Games
Games... they aren't just for kids you know. Cyber-cafe and LAN gaming centres thrive on this premise. Modern games aren't just time wasters. They educate too. Okay before you parents turn up your nose and frown upon this statement, consider the following:
Accurate
Modern games, in order to engage the player in the game fully, try to be "immersive". As such, games do a lot of research into the subject material in question. Hence, even if the game is fiction by nature, it will still be based upon facts. An example - The Journeyman Project. This game is about a time-traveller (fiction) that must travel around the timeline to fix problems to save the world. The time periods are painstakingly researched (facts). As such, even if the kid (or adult!) playing this game has no interest in history, after going through this game he would have come out of it learning a little bit about history.
Realism
Modern games embed real-life physics. The most prevalent games using this technology are those First Person Shooters (eg, Half-Life and their mods, Deux Ex etc) and Flight Simulators. The Flight Sim category is even more detailed in the sense that not only do they model the world outside the cockpit, but the plane they are simulating is researched thoroughly to bring the player as close to "the real thing" as possible. Modern combat flight sims are so "realistic" that it has been commented by real pilots that the only thing missing is the G-Forces during flight. Everything else (unclassified materials, that is) is so close to the real thing. As an example, when Longbow 2 was released in 1996, Gulf War veterans who flew the Apache AH-64A into battle had *flashbacks* of the war when they tried this flight sim! The night fighting they saw through the cockpit of the game is almost as eriee as when they were in Iraq.
Co-ordination
At the very least, people who play games tend to have more co-ordinated hand-eye reflexes and better motor skills. People who play TOO MUCH games will develop problems in the wrist, or may develop vertigo (motion-sickness). As the old adage goes - too much of a good thing is bad for you.
Updated (November 13, 2004)
Found an interesting Instant Messenger called XFire.
Works like ICQ, MSN or a whole host of other Instant Messengers out there.
Only difference is, it allows you to view which games your friends are
playing and thus join the same server as he is. Check out the website
for more details.
Here's my gaming mini-profile from xFire:
My Current Rig
Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz HT (800mhz FSB)
GigaByte 8IK1100 Rev 2.0 Motherboard
Intel 875P Chipset
2 GB DDR400 RAM
nVidia 7600GT (AGP)
Logitec Extreme 3D Pro
Logitec MX-518 Gaming Mouse
TrackIR head tracker
Yup, I have upgraded to a brand-spanking new platform. This is going
to have to last me another 3 years so I may as well get the best I could. That was 4 years ago back in 2003. In today's modern gaming world, my rig is "obsolete", but surprisingly, it still runs Bioshock reasonably well, and Call of Duty 4 (at least the demo) very well.
Due to recent upgradings, I no longer use a CRT monitor and have gone and purchased a Samsung 710N LCD Monitor. Hence, I no longer can use my eDimensional 3D glasses anymore for stereoscopic gaming.
Also, due to a recent unfortunate event which blew my power supply and probably rendered my Sound Blaster Live card inoperative, I now use the built-in onboard AC97 sound system that came with my motherboard (ALC650). Thus far I have very little complaints. Apparently this chipset is recognised as being a hardware-acceleration capable one and so far none of my games suffered any adverse effects.
However I do still need to get used to the new nuances and quirks of
this built-in sound system. Also due to this, I now need to look for a
USB joystick system instead of using my CH Gamestick 14 because there
isn't a gameport built-in on the motherboard. Yeah I am kicking myself
for not noticing this. I will in future remember to ensure the motherboard
I select comes with a game port. The Logitec Extreme 3D Pro is a USB Joystick. I still would like to get back to flying fighter sims though.
I even bought a TrackIR for it!
