Oct 3 2012: Great conversation. I'm currently 23 years old and I've been playing games since as early as I can remember. I will admit that I have probably spent more time on video games than I should have. However, there are some key things that I have gained from immersing myself in an online culture. As a teenager, I was able to read and absorb all different kinds of opinions from people all over the world which allowed me to appreciate different perspectives and even different lifestyles.
I was also able to further develop my own sense of identity through interacting with so many different personalities. I now have leadership skills I dare say I would not possess if the problem-solving present in the games I played did not evoke a need for them. I learned how to mediate arguments and facilitate compromise within a group. I learned that in order to keep a group together, a strong leader must ensure that all members feel that their concerns are being addressed and their inputs valued. It is during online games that I also got my first taste of teaching. It gives me great pleasure while playing games like World of Warcraft to explain the mechanics of boss fights and how and why to do things outlined in the strategy being used. I'm one of those RL's that talks a lot beforehand, as I love details. You may love or hate that kind of leading, but rest assured if you pay attention you'll go into the battle informed.
I also learned about the many different facets of evil present in the real world as personified through villains in a myriad of different stories. FF7 and FFX are similar in a lot of ways, but the main enemies couldn't be more different. Certainly corruption is prevalent in both (Yu-Yevon & Shin-Ra), but Sin is shown as a necessary evil and balances "the calm" which comes after defeating it. Sephiroth on the other hand shows how dehumanization is capable of overwhelming one to the point of irrational actions.
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A comment on Conversation: Video Games - How have they inspired you? How have they influenced your thinking? - I explain how Final Fantasy 7 has changed me.
I was also able to further develop my own sense of identity through interacting with so many different personalities. I now have leadership skills I dare say I would not possess if the problem-solving present in the games I played did not evoke a need for them. I learned how to mediate arguments and facilitate compromise within a group. I learned that in order to keep a group together, a strong leader must ensure that all members feel that their concerns are being addressed and their inputs valued. It is during online games that I also got my first taste of teaching. It gives me great pleasure while playing games like World of Warcraft to explain the mechanics of boss fights and how and why to do things outlined in the strategy being used. I'm one of those RL's that talks a lot beforehand, as I love details. You may love or hate that kind of leading, but rest assured if you pay attention you'll go into the battle informed.
I also learned about the many different facets of evil present in the real world as personified through villains in a myriad of different stories. FF7 and FFX are similar in a lot of ways, but the main enemies couldn't be more different. Certainly corruption is prevalent in both (Yu-Yevon & Shin-Ra), but Sin is shown as a necessary evil and balances "the calm" which comes after defeating it. Sephiroth on the other hand shows how dehumanization is capable of overwhelming one to the point of irrational actions.