It has been long discussed about the
harmful effects computer games have on individuals. It has been said that this
type of games occupy a large period of the individual’s time without offering
any positive reward, or in other words, without having any good effects on
human’s life in its entirety. Also, it has been argued that computer games have
as main result restricting people’s interaction with each other to the virtual
world, thus leading to isolation.
Yet, one side of computer games which
has not been given proper attention is the educational one. Computer games, and
especially strategy computer games such as SimCity or Age of Empires are
designed in such a way as to challenge human brain and make it find new ways to
solve difficult problems. Gamers are put in front of real life situations or
possible situations and are given the freedom to choose what they want to do.
Without making the right moves and right decisions, the player cannot move to
the next level, cannot evaluate. These games are meant to make the player
think, find new solutions, evaluate them and choose the most suitable ones.
Also, it forces the player to face the consequences of their acts and take it
all over again if they fail to meet all the requirements or if they do not make
the right decisions.
This means that more than one feature of
the brain is exploited. The player must be capable of learning (the rules of
the game, the situations and some of their answers, etc.), solve problems and
mysteries, evaluating different possibilities, choosing between them and have
enough patience to watch the evolution of the game and start it all over again
when they have failed one or more tasks.
It is no doubt that strategy computer
games really have the power to keep the brain working for more hours. And more
intellectual activity means increased IQ, from which we can infer that they are
really useful in improving one’s intellectual capacities. Thus, if you want to
increase your IQ in a pleasant way, these games are a really good alternative
to chess and riddles, but not enough.
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