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.

I think you have a few issues clouding your judgement here op.

I have no desire to play computer games. While I can see they have their place as a leisure activity that's where it ends.

The sector I work in went through a phase of 'gamification' and tried to turn everything into a game to try and appeal to young people and to get them to learn particular skills. It was a disaster.

Most MPs are a similar age (40s) to me or older, we grew up without the internet. I had a mega master system and played lemmings and sonic, I grew out of this at about 12/13. Now my children have grown up on the internet and play much more in-depth games but I have zero interest in getting involved, even in a lock down position. I sort it of assume they will grow out of this at some point to in the same way that they grew out of my little ponies and Lego.

I used to play 'SIm City' when I was young - but had a tendency to get bored and used to destroy the city with an alien invasion. Or high taxes. Or both.

I had a BBC Basic in 1982 that my dad programmed Pong on to and I played obsessively.

It gave me so much empathy, I still cry when I watch tennis. Poor little ball.

Yes, the title was click-baity but it worked!

I must admit that I did look for a lemmings app when my kids were small but there wasn’t one and was disappointed, it is such a cute game and the music is great. I did find a Tetris but it was way too fancy, I wanted 2D and four arrows.

Lemmings is a classic - I remember playing it with my brother on the Acorn Archmedes 3020. I miss Psygonosis - like Bullfrog it got eaten and spat out by bigger corporations where the CEOs wouldn't know a video game if it flegged a joystick at them...

Omg how the fuck do you think the human race survived before 1980???

If your level of reasoning and problem solving is indicative of the level achieved through playing computer games thank fuck the people who are in charge don’t play them!

This is hilarious.

Nothing wrong with gaming and I'm sure they do help develop problem solving skills and empathy...but how do you think people developed those before 30 years ago? Reading, listening to music, watching films and television and, you know, living actual real life.

I don't know anyone in my close circle who plays computer games - my teenager doesn't even - but I don't think any of my friends or family have empathy or problem solving issues.

I’m a gamer of forty years and whilst some things such as strategy and co operation do exist in video gaming you are not doing gamers any favours with your posts at all. I’m sure some politicians game.

If you just want to talk about gaming then here is our household.
I’m currently sat next to my Gen X DH who has a PhD in a science subject and is usually travelling the world and who has helped shape policy that has the potential to save millions of lives and he is in the top 1% of players in the world in the racing game he plays. I play an MMO and am in top 2% of players in the world in the hardest category of the game. DS who will be getting A,A,B in his A levels due to lockdown is good at every game he picks up and at one point was approached to play in professional tournaments. We play together sometimes and out of five games of Fortnite this week have won twice. I have taken part in two charity streaming events and helped raise money for the NSPCC amongst others. I’m helping teach a hard level raid in the game I play later today, many people never manage to finish it and it is disliked as so hard by the community, I have over thirty teaching clears. Plus I get to boss men around.

My favourite retro game is Defender and after Lockdown I am treating myself to a full size arcade cabinet gaming old school set up.

I agree, although as time has passed and the medium has evolved computer games have become just so diverse. I worry that while some puzzle and strategy games are surely good for the mind, there is a tendency for kids (politicians, I don't know!) to gravitate towards "chewing gum for the brain" real-world type shooting games which I find repulsive and would ban. As these games become more and more real, and virtual reality (VR) becomes ever better and more accessible, one has to worry about the blurring of lines between walking down a high street shooting in VR and in real life.

YABU and ignorant OP.

As are the usual "games are for kids" and "gamers are underachievers" types.

Both puerile points of view.

I am enjoying this thread.
But you've not actually been in the Gaming section have you, if you reckon you could hide a corpse in there. The PokémonGo thread is active daily.
Or are you going to be snobby and say that's not proper gaming?
And for what it's worth our town councillor is in the local PoGo WhatsApp group. As is the local plod. And the postman... I could go on.....

I have but wasn't sure there would be much traffic so I put it here even if its a bear pit.

Thing is, people saying I'm dumb in thinking that people couldn't do this 30 years ago appear to have not heard of nuance.

It's a bit weird that I'm the autistic one yet they seem to be the ones doing the black and white thinking thing.

I don’t accept the premise of your argument but in any case how do you know they don’t play these games or didn’t in the past?

I don't know that but there is a lack of imagination that makes me wonder if they do much that is creative and interactive in their spare time - not just games.

Still for a shitposty thread title it worked - people are biting!

Pure nonsense.

I played loads of videogames until recent years, when parenting and work sucked up lost of my time. Did I “not suck” then but “suck” now?

Or is the OP a simplistic-thinking person who thinks all of life consists of false dichotomies and simple explanations?

Nope. OP is a simple person but also a shitposter from time to time.

PS I hardly play videogames these days what with working FT and teaching during this crisis. I DO suck right now as it happens...

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

Oh god I'm dying

Meanwhile, Boris spawns on his RDR horse in midair and plummets to his doom, somewhat annoyed because 'I was already halfway down the cliff'.

I have some sympathy for your perspective- it's a good venue for learning strategy. Most people do better with social interaction and empathy in the real world, but for some the real world is too risky and nuanced as a learning zone. Practice online first!

We play a lot of board games, quite complex ones. My adult sons have learnt a lot from those as well as video games.

I can't make the link to politicians though. Some of them need more than extra gaming time!

Games are for stupid babies, anyone out of nappies who still plays them is an unloveable forever alone loser, if your husband has ever even glanced at a playstation controller he is a manbaby cocklodger, Fortnite is the tool of the devil, why would anyone waste time gaming when they could have far more constructive hobbies such as spending hours on end staring at MN on their phones, etc etc....

Do I win at MN yet?

I'm definitely an unloveable, forever alone loser @Sonichu. I'm not sure if the video games contribute to this though.

Ds2 did a level 5 locked room thing for his 16th birthday which had a completion rate of 30%. The owner said that the best teams were those who were gamers because they were quick thinking, accustomed to team work and playing to each other's strengths. They escaped with time to spare. Gaming has a lot going for it and a good ground for experimenting with different theories and strategies which can become applicable to every day life. I don't game but I see it's advantages.