The Gamer In Me

The Gamer In Me

   Okay, so it should come as no surprise that I obviously like pen-and-paper games, D&D, and other games that use human interaction as a medium for fun. While I set up Game Club to avoid the use of electronic gaming tools, I have a confession ( of sorts? ) …

   I love handheld games! I have owned every form of basic PSP ( except for the PSPGo and the new Vita ) and I have owned some kind of Gameboy dating back to the original with the nasty green/gray screen. I have recently re-found out just how much PSP was amazing and, because of this, I’d like to discuss some things about recreational gaming and how to use it to be a productive time-killer while on campus.

   For starters, some of you may have heard about how gaming’s ability to “enhance hand eye coordination” is a positive to the player. I’ll say this is like saying eating fast food is good for you because the chicken nuggets have the word “chicken” in then, or how French-fries are made of potato. It has “truth” in it, but the applicable uses/benefit is lost. It’s an empty argument.

   Where I will defend gaming, however, is in the realm of thinking games and roleplaying games.

   DISCLAIMER: While this may “sound” like I am trying to say one kind of game gives you a mental edge over others, it isn’t the case. What I am saying is that some kinds of games require you to think on a different level than more mindless games, and anything that requires you to stop, think, strategize, and solve puzzles is certainly a better kind of game to play. That is all.

   One of the ways I plan on killing time between some of my courses ( when not reading from the numerous books of comics I just purchased! )will be playing Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre.

   FOR THOSE WHO KNOW WHAT THE “FINAL FANTASY” BRAND IS – Heck yes, you likely know already why this game is amazing.

   FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW – “Final Fantasy” is a game where the player controls a group of characters in settings with various stages of fantasy and sci-fi elements. While few of the games are ever connected, they almost always have plots involving magic use, larger-than-life villains, and the-like. The nature of the game implies you control 3-4 characters at once with set abilities and ones you can “teach”, like asking a Mage to learn new, better spells, etc…

   Final Fantasy Tactics puts you into a game with a setting more involved that a Dickens novel. Seriously, the names, titles, relationships, and struggles of the characters in this game makes the plight of the cast of Les Miserables look like a pleasant walk in the park on a sunny day. The villains are often as “right” as the heroes, and the heroes often act like villains at times.  Instead of a drastically “BLACK + WHITE” setting, the world of Tactics is very gray.

   ANYWAY, the game uses a grid system and allows you access to almost ten characters whom you can move around on that is basically a huge chess-board. Your troops move at your command, and terrain, buildings, weapons, and skills can help propel you to victory. But, you can also be destroyed by poor planning, ie: putting your weak mages in the front-lines, or leaving your better warriors sit on the sidelines.

   The nature of games like these emphasize more critical thinking skills on a cerebral level than, say, others ( However, I have heard extremely good arguments on the nature of fighting games and how they require faster, better thought processing, but that’s a different post … ). What these games can do, potentially, is help you understand sequential planning in your day.

   Will you maximize your time by visiting your professor first when her office hours start, or by waiting until she has other students in her office at a more hectic time?

   Can you get a better study group together by actively seeking our people during class, with your contact information in hand, or by trying to catch people from your class in other parts of campus?

   It will take you longer to walk over to Area X, where you have one URGENT errand, than it will to get to Area  Y, where you have several LESSER errands? How would you manage your efficiency?

   These examples may be silly, but if you look at your day as if you only have a series of X number of Actions, you might start needing to think like a Tactics player to get the most out of your day.

  I know, it’s silly, but it is one practical way to exercise your mind while playing a totally awesome videogame. If you have a PSP, the game was released as Final Fantasy Tactics: War of Lions and it is less than 20 dollars for hundreds of hours of great story, strategy, and fun.