Bradley Metrock
President, Score Holdings LLC
GM, The Score of Cool Springs (4091 Mallory Lane, Suite 124, Franklin, TN 37067)
December 2008
Today’s generation of young professionals grew up with exposure to gaming simulations from an early age. These future leaders managed precious resources in Oregon Trail, negotiated down prices with the cartel in Dope Wars, and conquered the planet in Civilization, all before they navigated the many complexities of today’s professional world.
Educational researchers have long believed in the value of gaming simulations. Studies done in the United Kingdom by TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) have concluded that “sims” – games where players actively formulate big-picture strategy along with “in the weeds” tactics contribute significantly to development of strategic thinking and planning skills.
A young person that builds a sprawling metropolis in EA’s SimCity game, only to watch it fail after a surprise series of floods left the city’s coffers empty and unable to recover, takes away a valuable lesson in the importance of working capital to the sustainability of any enterprise. Another young person that raises a massive army to attack the neighboring aggressor in Microsoft’s Age of Empires, only to be thwarted when that neighboring aggressor partners with three other factions and crushes that army, gets a tutorial in the importance of friends, politics, and deal-making.
Even games less “academic” in nature, such as first-person-shooters like Halo or Left 4 Dead, build teamwork skills and underscore the importance of constant communication to solve problems. Fighting games like SoulCalibur or Super Smash Brothers teach participants that knowledge of self is never enough – you have to know your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses well in order to win.
Anyone can read a book, or watch a film, and walk away from the experience without grasping the author’s underlying message. A book doesn’t turn its own pages back to Chapter 1 when it realizes the reader, now in Chapter 10, missed a key concept. A film doesn't rewind itself to make sure the audience understood the latest plot twist. The video game, on the other hand, punishes its participant severely for failure to comprehend, and adapt, to changing conditions. The interactivity is the key - the participant is engaged, not just entertained.
As video games continue to soar in popularity, they will do so not only because they are superior at entertaining to other media, but also because they superior at educating.
