Upon reading the Introduction of this book, I was rather offended by the negative comments about the characteristics of my generation. Frankly, it's not our fault we were brought up through technology and when I think of the boomer generation growing up, I picture partying, raves and riots. While I admit technology has weakened my generation's verbal communication skills, this digital accessibility has provided us with more information and social interactions than ever before.
Personally, I found segments within the The Net Generation Brain chapter extremely interesting. Particularly, the portion covering video game testing and how gamers develop various skills as a result of regular participation. Although I'm rather biased since I regularly engage in this activity, I have supported the benefits of video games for years and I know video games truly prepare you for real life situations. Let's walk through a typical scenario.
I am in the Xbox Live menu of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and am about to start a game of Capture the Flag. As I spawn, I am given a team to complete the objective of capturing the flag with and choose to equip myself with a Famas since it's versatitility will help me adapt to my surroundings. Since the other team will be guarding the flag, I know that I must work with my team in order to win. As the game starts, I immediately notice the map is small and filled with many destroyed buildings. Opponents could be around any corner so I cautiously move from one building to another and watch my team mate's back while I assume he's doing the same for me. I see movement off in the distance but don't have a clear shot so I throw a grenade because I know this weapon and my spatial reasoning have a better chance of killing than my gun.
Once the coast is clear, I notice the flag but don't go for it yet. I tell my team to look for snipers who are guarding the flag from a distance and we all check our radar for good measure. During this time I note my amunition is low so I can either use my secondary weapon, a pistol, which isn't as powerful and better for short range attacks, thus causing me to stay in buildings to have a better chance of survival, or I could find an unclaimed gun and use that. However, since I am low on amunition and have chosen the perk of Extreme Conditioning, which allows me to sprint for longer periods of time than I normally could, I alert my team mates and run for the flag.
Immediately, an enemy appears in my periferal so I shoot at him while continuing to run toward the flag. Suddenly a grenade indicator pops up and I have a second to jump out of the way before I'm toast. I attempt to jump out of the way but the explosion blinds me from seeing an opponent crouched in the window across the street. Before I can blink my dead body appears on my screen and I'm watching my death. I make a mental note of the location of my attacker but if he's smart he'll move to a different location. When the recap is over I respawn at the end of the map and am given another chance to capture the flag. I'll have to be faster this time. Luckily, I've pieced together the outlay of the map and understand the defensive strategy and skill level of my opponents.
"Games force you to decide, to choose, to prioritize." In a mere 5 minutes I implemented skills crucial to my survival but can easily be applied to real life situations. Whether I'm managing a team at work, driving in traffic, sifting through a messy room to find my keys, prioritizing homework and events in my busy schedule or catching a ball that racing toward my head, I know I've gained and strengthened these skills through video games. As far as I'm concerned, trial and error situations and a little friendly competition never hurt anyone and I'd take virtual learning experiences over a lecture that covers these same skills any day.
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