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Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#41

Post by meristohm »

gaws wrote: post #37
pitched wrote: post #2

For me, the most important one was Diablo 2 because I spent way too much time in it. I got totally pulled into the addictive/gambling side of farming and trading gear, and, there were definitely some opportunities in life I missed because I was spending way too much energy on this. I know this was the opposite thing you were looking for in your question but what this taught me is how exactly it feels when I get mysel…

> there were definitely some opportunities in life I missed because I was spending way too much energy on this. Like what?

I relate to u/pitched on getting sucked into Diablo 2 and missing out on other experiences. I’m still growing up emotionally, and back then I was basically a child, like Tom Hanks in the movie “Big”, and also in graduate school. I missed out on: making more/closer friends, making more connections with people (networking towards career options, etc), physical exercise (I was active but needed more training for my core; this is clear now as I age), emotional maturity, reading books (always been a reader thanks to my parents reading to me a lot, but Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft put a big dent in time spent learning from authors), practicing music (“It’s Never Too Late”, book by John Holt on learning cello later in life), practicing other art, writing letters to friends and family, … the list goes on, and those are the main ones off the top of my head. I tend not to stray into regret about the time I sunk into these games, and instead to reevaluate how I spend my time and attention in the present moment. In looking back, it seems I was hiding from emotions, from unresolved adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and those game pass-times made it easier to avoid facing my fears (or failure, of being vulnerable, and more I may not yet be aware of). I graduated largely thanks to a couple caring friends who saw my potential and invested in me. I try to be open enough these days to be helpful to others with whom my life experience resonates, so that they might be more-aware of opportunities as they arise, and more-able to switch gears and go.

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#42

Post by meristohm »

From Hell Let Loose, a WW2 game that’s more towards simulation than Call of Duty or Battlefield: 1942, I learned the importance of voice communication to coordinate actions. It also helps that I’m much less shy now about talking to strangers. I play as the squad lead and spotter in a tank-crew trio and have to be clear and concise with my words, both into the command channel and to my crew. I am more practiced at giving direct orders rather than dithering or asking what the driver and gunner think we might do (I do like to ask them when we have time to plan, though, especially as the US when trying to flank Tigers).

From videogame Spec-Ops: The Line I learned that we (the US military) used white phosphorous during our assault on the people of Iraq[0]. I may have already known, but the game made it personal.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_munitions

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#43

Post by 600frogs »

postalrat wrote: post #34
600frogs wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I agree with this lesson. I've sunk 1000s of hours into DOTA 2, and would agree with you in such a game where emotions run high and considered, reasoned responses aren't possible, but I think it's a poor takeaway from the game. Sometimes it is correct to stand your ground and stand up for what you believe is the correct course of action. I'd instead emphasise the importance of emotional control and the i…

Nearly every time standing your ground splits your team and gives your opponents an advantage. The best thing you can do is communicate your intentions to your team, but if they don't want to go with along with it it's almost always better to just stick with them. I think being willing to give up your own (obviously superior) plan is a form of emotional control.

In DOTA, sure. In real life, that lesson isn't uniformly applicable, and could lead one to give up and go with the herd when that might not be the right thing to do.

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#44

Post by dnh44 »

mod wrote: post #40
dnh44 wrote: post #28

Final Fantasy 1 for the NES (spoiler alert) has a plot twist at the end where you save the world by undoing a time travel paradox created by the villain. This results in no one being aware that you've just saved the world, or that it even needed saving. As an 8 year old I learned that one shouldn't need or seek out praise or recognition from others for doing something that I felt was good.

I love these old jRPGs. I couldn't have told you the plot, but I remember the mechanics of this and FF2 very well. Modern rpgs are truly fantastic, but I don't enjoy them nearly as much.

Yeah I totally agree. The only one I’ve played recently that recreated the magic of childhood for me was Breath of the Wild.

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#45

Post by ne0flex »

nokya wrote: post #12

I played an online MMORPG called "Anarchy Online" (AO) while in my early twenties, probably for a little bit more than a year. At a dinner with friends, I started talking about the game and why I liked it. During that discussion, I came to the realization that even if I did absolutely nothing "productive" in the game, I always had access to food, clothes, health services and shelter. Things were organized in a way th…

Since I've started working I've been aggressively investing close to half my monthly paychecks into high-yield dividend stocks with the goal of attaining my own level of UBI.

A few years ago, when I was unemployed for several months, I noticed that doing nothing all day gets boring real fast. I know that if I had my own UBI I'd definitely go pursue some sort of venture.

However, I also noticed that my cousin, who has been unemployed for the past 4 months, is just focused on playing video games, while his mom supports him. From this, I've concluded that the effects of UBI will vary greatly from person to person.

Before implementing UBI, I think we need to determine what % of the population will get bored and attempt to do something else, and what % of the population will just pool their attention into unproductive time sinks - maybe the Pareto principle will come into play here?

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#46

Post by pitched »

meristohm wrote: post #41
gaws wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there were definitely some opportunities in life I missed because I was spending way too much energy on this. Like what?

I relate to u/pitched on getting sucked into Diablo 2 and missing out on other experiences. I’m still growing up emotionally, and back then I was basically a child, like Tom Hanks in the movie “Big”, and also in graduate school. I missed out on: making more/closer friends, making more connections with people (networking towards career options, etc), physical exercise (I was active but needed more training for my core…

All of these things hit for me but it’s really that last sentence that I was trying to focus on. Being able to feel this kind of addiction taking hold and switching gears is very, very important. And not just for games, being able to put down a bad novel is the same skill, I think. It’s important to know what you’re getting out of what you’re doing and make sure that it’s helpful.

I don’t think games are bad as a class though. The perfect example in the opposite direction for me was Neverwinter Nights. I had a lot of fun making campaigns, building teams and hosting servers. That first time I tried to get someone to connect to a 192.168 IP is something I’ll never forget!

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#47

Post by pitched »

truth_ wrote: post #24

I feel this question was tailored for me! I grew up to love history. And read mythologies like the Mahabharata and always glorified wars. I was like 13-14. It was written in the newspapers that war was bad, my History teacher taught us so, and my father always told me so. But I never bought those. To my early teenager tiny-brain, war was something glorious where you fought for your country/clan. And killing other peo…

It was the original Battlefield that really drove this point home for me. If everyone can get at least one kill per death, your team will win. So if there is a war, there can’t ever be more than a 50/50 chance of me making it home alive.

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#49

Post by djohnston »

behnamoh wrote: post #10
ed312 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind sharing what this "resource point controlling game" was? (Any chance it was called "Natural Selection"?)

I remember Age of Mythology (AOM) was like that. I would spend a lot of time investing in defenses only to realize my opponent - who was more agile and wanted to just get shit done - would attack me early on. He would lose the first battles, but I would lose the war. I ended up adopting a more agile strategy where castle-building was not that important anymore. Instead, I would try to get shit done as soon as possibl…

Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man - Patton (I think)

Re: Ask HN: What are some things you learnt from a game that changed your life?

#50

Post by cm2012 »

In Starcraft it's the importance of humility and learning from others.

You have to learn the best build orders and practice them to a T if you want to do well. Millions of people around the world have honed these to a t.

It's only when you truly understand existing strategies and the meta that you can branch out successfully with your own strategies.

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