It's good that you didn't trivialize people who grew up hunting as some kind of redneck loser with a term like "varmints." No defensive suburban upbringing slant. ;) #army
i can't say i agree with this. i've been gaming since i was 8 on ms-dos games like Math Blaster.
I have better depth perception and peripheral vision than anyone i've run into, even better than snot kids these days who grew up on xbox. #army
@fxsoap: Um, cite a source? Especially since computer screens/TV screens have no depth. So depth perception is irrelevant. And they don't fill your field of view, so peripheral vision is also irrelevant. And why do you think you know more about roadside bombs than the army?
@fxsoap: Gamers have to have the upper hand in fixated vision...
I have better than 20/20 vision, but I have friends that aren't gamers who will see the smallest animal (frog, turtle, snake, etc...) on a path when I didn't even have a clue it was there when we walked by it.
They are country boys that are used to hunting or tracking animals to play with, and they just have that natural instinct to look at everything around them rather than focus on one 'objective'.
I'm sure a gamer would be much better piloting a UAV and watching the screen for anything of importance, but for the general 'walk' around awareness, my experience would go hand-in-hand with these results.
@idmmao001: well, games do have depth it's just virtual depth. which means they don't have the luxury of actually placing an object further away to add depth i.e. sending a different image to each eye, so they have to do it other ways, visual cues like shading, focus, relative size, and movement. it wouldn't surprise me if gamers were, on average, better at judging depth when only those cues are available. in the real world, however, the primary indication of depth is distance as interpreted by the difference between the two images from each eye so for overall depth perception in the real world gamers naturally fall behind.
spot on for peripheral vision though, i don't see how anyone playing on even a 60" screen from more than 4' away could even begin to make the argument that gaming improves peripheral vision with a straight face. here's a tip @fxsoap: peripheral vision? that's everything you can see that isn't on the screen. yeah, i'm real sure games improve how well you can focus on that. checking someone out without them noticing, on the other hand, 100% peripheral vision. so the army should obviously be hiring lecherous hunters from the country. #army
@fxsoap: are you sure you're not remembering stuff like the car texting sim that tested reaction times and multitasking instead of depth perception and, espeically, peripheral vision? #army
@fxsoap: that just doesn't seem physically possible with today's technology unless we're talking about an extreamly narrow cone of periperal vision around the point of focus. games don't take place in the periphery of vision, they take place in the center of vision. most of the peripheral vision isn't even on the screen. how could a FPS possible improve or train a response in areas of the vision where it can't be? #army
@tetracycloide: things occur outside of the point at which you focus that you must be able to 'notice' in order to prevent being shot or losing or whatever the case may be in the game.
So with the training you MUST go through in order to be successful and see these things, wouldn't it make sense that you are learning to notice things outside of the normal field of view? #army
I thought the reason is obvious. We're not as careful as hunters or "hood rats" because we are used to the idea that we can respawn. Though it does depend on the game a bit, but as my friend in the service can vouch for me, most people in the service play fast pace, die often games, aka: halo and call of duty. (and games of similar nature) You die in the game, it's no big deal you spawn 5 seconds later, death is a minor inconvenience, that's why they aren't careful/cautious. #army
@Covert_Knight: I imagine it also has to do with transferable experience in a 2D or 3D environment.
Because we draw on our past experience to guide us in our present, those with applicable experience in real life 3d simply have better experience to draw upon than those with applicable experience in 2d.
Additionally, the 3d world is not fixed. Details in a gaming environment are overlooked because they're constant. Once they are learned, they are ignored. #army
Maybe if they offered an achievement for finding the bomb.
Other than saving your own life.
You know, like a small token that says "50 points: You shaved your own life." #army
We need 3d TVs and games to improve depth perception.....and within the games we should remove any sort of GPS and highlights that indicates where enemies and objectives and threats and "items" are. And lower the ratio of abandoned ammunition. Health pack should come in low quantities and still provide a Game Over for another 6 months. Then we gamers will be perfectly trained cannon fodders...uh...soldiers!
This is kinda weird, because I just participated in IED training yesterday, led by an ex-demolitions special forces member (and let me tell you, there is some scary shit out there), and you know what? I think this is true.
I, and none of my gamer buddies, spotted any of the IED's on the training lanes, but other people didn't really seem to have any issues. It could just be a case of looking in the wrong places at the wrong times, but it's still a little strange to see this on here the day after the training.
IED = improvised explosive device, btw, if you didn't know. #army
I wouldn't say all gamers lack the visual recognition skills to spot hidden bombs, but I certainly do. I have probably spotted and shot one claymore for every 50 that I stepped on in COD4. I'm an anti-personnel explosive magnet.
But I think the Sgt. Major's observation only scratches the surface of the problem.
Videogames have a history of rewarding speedy play over careful play, especially in action games with recharging health bars. In most modern first-person shooters, fearless rambos can take a glancing hit from an explosive and keep sprinting to push the offensive.
And then there's attack pattern recognition, knowing enemy spawn points, and a lack of any kind of real lull in the action. We're mentally trained to only focus on game behavior and objectives, relegating everything else to "a part of the stage".
You know, in the future, when we have like gundams and stuff waging war and cyborg creatures bouncing around at great speeds, but we mysteriously haven't programmed them to engage in combat by themselves, but instead need a human controller?
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I have better depth perception and peripheral vision than anyone i've run into, even better than snot kids these days who grew up on xbox. #army
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video games (at least FPS) have been proven to expand both depth and peripheral vision.
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I have better than 20/20 vision, but I have friends that aren't gamers who will see the smallest animal (frog, turtle, snake, etc...) on a path when I didn't even have a clue it was there when we walked by it.
They are country boys that are used to hunting or tracking animals to play with, and they just have that natural instinct to look at everything around them rather than focus on one 'objective'.
I'm sure a gamer would be much better piloting a UAV and watching the screen for anything of importance, but for the general 'walk' around awareness, my experience would go hand-in-hand with these results.
But like doubtful said, anecdote != data. #army
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spot on for peripheral vision though, i don't see how anyone playing on even a 60" screen from more than 4' away could even begin to make the argument that gaming improves peripheral vision with a straight face. here's a tip @fxsoap: peripheral vision? that's everything you can see that isn't on the screen. yeah, i'm real sure games improve how well you can focus on that. checking someone out without them noticing, on the other hand, 100% peripheral vision. so the army should obviously be hiring lecherous hunters from the country. #army
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So with the training you MUST go through in order to be successful and see these things, wouldn't it make sense that you are learning to notice things outside of the normal field of view? #army
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Because we draw on our past experience to guide us in our present, those with applicable experience in real life 3d simply have better experience to draw upon than those with applicable experience in 2d.
Additionally, the 3d world is not fixed. Details in a gaming environment are overlooked because they're constant. Once they are learned, they are ignored. #army
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Other than saving your own life.
You know, like a small token that says "50 points: You shaved your own life." #army
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The 3d you see is an illusion created by how your brain interprets the data.
This is why 3d movies make some people sick. Their eyes and their brain are 'disagreeing'.
Protip: This is also why people get seasick. Their inner ear balance center and the eyes are sending mixed signals to your brain. #army
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I, and none of my gamer buddies, spotted any of the IED's on the training lanes, but other people didn't really seem to have any issues. It could just be a case of looking in the wrong places at the wrong times, but it's still a little strange to see this on here the day after the training.
IED = improvised explosive device, btw, if you didn't know. #army
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Same sort of thing right? #army
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I just found the perfect title for my imaginary debut rap-album. #army
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But I think the Sgt. Major's observation only scratches the surface of the problem.
Videogames have a history of rewarding speedy play over careful play, especially in action games with recharging health bars. In most modern first-person shooters, fearless rambos can take a glancing hit from an explosive and keep sprinting to push the offensive.
And then there's attack pattern recognition, knowing enemy spawn points, and a lack of any kind of real lull in the action. We're mentally trained to only focus on game behavior and objectives, relegating everything else to "a part of the stage".
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Ironically, a situation where casual gamers should have an edge. #army
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By god I'll be ready to serve America. #army
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