Lessons that New Games Can Learn from the Classics

Now that you’re all grown up, you probably don’t have time to play games anymore. But, playing games probably taught you important lessons. Don’t believe me? Here are the six life lessons you can learn from playing video games.

1. Cheating isn’t fun after some time

For little kids, video games are really hard. Turning on “Cheat mode” makes gameplay so much easier and a lot more fun, too. Feeling unstoppable as you’re lighting up the map in Counter Strike, for example, is amazing. But the enjoyment doesn’t last. It doesn’t take long to realize that winning while cheating is, in fact, an empty victory. By the time you are in middle school, you probably give up cheat codes and resolve to master games by playing fair. The sense of satisfaction you get from beating a bad guy for the first time without cheating is amazing.

2. Meticulousness is rewarding

Game developers love cramming secrets into their codes. In fact, developers often include gameplay features that aren’t explained in the tutorial that only the most attentive gamers will find. Games are filled with these types of hidden treasures, and only meticulous players get to enjoy them. So, after playing games for a little while, you get to see that exploring becomes really fun instead of having everything on the table.

3. Failure is your friend

Most gamers-aren’t satisfied until they’ve beaten a game in world record time. But whether you’re casual or hardcore player, there’s a high chance that you will fail repeatedly. Repeated failure is built into the learning curve of any well-designed game. Overcoming failure is what makes games addictive in the first place. Yet, so many gamers forget this lesson as soon as they put down the controller. Failure is a crucial part of success in real life, too, and you have to learn to embrace it.

4. You can’t win if you don’t act

The best players don’t exhibit scarcity mindsets – instead, they gather resources and spend them just as quickly . They aren’t afraid to experiment with their strategies, even if that means an occasional loss. This is much easier said than done. You can learn from the best, but not being afraid to act nets you the win.

5. Why not gamify work?

According to a Gallup study, 70 percent of people surveyed said they weren’t engaged by their jobs. That’s really sad, because work can be very fun. It’s just a matter of perspective. Are you challenging yourself at the office, or just going along with the motions? Do you set daily goals and achieve them? Do you learn new ways to improve and then act on your knowledge? Put another way: Have you mastered your job — the way a Starcraft competitor does? Learn to gamify your work; you’ll find that that effort can be extremely rewarding.

6. Enthusiasm propels you to success

You’ve probably heard someone say “If I devoted the same energy I put into playing games into building a career, I’d be rich.” Gamers absolutely love to play games. In fact, as long as there are new, innovative and challenging games out there, they’ll keep playing. Gamers will always be enthusiastic about playing great games. Yet, most people who are committed to their games and more than willing to spend time mastering them can’t say the same about their careers. All that enthusiasm goes down the drain the moment they step into the office. There’s got to be some sort of lesson there.