18-11-2024
Video games have been unfairly grouped together and gotten a bad rap.
I have played League of Legends seriously for about 4 years. It is a competitive, team-based game. It plays like a combination of speed chess and a fighting game. It is about as far from the classic single player games as top level tennis is from hide and seek.
I could argue against myself for all the following points, but this is just a perspective you might not have considered.
Most people seem to rank activities from best for you to worst for you in this order:
Sports > TV > Gambling > Video games > Drugs
I will propose a different potential ranking:
Video games > Sports > TV > Gambling > Drugs
Video games are better than gambling because even if video games are purely a waste of time, at least you lose less money.
Video games are better than TV because you are active instead of passive.
Sports are better than video games for socializing and being active, but let’s assume you get those from somewhere else.
Here is a list of things I have gotten from League of Legends that I think are much harder to get anywhere else:
Adapting to chaos and constant changes. The game is re-balanced every 2 weeks. The rules change.
Figuring out underlying principles. Because the game changes every 2 weeks, you have to focus on the core principles instead of quick tactics.
Taking full accountability in a high variance environment. The game is 5v5 and you queue up for a game alone. You have 4 random people on your team each game, so some games you will lose even if you play well. To improve you have to find out what you could have done better and accept the other players mistakes.
Learning how to improve intuition. I record all my games and watch the important moments back. I can then make sense of it and make a better split-second decision next time.
Competitive outlet. Without complex scheduling, I can get into a hyper-competitive environment for 1-2 hours a day.
Curiosity in the face of pain. The game is incredibly complex, and often you won’t know why you lost a game. You have to be more curious than you are afraid of looking dumb.
The reputation of video games prevents a lot of people from experiencing this.
People who play competitive video games also miss out because they treat them like single player time wasters.
To continue the conversation, email harald@grevehoiby.dk