What are you happy that video games taught you?

[Ataraxia]

I'd just like to thank Final Fantasy VII for telling me that squats are cool and absolutely necessary for cross-dressing in order to save the world.

 

Thank you also to Quest for Glory I (remake) for telling me at a young age that in order to get better at climbing trees or lockpicking or anything, you have to practice a lot, fall on your face a lot, but it feels good and one day you'll be worthy of your red cape.

[dntspard]

I have to thank Final Fantasy VIII for showing me that depression can be overcome with some help but by pushing through it. Assassin's creed for showing that using the world as a playground may not be acceptable but makes for an interesting way of travel. And Kingdom Hearts that while they may not be what you expected, friends come from all places and often help you in ways you never expected they'd be able to. 

[Guest Dirty Deads]

If I kick a turtle shell against a wall a whole bunch of times, I can live forever.

Ohh, I'd like to thank FF8 for showing me Quistis Trepe, I'd wreck that chick if she were real.

[Pherales]

World of Warcraft, for showing me that I don't have to continually live in the Real World and meet everyone's else's expectations.  And that all things in moderation is not only okay, it's a pretty healthy state of being.

[Rostov]

Mass Effect: For the reminder that the renegade option is sometimes the right one.

[insanity]

Back when I was a kid, there was an RPG that I played, I wanna say Dragon Warrior 2 but it's been forever. Any way I got to a spot in that game where I was trying to figure out how to get through a town and there was a puzzle involved. I played that section for hours trying to figure it out, at which point I gave up, put the game away and forgot about it.

 

Fast forward a good bit of time, and I eyeballed that game again. Started up the game, and since I didn't remember how to play I started over. Got to that same spot and got stuck again, at which point I called the tip line. They gave me the walk through for it, and I proceeded to realize just how mind numbingly easy the solution was. It consisted of moving a block to the middle of a gap so I could jump to the top of the block and then to the next section of path.

 

So... to that game, I thank you for changing how I approach problems, and for showing me how to think outside the box. Even to this day it's affected me.

[Vella]

Thank you also to Quest for Glory I (remake) for telling me at a young age that in order to get better at climbing trees or lockpicking or anything, you have to practice a lot, fall on your face a lot, but it feels good and one day you'll be worthy of your red cape.

 

:D :D  Yay, Quest for Glory!  I played those games with my mum when I was a kid - thought we never got past 3.  I have so many fond memories of those games...

 

So, I guess, for me, QFG and King's Quest, for teaching me that some puzzles don't have an easy solution ... and that occasionally dwarves just appear and mess with you.

 

To Portal, for teaching me that it's OK to get things wrong and try again.

 

To Psychonauts, for reminding me of the value of fun.

 

And to all the games I played that taught me something new about storytelling ... Portal, Mass Effect, To The Moon, Limbo...

[RisenPhoenix]

Zelda, for teaching me that you always need the right tool for the right job.

 

And Bioshock, for showing that a bit of planning can help take down the toughest problems.

 

And Final Fantasy, for teaching me that if you work hard early (grinding), the rest of the way will be a bit easier.

[Frost of the Gloaming]

I want to thank Mega Man 2 for teaching me persistence and patience; man those jumping/timing puzzles were wicked annoying

[Waldo]

Civilization, for teaching me enough facts about history that I can name most major civilizations, their most important rulers, and aspects about their society and/or armies. Plus I can rattle off all the wonders of the ancient, medieval, and modern world in (mostly) chronological order with ease.

Mafia Wars, for teaching me that a basic level up, unending multi-goal game can be applied to anything. On top of that, how then to break down that game to determine the optimization parameters and adjust my strategy to reach optimal/near optimal play within the game framework for the character I wished to build, and to make that optimal strategy a habit, in a game that is always going, around the clock 24/7. (I owe a lot of my weight loss/fitness success to my time spent playing Mafia Wars, which ironically is one of the things that made weight loss necessary in the first place).

[Damaramu]

I want to thank all RPGs for showing me it's ok to just go into people's houses and dig for treasure.

I want to thank Mario for showing me that if I jump on someone's head they'll get squished and not harm me.

I want to thank Grand Theft Auto for showing me the proper way to deal with a prostitute.

[Ataraxia]

I'd also like to thank Final Fantasy VII, EcoQuest I and II, and Chrono Cross for turning me into a raging environmentalist.

[Vidarrix]

Dark souls for teaching me how to control my anger... who am I kidding, I raged quite a bit and still haven't finished it.

[Mad Hatter]

That a good pint of grog will let you escape any sticky situation.

[CarlosDanger]

Games have taught me to commit the perfect murder....... or was that CSI? I forget....

 

Nah, my real answer would be that games like Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, etc. showed me the importance to live my life as an adventure, but to a greater extent, to search things outside my normal perimeters to see how life is outside my own definition of it.

[iatetheyeti]

If you stand in front of a red barrel and shoot, you're gonna have a bad day.

 

Heh, no, mostly RPG games have showed me how to be resourceful with what I have and continually reinforce the fact that if you don't explore, you never find anything new. And you never get the opportunity to gain extra skill points

 

FPS games have improved my aim in real life. No joke.

 

And a lot of games have helped develop my problem solving skills. Sometimes applicable in real life (so far), and almost always applicable in educational scenarios.

[Leonine]

To Portal, for teaching me that it's OK to get things wrong and try again.

 

Exactly this! For this, and for realizing that it's okay to take a moment, take a breath, walk away and then come back to try again.

 

To Pokemon, for teaching me that caring and attention is more important than barreling through to what you think is your destination. Win with your favorites, it's worth it!

 

Civ III, for expanding my curiosity about the world and teaching me patience; the path to victory is a marathon, not a sprint... and I don't have to be in the lead every moment.

 

Spore: there's no one way to win; if you sell out and be what you think you 'should' be, someone who actually is made for that role will beat your ass every time. Go and be the best at what you actually like to do. (Economic victories forever!)

[Damaramu]

Thought of some more.

 

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for teaching me it's ok to thrust a child into danger as long as he's brave.

 

Street Fighter II for teaching me that it's ok to stop and watch if some dudes start throwing fireballs at each other in the middle of the street. As a matter of fact I can just cheer in the background over and over again.

 

Saints Row for teaching me that it's cool to be in a gang and all my dreams will come true if I am. I guess the GTA series taught me this too. I guess the lesson is crime pays.

 

And RPGs again for teaching me that even though the world may be in danger I have an infinite amount of time to "level up" my abilities before I go and try to save the world.

[Ataraxia]

I'd like to thank several games for giving us a few believable strong female characters.  When I was a kid I wanted to be just like Tifa (FFVII).  I also want to thank games for teaching me the importance of being able to defend yourself.

 

I'm glad they showed that even the strongest person in the world started off at Level 1.  I'm glad it gave me pleasure in enjoying surrounding characters'/people's individual badassitudes and character development.  It made me want to meet a bunch of really interesting people and work with them.

 

It taught me that travel is almost always an ingredient in grand adventure.

 

I'm sure I'll have more later today...

[Damaramu]

I'm glad they showed that even the strongest person in the world started off at Level 1.  I'm glad it gave me pleasure in enjoying surrounding characters'/people's individual badassitudes and character development.  It made me want to meet a bunch of really interesting people and work with them.

 

Sephiroth was a high level when we first controlled him. As a matter of fact I think most bosses probably started at a higher level. Only PCs got screwed with level 1.

[DELETED]

Street Fighter II for teaching me that it's ok to stop and watch if some dudes start throwing fireballs at each other in the middle of the street. As a matter of fact I can just cheer in the background over and over again.

 

 

this made my day

[Vella]

And Bioshock, for showing that a bit of planning can help take down the toughest problems.

 

Oh gosh yes.

 

Again, Portal, Bioshock, Half-Life, for teaching me that if you're not succeeding, try coming at the problem from a different direction.

And Bioshock for teaching me that there are many tools to get the job done ... so why not try them all out and find the one that works for you?

[Ataraxia]

Passage taught me that there are some places you can't go if you hook up with someone, some treasures you can't reach with them by your side, but it doesn't matter, since there's enough to enjoy anyway.

 

Similarly, Chrono Cross shows that if you go down one path, you may inescapably miss out on good stuff.  But who cares so long as you get Glenn in your party? 

 

I also learned from some games that if you try enough random things long enough with a hard problem, sometimes you'll stumble on the solution.  But you'll never advance if you quit the game for good.

[shortstuff]

I like to thank RGP games for showing me that sometimes when your having a hard time with something, the best thing you can do is step away, and come back to the problem at a later time.

[Mad Hatter]

And if your stuck in life press the reset button and start again!