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Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

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Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#51

Post by RandomInteger4 »

graedus wrote: post #43
sdfin wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Resource management in video games is a skill that I'm sure transfers to real world resource management. Apart from the simulators you mention strategy games like age of empires and red alert also teach about it. Some weeks ago a co-worker told me something similar to what you share, how he learned about resources while playing SimCity. He also said his younger sister asked him "If people doesn't have money, why does…

"If people doesn't have money, why doesn't the government print money and gives it to people?" Because people are not systemically important financial institutions :)

They sort of are though. It's just that a person's importance isn't individually obvious, and only becomes obvious in aggregate.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#52

Post by RomanPushkin »

I tried to play with my 4 y.o. son to NES classic games. He loved Donkey Kong County, and some other arcades, but I found games affects his behavior in a bad way. He was always asking to play more, refusing to go and play outside, working at home with books, paper, and color pens and water paints. So we're not playing for 6 months or more. He loved plasticine, and makes some really fancy and realistic animals. He likes water painting on the paper, and likes when we read him books. We believe video games is not something we should hook up our kids for. Avoiding games, and limiting the amount of youtube videos to 30-60 mins helped a lot.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#53

Post by in_cahoots »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #7

>He loves extreme symmetry, varying bands of bright colors, and elaborate lighting comprised of dozens of fixtures. Um I'm pretty sure if you don't go overboard on the lighting monsters spawn. This is more of an in-game thing than a preference thing.

Most kids I know play on sandbox mode. Building a fairytale scenario in normal mode takes dozens of hours, which most kids don’t have the patience (or computer time) for.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#54

Post by TimmyMustGo »

sdfin wrote: post #28
bwang29 wrote: post #15

I definitely feel games like Sims and Simcity changed my perception of resource safety as a child. I played Sims/Simcity2000~3000/Civs for hundreds of hours as a kid, and I loved the "realistic" feels and setups of these games. When I started to play I always had later stage trouble when I'm overspending on building fancy roads and bridges in SimCity or buying expensive items up front. I slowly learned the way of set…

Resource management in video games is a skill that I'm sure transfers to real world resource management. Apart from the simulators you mention strategy games like age of empires and red alert also teach about it. Some weeks ago a co-worker told me something similar to what you share, how he learned about resources while playing SimCity. He also said his younger sister asked him "If people doesn't have money, why does…

It definitely is not a naive question. Printing money is precisely what the government should do. Income tax should be eliminated, it is a relic of the past. The government should fund itself not by selling bonds, which essentially is printing money that pays interest, but by simply printing money which is more direct.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#55

Post by hluska »

DiThi wrote: post #23
gqg wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you aware of any currently active multiplayer games which require that level of commitment to character?

A long time ago I played http://www.sindome.org but my English was not very good back then. Out of character talking was allowed but with a particular marking (I think it was double parentheses). I guess you can filter OOC talk.

Wow, that's a blast from the past. Seriously, thanks so much for posting that link - I've been dying to get into some hardcore roleplaying and it's nice to know that Sindome is alive and well.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#56

Post by skookumchuck »

skookumchuck wrote: post #37
bwang29 wrote: post #15

I definitely feel games like Sims and Simcity changed my perception of resource safety as a child. I played Sims/Simcity2000~3000/Civs for hundreds of hours as a kid, and I loved the "realistic" feels and setups of these games. When I started to play I always had later stage trouble when I'm overspending on building fancy roads and bridges in SimCity or buying expensive items up front. I slowly learned the way of set…

I'd be very careful about applying lessons from a game to the real world. Lots of games designed by economists, for example, tend to validate the pet theories of the economists, despite not working in the real world. Real world economics is infinitely more complex than the handful of rules in a game.

For example, the classic board game "Monopoly" was invented to push an economic agenda:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-scandalous-history-of-monop...

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#57

Post by RandomInteger4 »

gdubs wrote: post #49
skookumchuck wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be very careful about applying lessons from a game to the real world. Lots of games designed by economists, for example, tend to validate the pet theories of the economists, despite not working in the real world. Real world economics is infinitely more complex than the handful of rules in a game.

I don’t have a source — lazy Saturday here — but I recall something about city planners using Sim City back in the day as part of their education, which horrified Will Wright since in his words (paraphrasing) “sim city is just cellular automata with some differential equations sprinkled on top.”

Dear god ... that game makes so much more sense now when seen in that light. I can't believe I haven't made the connection before considering much I enjoy cellular automata.

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#58

Post by hluska »

This article reminds me of playing Minecraft with my stepdaughter. When we got her a PS4, I have to admit that I had a bit of a fuddy duddy moment. Games weren't like they were when I was young, blah blah blah, NES, blah blah blah, the damned princess is in a different castle. And, when I firstlooked at Minecraft, I couldn't for the life of me, figure out what I was supposed to do.

Then, my stepdaughter took over and taught me the game. I was amazed by what an incredible teacher she was! And, I was more amazed by how much I learned about her playing Minecraft with her. That's still one of my peak experiences in step-parenting and I hope that's a memory that I will hold onto until the end of my days.

One particular moment still makes me laugh. As I mentioned, she was an incredible teacher with an ability to teach through stories and an incredible amount of patience with me. So, I said, "You know, you should become a teacher." She gave me a look that can best (and only) be described as her stinkeye and said, "I don't want to be a teacher. I want to be normal."

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#59

Post by joering2 »

Anyone here spent their childhood playing Transport Tycoon 2 ?? I would soent ages reinwenting and redesigning my whole network as better engines become available, until I had MagLev networks running everwhere in loops (one way so that multiple tracks where one after another). Golden times never to come back again ;(

Re: Playing Video Games with My Son Isn’t What I Thought It Would Be

#60

Post by sundvor »

skybrian wrote: post #50
sundvor wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Terraria is brilliant. My 7 year old son and I have just discovered it; I must say after spending quite a lot of time in Minecraft it's a fresh breath of air.

Why is it better?

I didn't say better, but they are different. It might end up as better though!

I'm loving the 2D aspect which makes it easier to find stuff, and that pickaxes don't wear out - that sort of thing. Also the number of things to discover is greater. As an adult, combat mechanics are more interesting.

You get to keep your character between games, so those rare items you find - you get to keep them.

Additionally, it's super easy to connect to a friend via Steam. On the LAN it just works every time, no need to manually enter IP address and remember the port; also I hated having to pay a monthly fee for Realms just to let my son play with his geographically distant cousin.

Son is 7 and loves a bit of action; probably wouldn't want anyone too much younger, Minecraft in creative mode is far more suitable for younger kids.

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