I recently returned from a trip to Fraser Island (the worlds largest sand island for those that haven't heard of it). We spent the first few days relaxing and being driven around by tour companies, but on the last day we decided we wanted to try something a little more off the beaten track so we bit the bullet and hired a 4X4 truck to negotiate the islands decidedly dodgy sand tracks. The car hire company warned us the driving on sand was nothing like driving on tarmac, made us watch a somewhat dubious video on how to drive on the island (the trick is not to drive straight into the ocean apparently...) and then we were handed the keys. Initially one of the other members of our party decided to drive and she approached the whole matter with what most would call a sensible level of caution. However after lunch it was decided that it was my turn behind the wheel and i took what i realised with hindsight was the approach of a gamer.

As a regular gamer i am used to the idea of trying new things and have grown accustomed to the rules changing constantly. I've played countless driving games where I've driven super cars, rally cars and even anti-gravity vehicles. To me driving the 4X4 on Fraser was just another challenge, and i approached it in a similar way to how i would figure out a new game. I soon learned what worked and what didn't on a sandy road, and adapted my driving style accordingly. As the driver i loved every minute of it and attacked the sharp corners, 45 degree hills and bumpy tracks with a smile on my face. 

Of course there are differences. In the real world there are consequences to making mistakes, some more trivial than others. I obviously wasn't going to try and see if i could barrel roll the car off a particularly steep hill, nor was i willing to power slide around blind corners due to the potential of oncoming traffic - the consequences of these things being a severly damaged car or worse. There is also the fact that games at present, no matter how realistic they are, cannot capture every facet of an experience - nor would we want them to (who wants real life broken ribs after rolling their car in Sega Rally?). This is in essence one of the key reasons i enjoy playing games - the only consequences of trying things outside of the norm is a slower lap speed or a Game Over screen. Being able to try these things without the consequences means that when something slightly different occurs in real life I am better equipped to deal with it.

Games like Brain Training and more recently Wii Fit are gradually convincing the rest of the world that regularly playing games can help you to improve yourself. These games were designed specifically to help people improve their bodies and minds, but are they really that different from all the other games we play? Whether its improved reaction times, puzzle solving or even just using our imaginations to experiment there must surely be benefits associated with regular gaming. Its a shame then that the majority of the research around gaming seems to focus on the negative aspects such as the effects of playing violent video games on levels of aggression or the bad language used by idiots online.

While society still considers gaming to be a hobby of 12 year old boys its benefits will never fully be appreciated, but as gaming becomes more of a mainstream activity we may finally start to get the credit we deserve. Who knows one day i might be able to quote my gamerscore to get an edge over the competition in a job interview....

Verbal