DailyDirt: Games Of (For?) Skill

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

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.

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