Yes you read that title right, I game to learn, like school and reading learn.  Shocking I know, you are reading an article on the internet about learning and video games… by a gamer, but let’s get on with it.  There are many different reasons to game, take your pick from needing to escape, because we refuse to read, to hit the pause button, or maybe to compete, to be someone else, to experience something new or to be challenged.  For me, it’s honestly to learn.  Now the stereotypical fanboy flamer would rather slam their own dick in a car door before they learn from a video game, but for me it’s the next best thing to sex the History Channel.

How do I learn from video games?  Take a closer look at some games and you will realize how much fact is crammed in with the fiction and entertainment.  I’m not talking about Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing or Super Mario Bros. here.  Series such as Total War and Civilization do their best to tie in historical references, characters, and events so you are learning while playing.  Those wily devils have tricked you.   Half-Life may not teach you much but Rainbow Six went a long way to teach about tactics, planning, and the wide variety of uses of flash-bangs and MP-5’s.  Even little things like how Counter-Strike shows you how to properly load and charge a M4, hopefully that’s not something that you need to ever use, but it is something.

Flight sims like Falcon 3.0 and Microsoft Flight Simulator taught me the controls and complexities of flying.  Pitch, yaw, and g-forces are all concepts I wasn’t too familiar with before I fired those games up. While Gran Turismo and F1 Pole Position taught me the dynamics of racing such as hitting the apex of a turn and out-breaking your opponent, other realistic sims like Deadliest Catch taught me drowning may be less painful than playing that game and The Sims taught me going outside and having a life is not just okay but it’s a good idea.

Learning in games extends from the blatant learning software out there to puzzle games and to shooters, all seeping knowledge into your brain whether you like it or not.  There is the obvious Brain Training and Professor Layton to the more obvious History Channel games.  For me, gaming is not limited to lounging and minimal brain activity, it’s an activity to be mentally engaged and to get excited about.  I like learning; I watch the History Channel and National Geographic (not just for the naked native boobies) so deal with it.  If you play a game and you manage to walk away without taking anything of value from it, then you have wasted your time.  I just ask everyone to remember the most important lesson of all, one brought to us by Left 4 Dead.  In case of a zombie apocalypse, AIM FOR THE HEAD.  You know one day you will need that little gem of knowledge.

[Why We Game is a weekly feature from Loot Ninja discussing the various reasons we each have for playing video games. If you have a reason you want to see covered, let us know.]