The value of my computer game experiences

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the difficulties of correctly valuing a player’s computer game experiences.

Since I started playing computer games, I have achieved a lot of impressive things. For instance, I drove virtual race cars on digitalized racing circuits, docked spacecraft to the International Space Station, defeated complex raid bosses in World of Warcraft and saved the world many times. Unfortunately, I am not really sure what exactly I have achieved and if there is a real world application for the knowledge I have gained over the past years (that is also one of the reasons why I go for a PhD in this field!).

Completing complex maneuvers in a simulation games shows that I do have the right mindset and knowledge for the simulated activity. However, as the simulation just happens on my computer screen, I can not directly practice the real world activity as the controls of the vehicles are mapped on my available input devices, such as my keyboard, mouse, racing wheel, and joystick, and not implemented in a realistic way by providing me with a panel full of knobs and switches. Hence, although the simulations are highly immersive, they can not count as a substitute for the real world counterpart of the simulated activity. In addition, all the forces that would normally affect my body, are not or only partly present while playing a computer simulation.

However, despite those limitations, simulation games present and demand the knowledge encoded in the game in a direct way and, as a result of this, I can train and even expand my knowledge of the game’s topic. Furthermore, as knowledge transfer is likely when the computer game shares similarities with the real world activity, which is the case with simulation games, I can directly transfer this game based knowledge to the real world. Unfortunately, there is no way that allows me to keep track of my simulator based experiences in order to have a proof for the knowledge I have acquired so far.

Things are even more complex in case of games that tell an exciting story and/or just challenge some of my abilities, such as reaction time, hand-eye-coordination, and social skills. In contrast to a book or a movie, I am actively doing something in order to proceed with the game. Hence, I am directly involved in the progress of the gameplay which should mean that all the experiences I made in the games I played thus far are real, at least for me. The problem is, however, that computer games lack a comparability to similar real world activities. Therefore, although a player’s computer game experiences might be real, they are hard to understand for others as long as they have not played the game themselves.

In the end, as long as there is no good way of comparing computer game experiences with similar real world activities, it is very hard for outstanders to correctly value a player’s experiences. Nevertheless, the knowledge and experience gained from playing computer games can greatly improve a player’s abilities or expand a player’s knowledge. Also, as a player is directly involved in the gameplay, the experiences are real for the player. The only downside is that only other players can really understand what the player has experienced.

Therefore, it is time to find a method that allows us to compare and value the knowledge and experience we have gained by playing computer games!