Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Gamers More Likely To Be Better Soldiers
According to a study by the Office of Naval Research, video games can help adults process information quicker, and improve reasoning and problem solving skills. With that said, it may also be used in training to produce better soldiers.
"We have discovered that video game players perform 10 to 20 percent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability than normal people that are non-game players," says Ray Perez, program officer at the ONR's warfighter performance department.
Now Perez says they are looking toward training technologies to bring these skills to actual battlefields.
"We have to train people to be quick on their feet – agile problem solvers, agile thinkers – to be able to counteract and develop counter tactics to terrorists on the battlefield," he says. "It's really about human inventiveness and creativeness, and being able to match wits with the enemy."
Perez goes on to say that games help increase control, as well as help players focus better and quickly react to stimuli in the environment. He suggests these cognitive improvements via video games can last up to two-and-a-half years. Still, these results have only been tested in a closed lab environment.
"The major question is that once you've increased these perceptual abilities and cognitive abilities, do they transfer to everyday tasks," Perez says, "and how long do they continue to influence the person working on these everyday tasks?" The ultimate goal, he says, is to blur the lines between video game training and actual operations.
A few months ago we ran a story about how the U.S. Army uses the game, America's Army, to recruit soldiers since avid gamers are “naturals to the fast-moving, multitasking nature of modern warfare.” Now the armed forces are looking to further incorporate gaming into training.
So gamers, do you find that skills picked up in games have transferred over to your everyday life? Do you think games can really produce better soldiers?
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
