Yahoo has posted a Forbes article titled "How Playing Video Games Can Boost Your Career". It's one of those pandering puff pieces straining desperately at the thesis that videogaming isn't just a leisure pursuit, but something that makes people better, faster, stronger. It includes howlers like the following passages:
[John Hagel III, who has been studying the effect that playing video games has on the performance of young professionals in the workplace] cites Stephen Gillett, a gamer who became chief information officer of Starbucks while still in his 20s. By playing World of Warcraft, Gillet developed the ability to influence and persuade people through leadership rather than trying to order them around.
I'm trying to imagine how this would look. "Say, dethskillz733t, I think the raid would really appreciate it if you maximized your potential by providing more DOTs."
A book published in April called "Your Career Game" discusses how online Xbox games like Modern Warfare 2 can teach players about game theory. The strategies gamers learn in interacting and competing with others in games, assessing different motivations, and finding and utilizing mentors can help employees get ahead in the workplace or help job seekers get an edge in their search.
In a typical game of Modern Warfare 2, I hardly have time to assess who's shooting at me, much less his motivation. Which I'm pretty sure is little more than to shoot me.
Luis Corujo, an archivist at the Portuguese National Archives and a professor at a private university in Portugal, credits playing the history game Europa Universalis 2 with helping him learn how to research historical information and sift through archives.
Yeah, I've played Europa Universalis 2 as well. I'm pretty sure any game with an interface that terrible will teach you the patience it requires to "sift through archives".
I get that these articles are an attempt to balance the perception that videogames are only good for teaching kids to murder hookers, but do they have to be so ham-handed and clumsy about it?
Play games to advance your career. No, really!
Yahoo has posted a Forbes article titled "How Playing Video Games Can Boost Your Career". It's one of those pandering puff pieces straining desperately at the thesis that videogaming isn't just a leisure pursuit, but something that makes people better, faster, stronger. It includes howlers like the following passages:
[John Hagel III, who has been studying the effect that playing video games has on the performance of young professionals in the workplace] cites Stephen Gillett, a gamer who became chief information officer of Starbucks while still in his 20s. By playing World of Warcraft, Gillet developed the ability to influence and persuade people through leadership rather than trying to order them around.I'm trying to imagine how this would look. "Say, dethskillz733t, I think the raid would really appreciate it if you maximized your potential by providing more DOTs."A book published in April called "Your Career Game" discusses how online Xbox games like Modern Warfare 2 can teach players about game theory. The strategies gamers learn in interacting and competing with others in games, assessing different motivations, and finding and utilizing mentors can help employees get ahead in the workplace or help job seekers get an edge in their search.In a typical game of Modern Warfare 2, I hardly have time to assess who's shooting at me, much less his motivation. Which I'm pretty sure is little more than to shoot me.Luis Corujo, an archivist at the Portuguese National Archives and a professor at a private university in Portugal, credits playing the history game Europa Universalis 2 with helping him learn how to research historical information and sift through archives.Yeah, I've played Europa Universalis 2 as well. I'm pretty sure any game with an interface that terrible will teach you the patience it requires to "sift through archives".
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