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.
