DailyDirt: Games Of (For?) Skill

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mon, Jan 9th 2012 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Plenty of video games are just a waste of time, but some games aim to be more than just ways to entertain kids and people with too much free time. A few games try to solve real world problems, and there are a handful of games that claim to improve mental agility. Here are some quick links on games and human cognition.

Chess used to be the game that could measure a person's cognitive capabilities, but StarCraft2 might be the new game that provides metrics for humans' abilities to plot and strategize. Meanwhile, the computers are wondering why we're wasting so much time on variations of Tic-Tac-Toe and Rock-Paper-Scissors. [url]
Imagine a game that taught you how to program better video games, would that be a fun game? If only the result was actually a virtuous cycle for improving video games and programmers... [url]
Previous studies that suggested video games can help improve human cognitive function may be seriously flawed. Experimental design is really critical for generating psychology conclusions that aren't biased -- and surprise, surprise: there are a lot of widely-cited studies that are poorly designed. [url]
To find some cool online games, check out what StumbleUpon has found to play. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: chess, experimental design, games, human cognition, programming, starcraft
Companies: kickstarter

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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jan 2012 @ 5:18pm

Starcraft 2 "Might" be a better test of cognitive skill? Anyone that thinks it's a "might" has simply not watched a game played, much less played themselves.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Jan 2012 @ 5:42pm

Re: Might-y have fallen...
The "might" could refer to some uncertainty in the longevity of StarCraft2. it will be a test of cognitive skill for as long as people continue to play it -- and maybe something else "better" will come along in a few yrs. Chess has a fairly long history so being "better" as a subject for study could require a video game to be more than just a fad.
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Pixelation, 9 Jan 2012 @ 6:42pm

"Previous studies that suggested video games can help improve human cognitive function may be seriously flawed."

Don't they know this isn't a game?
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Rekrul, 9 Jan 2012 @ 10:06pm

School officials once told my parents that I had an above average IQ, but I've always sucked at chess and most RTS games. I'm not always that great about making real life decisions either.

On the other hand, I know people who seem really intelligent and who seem to make great life choices, but who can't handle the controls or navigate a simple map in an FPS game. Or figure out a simple level in a puzzle game like Lemmings.

Both my grandparents worked at Sikorsky building helicopters, but neither could deal with video games more complicated than Pac-Man.
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