic to humans. However, in today\u2019s world, there are many more dangerous things that we <em>haven\u2019t<\/em> evolved a reaction to. Take cleaning fluid\u2014it\u2019s a clear, attractive blue color. We haven\u2019t evolved a visceral reaction to this, yet drinking it would be incredibly damaging!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Likewise, there are plenty of skills that would be useful in the modern day that we haven\u2019t naturally evolved. Games can teach these skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the game Simcity teaches large-scale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-network\/\">network building<\/a> and resource management, in ways that cavemen wouldn\u2019t have needed to be concerned with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The author suggests these <strong>counterintuitive behaviors that would be useful in the modern day<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Avoiding xenophobia\u2014empathizing with people not in our in-group<\/li><li>Questioning obedience to leaders<\/li><li>Resolving problems without the use of force<\/li><li>Understanding complex relationships, such as how peace treaties affect oil prices<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Games for some of the examples above do exist, but they\u2019re niche. Why are they less popular than the ones that teach obsolete skills? The author suggests that simpler games that don\u2019t challenge us and require thought are more pleasant\u2014they allow us to stay in the pleasant subconscious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lateral Thinking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Games may also teach lateral thinking, or finding alternative ways to reach the goal. This is sometimes known as cheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Circumventing rules has been useful in warfare, such as guerrilla ambushes during the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In games, we preserve rules and sportsmanship partly because otherwise the game loses meaning<\/strong>\u2014it no longer teaches the \u201ccorrect\u201d lesson. What you learn in the game by cheating no longer works in the real world. Rules, in turn, become a social contract between those playing the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Self-Insight<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The author argues that for games to become as venerated as other media, they need to provide us with insights into ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A common criticism of games is that they feature gratuitous sex and violence, and thus aren\u2019t reputable. The author argues just this isn\u2019t the complete explanation\u2014literature and film have plenty of sex and violence too, and yet they\u2019re still admired as art. Rather, games feature <em>shallow<\/em> sex and violence that don\u2019t teach anything more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, consider the strategy game MULE, which is a multiplayer strategy game featuring economics. In this game, off-world colonists compete to be the richest. As a player, it\u2019s possible to become the richest colonist, but the colony could still perish and so cause everyone to lose. The game therefore teaches the delicate interaction between individuals and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or consider a hypothetical game where you gain power based on how many people you control, but you can heal yourself based on how many friends you have. Then include a rule that causes friends to fall away when you gain power. The success condition of the game is about the overall survival of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There are a few ways you can play the game. You can be at the top with no allies, or you can be lower in status with more friends.<\/li><li>Many possible lessons can be taught with this game, not just power projection but also duty, responsibility, and caring for your posterity.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These types of games provide self-insight that can make games more respectable and valuable to players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the benefits of playing games? Can games teach you skills for the modern day? Despite the fact that many people think games (especially video games) are a negative influence and distract you from the real world, Raph Koster asserts that games are actually beneficial in many ways. Koster says that games can teach you a number of skills including teamwork, lateral thinking, and can even teach you self-insight. Below are the benefits of playing games according to A Theory of Fun for Game Design author Raph Koster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":41422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,43,24],"tags":[413],"class_list":["post-41412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-self-improvement","category-society","tag-a-theory-of-fun-for-game-design","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Raph Koster: What Are the Benefits of Playing Games? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to A Theory of Fun and Game Design author Raph Koster, playing games can have many benefits. 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