That no senior politician plays video games and it is one of the reasons they suck.

[JohnMcCainsDeathStare]

Something that has made me think and this is almost certainly a generational thing since Millenials and younger Gen Xers have grown up with them is that I bet most politicians don't play video game or indeed know what they are.

I think they are very important, they help problem-solving and thinking on your own, that is the simple ones like Pacman and Mario Bros. Not to mention strategy and First Person Shooters helping with tactings and in some case, working with other people. (I miss LAN parties and the huge rucks we'd have playing WarCraft 3).

But also the classics like Civilization and Alpha Centuri - remarkably sophisticated games that actually have you care about the outcome and your people, even if they are defined by lines of code. There are still quotes for Alpha Century that hit me in the feels. Not to mention a good Role Playing Game - Zelda still a good one after 30 years.

So what I'm saying is that a lack of playfullness and a lack of gaming makes politicians that are bad at being humans and bad at empathy? Unless it is mindgames shit gaming that totally sucks and is no fun at all unless you are a garbage human?

PS I know this should be in Gaming but you could stow a corpse in there and no-one would know for a week.

Nope. Don't play them myself and I don't 'suck'.

Tosh

I can’t imagine borris playing strategy games or anything too fast moving, but I can totally picture him on mine craft and watching stampy videos. I think David Cameron would have been a COD player back in the day (most likely a sniper) and Theresa May might be into Zelda. Maybe it’s something the press can start asking about?

I don’t think problem solving and empathy are entirely and exclusively learned through video games no.

For me it has helped me work with other people and develop empathy - whether they are real people in an RTS or simulated people like in Alpha Centuri or the buggy masterpiece that is Outpost 1.

It's helped me connect with other people and build my imagination. Many politicians don't come across as being very imaginative. I wonder if being in politics too long is like being in a oven too long. It dries you out into a dull raisin.

I’m sure that games where you go around shooting other people are great developers of empathy

@Applekatie I never said that it could be solved entirely through video gaming. That is somewhat simplistic.

Plague Inc would be a possible contender.

I'm a millennial and I haven't got a clue about half of what you're talking about. All I know is that my DH will sometimes sit on the sofa for hours, ignore our baby and not engage in any conversation because he's too busy on his xbox. Not a massive amount of empathy there.

@ Chiyo666 Less of the ad hominem attacks already.

Videogames are a spectrum afterall. There more to them than just COD and Candy Crush. Why are women so averse to video games? There was a fair bit of sexism back in the 90's but there is so much more out there now in terms of choice.

Yes isn’t it
Irony klaxon!

You learnt those things through games OP, I leant them partly through games mainly through my choice of degree subject.

Others learn them in other ways.

The fact that politicians seemingly haven’t learnt them is much more complex than not enough Zelda.

I've got to admit to feeling relieved that our politicians aren't sat snuffling into x boxes. Video games are for kids aren't they?

How old are you? You sound quite immature, roundly declaring that all MPs "suck" because you assume they don't game. There are an awful lot of dickheads in online gaming, lots of incels spreading their toxicity and there are huge amounts of sexism too. It wasn't left back in the 90s.

I like gaming but even I can't extrapolate being the best Night Elf Restoration Druid EU helping me out in a pandemic.

If computer gaming was the only way of achieving playfulness, acquiring skills or socialising, then you might be on to,something.

But it isn't, so you're not.

I'm not a kid just very immature for my age. But I am a PhD level professional and still working full time. Snatches of BOTW have to make do for proper outdoo exercise.

But I wonder if a bigger issue is that politicians have too much of a need of others attension a lot of the time and don't really know what to do with themselves - a certain lack of social imagination and accepting the limits of their knowledge.

You have no idea what politicians do in their spare time at home when they’re not having to act professional and present a certain image to the public. They’re probably completely different people, just like I am when I’m not at work.

@TheQueef, I don't know. Seems a resto druid would be fairly handy right about now. Much better than an affliction warlock anyway.

You'd be surprised, there is SO much scorn poured on anyone over the age of about 14 who "plays silly games" that they're hardly likely to broadcast it.

Home Secretary wastes time playing Fallout when she could be sorting out X, Y or Z.

Boris spotted catching a Squirtle on Pokemon Go while on a walk!

Matt Hancock names his Red Dead Redemption horse "Corbyn".

The headlines would kill them because of the negative associations of gaming. Completely undeserved, we all need a way to switch off and I quite enjoy gaming, along with other things.

I dunno. Frank Underwood was always shown playing Call of Duty to relax and he turned out alright.

It's true I have no idea, but video games are a good and generally safe place to explore other worlds and ideas. Not to mention getting to grips with simulations - still need to get that emulator and SimLife.

Plus you get an appreciation for game design when you try making your own.

excuse me daniel, well no healthstones for you, bloody cheek

@isupposeitsverynice ahh I'll just make my own then

This has made me smile. I'm a professional in a responsible job and also a massive gamer, alongside my partner. I can't quite agree with the link to politicians' abilities, but I have often thought about the skills there are inherent in gaming. (I play wow, ff14, Age of Empires, Civilization and numerous old point and click adventures.) As a teenager with no internet to look up solutions, I remember falling in love with the game Riven, which involved a lot of problem solving skills, logic, resilience. It was great!
Far too often, especially on MN I find, gaming is dismissed as a pointless waste of time enjoyed only by waster DHs and teens with too much time on their hands.