Everything Bad is Good for You

I have spent many hours watching my son play games on his PS2 and XBox. That's right, just watching although he has invited me to join him. There is a certain level of humiliation I experience just watching him, let alone playing. The fact that there are many things happening at once and discovery as you play being the rule confounds me. I have an admiration for his ability to be successful at these games. Add in players that are out there somewhere, and I'm totally lost. I grew up in the Pac Man generation-not too many objectives and one dimension, leaving me with an admiration for anyone that is able to think on so many levels at once. As Johnson points out, the many nested levels of these sophisticated games, whether online or console gaming, requires a way of thinking that is far more sophisticated and relevant to life today, and particularly the workplace, than some are willing to acknowledge. In many games the rules change as you go on, and the interfaces of the games are sophisticated and multi-layered. A high degree of engagement and interaction is needed to navigate through them, and the fact that kids can make sense of this complexity is in itself amazing. As Johnson points out, during many games, the player has to constantly adapt to new knowledge and situations. This is stuff we don't teach in schools, yet is more relevant to today's workplace than ever before. Delivering stupidity? If you have ever watched or participated in games such as Halo,Call of Duty, Zelda or any Sims game (these are the only ones I'm familiar with!) you can see the level of intelligence and thinking skills needed to play. Like Johnson points out, we don't test for these skills. Game players are developing them on their own, and will be the interface developers of tomorrow.