Correlations Between Video Games And Academic Achievement? 172
mozzer asks: "I'm doing an independent study course in university, and I'm writing an article on video games and academics - basically seeing if there's a correlation between the two. My prof suggested I take a sample of upper year, business strategy students, and see how well they fair at a strategy game (like Starcraft) and then compare how well they do in the game, to how well they did in the class. The question I'd like to ask is: What game do you think would be good to use? I'm afraid people might already know how to play Starcraft, which will skew the results (considering it has a fairly steep learning curve for new players). Or if there are any other ways we could test this sort of thing?"
hmmm (Score:3)
--
team fortress is still inmature (Score:1)
still, the team-idea-of-play/strategy is worth the discussing.
{a sigh} abd i ain't that good on stracraft, i hate killing marines! '-)
Negative correlation (Score:2)
Base the game on the course (Score:3)
-Crypthanatopsis
Wahhhhasssuuup? (Score:1)
Similarly games in which you can learn patterns (remember there's a storm-trooper round the corner) isn't a good measure. Starcraft is a good strategic game, although not random enough if you know where the enemy is. You should definately make a map.
Unreal, or Quake - same thing. Find an obscure map. Avoid beat-em-ups like street fighter or mortal kombat as people can learn those off by heart.
If I were to do it though I would test them with: Head over Heels, Tetris, which ever the game was in which you sectioned off area by drawing boxes to avoid the spinning lines, generic Pinball, and.. hell, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 1.
-- Eat your greens or I'll hit you!
Stalin I believe there is a correlation between th (Score:1)
STALIN LOOKS WORRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
won't you jump on my finger like georgewashington
THE GATES IS BETTER THAN THE LINUS
SUX0RB0ToZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Business Students vs. Strategy Games (Score:1)
On the other hand, you may be able to find games more suited towards those students. Unfortunately, the only viable game I can think of would be Lemonade Stand, but that was only available for my Apple II about 15 years ago...
Re:Negative correlation... but necessary (Score:1)
wel, that doesn't mean spending 5-6hrs on Q3 dismembering the dean
FreeCiv!!! (Score:5)
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
Re:Base the game on the profession (Score:1)
WallStreet Trader 2000 and Startup! (the latter i'm uncertain for).
the site was:
http://www.montecristo-multi.com/
and it is a bit more on the analytical software edge, so think twice.
Re:Business Students vs. Strategy Games (Score:1)
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:1)
whats the real question here? (Score:2)
B) Do those who do well at the game have poor grades?
C) Does doing poorly at the game indiacte a lack of interest in the game versus the course?
D) Do those who do well in class do poorly at the game?
E) Does the game become so addicting that the students stop going to class and justifiy it as 'research time' (gaming time) consequently trashing thier grades altogether?
I am not sure what this guy is really asking. I think mixing games into class is a double edged sword. The games themselves may have pertinent value to the syllabus of the course but it is not hard to get really addicted to one of these games and end up consequently destroying a full schedule of classes.
I don't know for Business Strategy... (Score:1)
Strategy to gauge business sense? (Score:4)
Or, just put them out on the streets, with a copy of Dope Wars [cnet.com]. (for Win95, now! whoo!)
For even more fun, pit the CS students against the business majors - have one semester's class project be to write a business sim the next semester's class has to successfully complette in order to pass... *evil grin*
Or even better - have them attempt to start thier own successful dotcom...or is that already an accepted practice?
Yert
Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:3)
Also i think they should make children play this game at schools, they would learn loads about our history in a fun and nice way, also how to trade and make friends or enemie's, its just one good learning tool overall.
What will the results really mean? (Score:4)
Also, how are you going to get serious students to waste time learning a difficult game (you can't eliminate them without skewing the data)? I'm not familiar with the game but a "fairly steep learning curve" doesn't sound promising, and if they just spend a small amount of time learning the basics, it doesn't necessarily indicate how well they would do as experienced players.
Finally, they may have little interest in the game to begin with, which can seriously impact how well they do, regardless of their inherent ability to do well at it.
Overall, you have a tough job ahead, if you want results that have any real meaning.
Correlation: interest or learning skills? (Score:1)
A more interesting correlation, I think, would be between a student's current and past involvement with video games and his or her academic rank. You could get at that via a survey:
And so forth. Then you could draw some interesting and potentially helpful correlations between the profiles of students as game-players and their profiles as academic achievers.
Against that background, a measure of their ability to learn game-playing skills at a game they've never played before could, in fact, become interesting.
Richard
Ever-Smack all the way. (Score:1)
hey (Score:3)
Of course, for pure problem-solving, there's always Infocom...
--
My advice (Score:3)
That's what I did, and it had a *very* definite corellative effect on my grades.
Re:Wahhhhasssuuup? (Score:1)
Re:Business Students vs. Strategy Games (Score:2)
Video games and scholastics (Score:3)
(20 points) Cite evidence that ancient Egyptian society was composed of Africans rather than Caucasians, and explain the impact of this anthropological theory.
Now, let's do a sample experiment. Play Starcraft for three hours. Then, write an essay on the aforementioned question. See how you do.
Perhaps, though, you want to know whether studying for school improves one's ability to play video games.
Let's do another sample experiment. Play ten games of Pac Man. Then, spend three hours studying ancient Egyptian culture. When you're finished, play another game of Pac Man and see if your score is any higher.
I haven't done these experiments, but my hypothesis is that the two are probably so closely linked that every second you spend thinking about whether the Sphinx is a black man will raise your score at least 20,000 points.
Re:Negative correlation (Score:2)
But my grades are good because
Of amphetamines.
Prisoner's dilema (Score:2)
Super Smash Brothers and my Grades... (Score:2)
I am an expert Super Smash Brothers player and I'm friends with people who all take the game VERY seriously. Anyway, we play every friday at one of the dorms at the university I attend.
I found that the more I attended these sessions which could last up to 5-6 hours at a time the better I did in my classes. I don't try at school normally...I enjoy school just grades aren't my thing I guess; but when I would play this game more I would do really well. My Bs and Cs would become As and A-s with no real additional effort involved. Weird, huh?
I would tell people about this and no one would believe me save one who offered me some advice: if your grades are better the more you play that game, you should just play it constantly...like 16 hours a day
I'm not sure if its really related to this whole thing but I think its a cute story anyway.
Best wishes,
Jon
Re:Wahhhhasssuuup? (Score:1)
(you know, sometimes I make it too easy for trolls)
-- Eat your greens or I'll hit you!
Think Fast (Score:2)
that's besides the point. I found a good game of strategy to play is Q2: CTF. Not only does it test your reflexes, but there are people that are good. There is strategy with railing people at just the right moment. You are constantly thinking as quick as possible, paying absolute attention to everything going on around you. and you are killing people at the same time. Stupid people don't excel in this game. I found quite a few worthy challengers. I am glad there's at least one older game still kept alive.
Oh yeah, I play Q2 constantly, and i'm making about a 3.8 GPA.
Re:hey (Score:2)
To answer the question simply (Score:2)
Don't forget Heroes of Might and Magic 2, 3 or 4
The Game As The Strategy Class (Score:1)
Of course, it's a hell of a lot more complicated than Starcraft. And requires a lot more work, teamwork, analysis, and intelligence.
I've only been in the class for two weeks, and already it has forced me to use knowledge and skills from almost every other class I've taken in the business school.
suggestion... (Score:1)
Incredible Machines - for the Palm Pilot (Score:1)
http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm? prodID=7863 [palmgear.com]
it is called "Puzzles-in-Motion", and fits on your Palm Pilot - so you can play it anywhere :))
Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:1)
Civilization is easy to learn, but hard to master (as someone above me said). This means that you will get a better test of how smart they are and how well they learn.
Moderate this post up to get some attention!
Re:Wahhhhasssuuup? (Score:1)
eudas
Perfect game for this - Europa Universalis (Score:2)
Your students will really have something to chew on there. The presentation and interface is really simple, but the economic, diplomatic, strategic and even religious models are extremely complex. A knowledge of economics is necessary, and so is a grasp of history. Computer Games Online [cdmag.com] gave it 4.5 stars and had this to say: "Europa Universalis plays simultaneously at many different levels and constantly demands a great deal of situational awareness. It's more Imperialism than Civilization, though more complex than either. The economic system is the heart of the game. It's robust enough to accurately model development from the late Renaissance all the way through Mercantilism to early Colonialism. The game nimbly keeps track of a staggering amount of minutiae such as the inflationary effects of excess liquid cash, intergovernmental loans, trade policies, and a comprehensive list of commodities. While this sort of micormanagerial detail will usually fall below your radar in terms of management, it can have a serious impact on your foreign policy and statecraft. You will not feel bogged by these details, however-they are simply available for consideration whenever needed. "
Strategy Gaming [strategy-gaming.com] said: "So what we are left with is a massively complicated game interweaving elements of religions, politics, colonialism, conquest, technology, and militarism taking place on a multifaceted map with layers of trade relationships, alliances and political relationships, while the map is constantly being expanded through exploration - in short, there's literally something for everyone. Wars, as is the historical fact, should typically be the last resort as their cost and consequence make the gains rarely equal the expenditure. A good player will be able to keep in mind the different venues of competition, and a weather-eye on their predicted opponents in each of these areas. Keeping ahead in this game is an extraordinary challenge, and I found myself constantly pausing the game to issue orders. The only thing I haven't been able to test in this beta is the multiplayer, but the developers have made it clear that it's been kept in mind. They are clearly aware that no matter how good the AI is - and it is, believe me (I confess I've actually asked one of the programmers if anyone has won the darn thing...and this is in beta) - this game will shine most brightly with humans running each of the player states."
And pc.ign.com [ign.com]: "I'm glad to see that the religious aspects of the game are equally important. Each nation has a particular religious identity (various types of Christians, Muslims, Sunni, Shia, etc.) and that identity influences the way other nations treat you. During the game, a few historical events will shift the religious balance to one side or the other. After the Reformation, for instance, Catholic countries can convert to Counter Reformation Catholicism. If a Counter Reformed Catholic nation defeats either a Protestant or Reformist nation, the Counter Reformation Catholic country can force the defeated nation to adopt Counter Reformation Catholicism as part of the peace settlement. And this is just one small example of the depth of the religious model in the game."
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Which game to use Try this. (Score:2)
What we seem to want to find out is whether an aptitude at academia equates to skill at gaming, or if the inverse is true.
The game required will need to be quick to pick up, but also quite challenging early on. For non-(regular) game players, I'd imagine this translates to something not too esoteric, with a simple interface.
What sort of game you choose depends really on what aptitude you're looking for. Puzzle/problem solving? Hand-eye coordination and reflexes? Adaptability to a new environment?
If you want to go for something puzzle-like, which would supposedly show an aptitude for problem solving, organisation, and forward-thinking, i'd recommend something tetris-y. try to choose one they probably haven't played before, what about Bejeweled [msn.com]?
For something more action-packed, it's got to be a first person shooter. This is both immersive and fast-paced. So Quake, or something similar - don't make it too complex with tons of weapons, environmental issues etc (eg, Unreal). If you're looking primarily for results on how people adapt to this sort of game quickly, i'd suggest just throwing everyone in a deathmatch and see how they perform. You could then correlate academic proficiency with their kill rate.
Hey, if only i'd been ble to use a "frags per minute" score instead of something like a GPA...
Games like simcity, starcraft, etc, have more complicated interfaces and more things to learn before you can properly play - to non-gamers this may be daunting and frustrating, so unless you're looking at how well they can *understand* games, as opposed to how well they can *play* them, i'd recommend steering clear of them. They also have a much longer learning curve, and can be influenced more by previous experience.
Best of luck, this sounds like a great project, and please let us know what the results are!
/Fross
Re:Business Students vs. Strategy Games (Score:1)
I seem to recall it was longer than that. Probably nearer 20 years ago. I'm fairly sure it was pre-1983.
Re:My advice (Score:2)
Sadly, that sounds all too familiar. With me it was my Computer Networking exam, and the game was Rainbow Islands on the Amiga. Ahhh, memories of a misspent youth... :-)
Civ II (not test of time) or Go (Score:1)
Or for the Classic approach, try Go-Moku.
that game is good enough, that you can learn it quick, but take a lifetime to master it.
The best and Most EVIL game in existance (Score:1)
Qix - a VERY good choice for this (Score:2)
It is of course available on MAME, so that may be an option. And yes, it is a very good choice for this sort of thing - quick and easy to understand, but tests many areas of gaming, with a long skill curve
/Fross
Re:hey (Score:2)
Yes, but it, along with my nomination, Sokoban, rely on very different skills to Starcraft. They require the ability to plan ahead and a certain degree of spacial awareness, as opposed to the ability to manage limited resources successfully. Both skills are important, and it's probably worth testing your subjects against games of both types. I'd recommend Sokoban and Heroes Of Might And Magic III as outstanding games in each category.
Game to use (Score:1)
hey! i resant that (Score:5)
as an englash major, i play alot of videyo gamze and i donot theenk they have hurt my studees one bit. as a mattar of fact, i theenk i have a signigifant advantege ovar my peers, beeng that i haev larned how to commnucitate in the infarmashun age (i no computars are the next big thing).
har har all of yuo hoo skoff at me. i will shooot yuo wiht a rale gun.
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
Strategies... (Score:1)
I think the correlation would be higher where the player gets more time to think. Risk, simcity, civ, etc are good examples.
I personally like Quake 3, simply because while playing it, it keeps my mind off of other things. It's more a reflex/anticipation game than strategy IMO.
Moz.
"The Logic of Failure" (Score:2)
It seems there is no english translation, hence I would recommend all german speaking slashdot readers to get it; its written for a more general audience, not only psychologists, and it can help you to identify personal problem solving and project managment difficulties.
Tetris is the way (Score:1)
Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:1)
Why not Monopoly??? (Score:1)
Re:Base the game on the course (Score:1)
The Intelligence Problem (Score:2)
Different approach (Score:2)
While a steep learning curve can be a bad thing, I think that in this case you could use it to your advantage.
You could use a complex game, like StarCraft, but less well known. I believe FreeCiv was mentioned, but I don't know enough about it to be able to assess its suitability. Anyway, the main requirements of the game are that it should be complex, not too well known, and customisable Deep strategy would be desirable, but not essential. Anyway, the test would involve introducing the test subjects to the game, and giving them a week (or so) to familiarise themselves with the controls.
At the end of that week, you then throw them all in at the deep end (if it's a multiplayer game, then ideally against each other) on a new, custom map (or equivalent, if the game isn't map-based) that you can guarantee that none of the test subjects will have seen before.
How well each person does will be a measure of several things:
As far as I know, a game like StarCraft could fulfill this, as the week's learning time would even out the disparity between those familiar with the game, and those totally new to it. Maybe a week wouldn't be long enough, but that's the general idea.
HTH
use careful study methodology (Score:1)
another suggestion (Score:1)
Why only one game? (Score:2)
Why only one game?
You could choose a selection of different genres of game, then you could check for correlation between genres of game. I suggest you try a selection of the following:
This would make it easy to bulk out your essay if you found you didn't have much to say. You could also, for instance, have them play Counterstrike. You could have a team of non-academics versus a team of academics. Better still, you could have two groups, one where all the academics' computers were in the same room (so they can communicate easily) and the non-academics are divided up, and the other group doing this in reverse, so you can see if academics communicate more effectively and other such things.
Or maybe I have no idea what you want.
Michael
...another comment from Michael Tandy.
Games can be detrimental. (Score:1)
I'm a HS senior (Score:1)
Off the cuff, even if you find a correlation... (Score:2)
which games to use as test bed... (Score:1)
Pedro
Re:Base the game on the course (Score:1)
I'm not really sure what the problem is. (Score:1)
Saying "I want to see if there is a correlation between video game abilities and academics" is really, really vague. And a bad thesis. What determines video game performance is different for each game, and the performance in one game is not indicative of ability in other games.
So, do you want a game that tests logical reasoning? Hand-eye coordination? Ability to manipulate others? Goal setting? General geekyness? Figure out what you want to test, and then pick a game that focuses on that, and is a measure of very little else (such as hand-eye coordination).
As for worrying that experience in gaming will skew your results, there are ways around it. Check out Repeated measures ANOVA's for one....
By the way, I am in CS 412 at Cornell University, and we are looking for one more to complete our compilers team. E-mail iamanairwhale@yahoo.com if you are interested. (The last paragraph was an experiment of my own
Knowledge + work-out for your brain (Score:1)
Tough with college students... (Score:1)
To make a long story short, I was able to conclusively show that computers have a very positive affect on classroom learning when properly worked into the curriculum. We even had a few special needs students who did better than the regular ed students -- The computers helped to focus their attention more than their classroom teachers ever could without them!
This is just an educated guess, but I would think that college students have already learned to focus (when they want to).
Your study is certainly valid, but you may need to get a very large sample population to help offset the different groups which may prove to be problematic to your study (creating outliers in your statistical analysis):
- Students (educationally talented or not) who just play games all the time and do not take their education seriously. (My ex-roommate was unbelievably smart in electrical engineering, but he spent all day on MUDs and dropped out)
- Students who just aren't that good at the type of game you decide to use in your study. I drive circles around lots of people in driving simulations, and I can frag pretty well in Quake and Delta Force LW. But, for some reason my friends kick my ass up, down, and sideways in Starcraft.
My only other suggestion is: Before you start, make sure you have a well-documented plan of exactly what you plan to prove (or disprove) and explain how you will test your subjects to truly show (in an unbiased way) the correlation between score in the game and grade in the class.
Good luck! Make sure you post and let us know how it goes!
Re:Result is obvious (Score:1)
Stars! (Score:1)
I don't see why it has to be some brainy game. (Score:1)
There's always a goal that requires some strategy (and if not, you're playing a really shit game)
To me, the mechanics of a game are the most important. The graphics -- wether they are cute pink puppies, or blood and guts -- are just a GUI real-world metaphor.
'course puzzles are my favorite. I'm still trying to get through Lolo 3. So irritating.
Lemonade stand (Score:1)
I remember that game. It was great fun until I took it to school when I was in fifth grade and another student figured out the optimal strategy...
random factors!!!! (Score:1)
good luck!
Re:Correlation: interest or learning skills? (Score:1)
Pharaoh - great game (Score:1)
(20 points) Cite evidence that ancient Egyptian society was composed of Africans rather than Caucasians, and explain the impact of this anthropological theory.
If you look at the famous egyptian toy soldiers you can see half the army looks African and the other half quite Caucasian.
How about Laissez-Faire monopoly? (Score:1)
The only rule is that if you're caught, you have to pay whatever you took back, and put an equivalent amount of money into the free parking. As you can imagine, it makes for a riveting game, and should be quite applicable to a large-scale business model. :)
Oh, and speaking of games and marks, I really should be studying for the exam that I have in, oh, 50 mintues. Oy me.
negative or positive correlation? (Score:1)
this could go anywhere; it seems more like an education or psychology study, comparing ability in strategy games and ability to strategize in the business world.
of course, imho, the best way to implement a hostile takeover is with a zergling rush. ^_^
You could try... (Score:1)
For business strategy students, you might want to try out a game more like what course they're in, instead of a general RTS like StarCraft.
StarDock also has a demo of their sequel for Entrepreneur called The Corporate Machine.
Re:Strategy to gauge business sense? (Score:1)
How bout for Logical reasoning? I think that in that area, you can't get a much better game then Minesweeper. And as for the CS kids, there's always that "P vs NP" thing that i don't really get!
--BOB
Dependent on what you want to test (Score:1)
If you JUST want to test strategy, especially for business school students, try the old Super Nintendo game Aerobiz. The basic idea is to run a profitable airline company against either human or computer competitors. Aerobiz is commonly found online if you're unable to procure cartridges (legal stupidies prevent me from offering links, and the same stupidities force me to say that I advise against and disclaim all responsibility for any illegal action which you may be considering as a result of this post).
inigima
how about... (Score:1)
Re:Strategy to gauge business sense? (Score:2)
Simple. Effective. Free. (Score:1)
Bob
Go Geek. Rule the world.
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Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:1)
The biggest reason for choosing this is that its a turn based game. So you won't be testing reflex skills, which is 90% of starcraft actually. Age of empires is also mostly memorization and reflexes.
As an MBA, I expect you'll find that academic business thinking skills are strongly coorelated with success in the civ series. These games are pretty easy if you're used to thinking about tradeoffs and efficiency.
Master of Orion I or II (Score:1)
NetHack? (Score:1)
No, wait, stop laughing. I'd bet the the majority of college seniors now don't have nay experience with roguelike gaming; the closest "popular" game is Diablo (shiny nethack! with animation!), which differs from the average "real" roguelike in that it is more real-timeish and generally less convoluted.
Nethack [nethack.org] has a nice blend of thinking and hack-and-slash violence. If you play it enough, you really have to start thinking and applying knowledge (do you know what amethyst means, and how amethyst stones interact with various potions? Hm? Do ya?).
Also, it's my favorite game. 8)
-J
The game to choose.... (Score:1)
Method Suggestions for Choosing the Game (Score:2)
In order for the results to be somewhat meaningful you will probably want to have plenty of business students. I would think at least 80.
The students need to play multiple games too so that one fuckup doesn't doesn't infludence.
Also, it might be better to have two different video games, if you can use the business students that long. That will help cut down on the quirks that people may have and the strategy defiencies of a single video game.
For the selection of the game, if students are unaware that they are going to be playing a video game you could ask them first to write down all the strategy video games they have played and eliminate the ones that people have played. If someone has already played the particular video game it will really throw off the results so obcsure games may be better. If the business students are not international in background foreign games may be a source.
This sounds like an interesting project for an independent study. I would suggest talking with a couple professors in sociology for some tips on running this experiment and also designing questionares if necessary.
Railroad Tycoon II (Score:2)
Re:FreeCiv!!! (Score:2)
I tried on three different machines (RH 7.0, RH 6.1 and FreeBSD 4.0) and I couldn't get the makefile to work.
x-com (Score:3)
Re:The Game As The Strategy Class (Score:2)
Cheers,
Lars
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Tetris involves thinking only if... (Score:2)
there's plenty of strategical thinking in that game
Only for newbies. Once you're good at it (> 20 hours of play), Tetris does not involve all that much strategy. Eventually, placing the next tetramino becomes almost a reflex action. Some newer versions of Tetris try to break this up by adding bonuses for forming 4x4 squares (The New Tetris [tetris.com]), chain reactions (Tetanus [8m.com], Quadra [sourceforge.net], The Next Tetris [tetris.com]), "magic" items (TetriNET [tetrinet.org]; DuelTris for Apple IIGS; Tetris Jr. [kidsdomain.com]), or distracting display effects (TOD [8m.com]; Tetripz [pandora.be]).
Like Tetris? Like drugs? Ever try combining them? [pineight.com]
Unknown games (Score:2)
Re:The Intelligence Problem (Score:2)
But I think - if I can discern an actual scientific hypothesis from his proposal - he means: Take a sample of business students and put them in a room and make them play a strategy game that they haven't seen before (if they are all equally blind then the learning curve actually becomes part of the test) and then see what correlation we can find between gaming success (head to head? vs comp?) and grades.
I have just finished reading the chapter on intelligence in Matthew Ridley's "Genome" (highly recommended) in which he says - wait - [flipflipflip] "[intelligence may be defined as] thinking speed, reasoning ability, memory, vocabulary, mental arithmetic, mental energy, or simply the appetite of somebody for intellectual pursuits..."
So what would Tetris tell us that Starcraft would not? BTW, I play Starcraft - a lot! - and lemme tell ya that quick reflexes and learned behavior make a big difference in results.
Hmmm. where am I going with this? I guess I would expect the submitter to do a little more legwork, i.e., propose a Scientific Experiment with a Real Hypothesis before presenting it before a collection of his peers. I certainly don't have time to pose his hypothesis to him, but based on the topic paragraph, I get the feel he'd rather just set up a gaming network at his school than determine correlation between [insert something articulate here ] and [put a well-reasoned phrase here]. He hasn't done that yet.
BTW, two things:
- IAN (anything anthopological or psychological or
- I think they prefer to be called 'test subjects'. Well, at least the female 'testees'.
Not FreeCiv! (Score:3)
Maybe something like Tetris, which has two dimensions; critical thinking, and reflexes.
Or something like Solitaire, which involves planning and resource management.
Try simple games, like Pacman, etc.
Geek dating! [bunnyhop.com]
Zero-sum (Score:2)
Even with smilies, this is my problem with the entire idea. Life is not a zero sum game, but almost all "strategy" games are. You want to be the last one standing. beat all opponents. Drive everyone out of a living, or possibly out of existance. These are not (IMHO) useful attitudes to take into the real world in almost any career. A "prisoner's dillema" type structure I think would be better correlated with useful management skills.
Kahuna Burger
Corelleations != causality (Score:2)
This apriori poll has no scientific controls. Its results are thus meaningless.
That said, if it gets you a grade, then go for it.
Secientific Testing Strategies. (Score:2)
(1) Recruit a significantly large body of students with an equal exposure to both video games and the business strategies you want to test comprehension of. The simplest solution is no exposure to either.
(2) Give them all a quiz on the business strategies in question.
(3) Devide them into two groups with abotu the same average original scroes. Have one group play StarCraft for, say, 2 horus a day for a week.
(4) Give a new test to all of them. Look for a significant improvement in the relative score of the group that played vs. the group that didnt.
Whatever you do PLEASE don't do a *bad* study and write an article about it. The world doesn't need one more bad, boiased peice of psuedo-science.
Look at the differenes, in any,
Re:team fortress is still inmature (Score:2)
Any FPS is completely out, because:
- Anyone who's ever played ANY FPS game will have an advantage simply because they'll know how to move, shoot, and look around.
- Newbies to FPS games tend to sit still and operate like a rotating turret until they move to a new spot or get spawnkilled.
- FPS games also cater to certain types of personalities. Early performance at an FPS game will be much more heavily influenced by one's personality profile than one's inteligence.
- The test here is induvidual strategic coordination. In the games you mentioned, most of the strategy is executed by team coordination.
- The offensive strategy of most begining players is the same one they use on their desktop. Point and Click. Their defensive strategies usually involve hiding. Regardless of strategic ability, most beginners will start out just like this with very little deviation.
I'm thinking that a game like Populous: New Begining might work, but it's 3D engine might complicate things too much.Re:Popular culture and scholastics (Score:2)
Everybody knows that ancient Egyptians were Caucasians, in fact I remember quite distinctively from my history lessons that Cleopatra had blue eyes and was married to Richard Burton.
The game I strongly suggest... (Score:2)
You have to manage resources, conduct reseach, hire and trin people, outfit your squads to maximum effect and have a good grasp of tactics.
The combat portion of the game is turn based so 'twitch' gamers won't have an edge and the time spent out of combat can be slowed down to give yourself time to think.
I read somewhere that the USAF used this game as a test also.
Later,
ErikZ
Instead (Score:2)