Gaming helps you work

An article (here) that caught my eye appeared on Joystiq this morning. It focuses on how some things previously thought of as “bad habits” may actualy help people focus at work, and also help relieve stress when they are at home. One of the six that is mentioned is gaming. With the advent of such things as Brain Training on the DS, it appears that the media are cottoning on to the fact that gaming can be beneficial, and not just about brainwashing kids into stabbing people.

I have to admit that it’s a view that I share. I’ve always been a believer (and I’ve been laughed at on more than one occasion for voicing this) that there are benefits to be gained from gaming. I’ve been a gamer since I was bought my first computer (a Spectrum 48k) one Christmas, and have played games for the 20 or so years since. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing and I certainly believe that it helps me relax and unwind (you might disagree if you hear me get beaten on a level I’ve been working on for a long time!!). I definitely feel that gaming has helped promote my logic and reasoning skills, and this can be shown when I try to explain how to play a game to my wife.

I’ll often take many things for granted about how to play a certain game (platformers are a good example of this) and this has to be from the fact that I’ve played many games and can see solutions incredibly quickly. This doesn’t just apply to games though. It also extends outside of the console and I do find that I can very quickly use logic or reasoning to get myself through a problem, or to spot something that helps solve the problem.

For me the article linked to above is old news, it’s new money for old rope. I’ve always been a believer when it comes to games strengthening your brain power. You don’t see any news articles which say that doing crosswords is beneficial for your mental capacity, and I don’t see where the difference with gaming is…