I wonder if the NetNanny filter will block this research?

May 28, 2003 9:06 PM

Video games are good for you. Now I just need some combination of Half-Life and Dance Dance Revolution and I can become some kind of super-human.
posted by Pretty_Generic (10 comments total)

I can't say I have total faith in the research though. I mean, why should playing Half-Life be any more effective at improving visual skills than participating in real life?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 9:10 PM on May 28, 2003

Half-life has flying aliens coming at you from more directions than real life does.
posted by RubiX^3 at 10:11 PM on May 28, 2003

Speak for yourself.

Well, fleas are kind of like aliens.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 10:18 PM on May 28, 2003

PG - speed, precision, and scale. Even great big aliens are pretty small compared to real life things, because they are after all on a 17" (or whatever) monitor. They're also moving fast, and you've got to coordinate that with little bitty mouse movements to put your crosshair on aforesaid alien to produce blam with any sort of effectiveness. Furthermore, you've gotta be able to pick one little alien thing out of a crowd of exactly identical guys and kill him, then move on to the next, then the next, etc.

So uh, there you have it.
posted by kavasa at 3:22 AM on May 29, 2003

hmmmm textads say we become schizomaniac mormons...
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:36 AM on May 29, 2003

Course Dance Dance Revolution could be good for your health. Came across this recently, as figured I might as well give it a shot. I'm on this health buzz right now, so I figured if it could be fun, why not.

Learned two things on the machine. One is that my coordination really isn't that great, but its not terrible. The second is that if you have large feet, don't even try. I wasn't hitting the pads, I was hitting the two metal joists above the pads, meaning no contact on the actual pad. I had to make sure I was hitting it with the top of my foot or the bottom of my foot, and not dead on like I should be able to. Japanese machinery, big Americans. Not a good mix.
posted by benjh at 4:48 AM on May 29, 2003

Well, duh. Stupid waste of research.
posted by Orange Goblin at 6:13 AM on May 29, 2003

I would have thought that Tetris would improve something. Perhaps just not the metric being tested. When I was in the middle of my Tetris addiction, I would look at city skylines and see blocks dropping into them. Fortunately, I escaped from that addiction and moved on to RPG's. </irony>
posted by SealWyf at 6:18 AM on May 29, 2003

I had to make sure I was hitting it with the top of my foot or the bottom of my foot, and not dead on like I should be able to.

You don't need to hit it with your entire foot. You're also not supposed to stomp down on the pads -- you need to slide over them if you have any chance of completing the faster songs.
posted by Eamon at 6:57 AM on May 29, 2003

You don't need to hit it with your entire foot. You're also not supposed to stomp down on the pads -- you need to slide over them if you have any chance of completing the faster songs.

I play mostly on my toes, I think - stomping works OK for most of the basic level, but it's much too slow for Trick or Maniac, and you will eventually have to unlearn it. Try popping up on your toes slightly, like you would when playing tennis. You can move faster that way, especially in and out of jumps, and later on it will be easier to slide like Eamon mentioned.

Also, it's best not to stay in one position when you play. I had to un-learn some bad habits in order to get past Trick, and what I learned is that it's best to move around the pad a lot, even in the beginning, even if you seem to score worse that way. Eventually, you'll want to be able to hit any pad with either foot, and starting out with good pad placement will make that much easier. Even now, I think I still favor my right foot just a little. -_-;;

As for other games, the greatest improvement I notice in my own behavior is finding my way back from somewhere, while driving or hiking or whatnot. I know a lot of people who seemingly cannot keep track of where they've been, but for me it's second nature, and I've noticed that I use the same sort of strategy that I learned while going through dungeons in console RPGs. I get the same benefit when going someplace new - I can almost always get there again later, assuming I paid proper attention the first time.
posted by vorfeed at 12:31 PM on May 29, 2003