Do we play?
This blog post is all about our own gaming history. Who has the most extensive gaming history and who remembers growing up as a player two. Read more to learn about our team members gaming history!
Researchers have suggested that our brains are not shaped by merely our physical environment but also the virtual environment. It has been proposed that tech use influences how our brain processes information and in the context of gaming, gamers tend to outperform non-gamers – they have faster response time, improved visual acuity, improved attention switching abilities etc. So games are training the brain without it even being the primary aim. If you are interested in the role of tech-mediated activities on the cognition of young adults then have a look at Mona Moisala’s PhD thesis. But now let’s talk about the virtual environments that have shaped the brains of our team members!
The most popular game that everyone in the team has played has to be SimCity. Build some city from scratch and run it as a mayor – incredibly engaging! Risto said about SimCity that he has always loved to build stuff so this legendary game gave him plenty of satisfaction but also made him grumpy because the worlds had rules and restrictions and he couldn’t execute his exact ideal vision. But seeing something growing and developing and going better is catchy stuff and we all agree with that. There are others of a similar kind that some of our team members have played such as Civilization. Also so very popular Sims has been liked by our team members.
As Risto has the most extensive gaming background, his other favorites should be mentioned here as well. These are addictive car games – Need For Speed series, Gran Turismo, Rally and Forza Motorsport. This is how he explains his passion for car games: “As a car fan it is just pleasing to see my favorite pieces doing master-class road action and just because of me and my awesome skills. Of course, it relates to being the best and the quickest and coolest and the adrenaline rush components also. Not to mention to just click yourself out of the real world for a couple of laps at Nürgburgring in an old Mercedes Cosworth. Gentlemen, start your engines!”
Anna has mostly enjoyed quest type of games where you need to solve puzzles and murders stories, like Sherlock Holmes. And on top of other games mentioned earlier, Sven has also played games like Mortal Kombat, Doom, Wolf3D, Olympic Games, Heretic, RAT, WarCraft, Formula 1, Tank.
We discussed with Riin that in our childhood, the most legendary gaming memories are associated with this old-school console we call “telekamäng” in Estonian. It has to be something similar to Nintendo NES but not really. For all we know, it had yellow game cartridges and when you broke the cartridge a little then you had to use something like a small spoon to support the connection. For me, this brings back bittersweet memories of always being player two – never Mario but always Luigi. As my brother is 5 years older, he was the king of our console and that’s why I mostly remember playing games he wanted so I think that I played Contra the most… usually it ended with me crying because he went ahead so quickly (on purpose) that I died all the time.
Not to end on a too historical note, it has to be mentioned that at least Risto is still engaged in gaming. He is mainly playing NBA 2K17 and Forza Motorsport but he was also a pretty respected co-leader in a clan until he stopped playing Supercell’s Clash of Clans.
