Some companies and employment firms may be snubbing gamers, but IBM is ready to jump on the "gaming-is-good!" bandwagon. Speaking with the BBC, IBM’s global executive in charge of games and interactive entertainment, David Laux, touted IBM’s new tools to help game designers better their products, and also spoke about the positives of gaming.
"We have found across the board, if you look at different categories of games, they all have the ability to develop unique skills,” he said. "That's from the casual games which improve memorization and the ability to discern details, to console games and shooter games that develop rapid decision making and to role playing games like the World of Warcraft that are very unique in producing leadership skills."
David went on to give an example of his own grade school daughter, who learned about business models, morality, and capital improvement all from playing Zoo Tycoon. "I said holy cow, these are concepts I was having a tough time grasping until I got out into the real world. These kids are learning hard skills like business skills but also soft skills like how to interact with people, to communicate effectively, to articulate quickly and make rapid decisions."
Of course, no discussion about gaming and work would be complete without a mention of World of Warcraft. For those gamers, David was especially positive. According to him, WoW produces tremendous leadership skills, how to evaluate risks, build teams, and also teaches individuals not to overreact if they aren’t selected for something.
Still, don’t go putting “Level 80 paladin; exhibits great leadership skills” on your resume just yet. Not everyone is as keen on gamers as IBM has decided to be.
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