I have defintely noticed gaming making me more aware of certain things. Splinter Cell made me more aware of my movements, resulting in me being quieter when I walk, making me more agile in hectic crowded situations (like shopping around Christmas.) Shooters (even before games with cover systems) have made me more keen to the fact of using cover, going from cover to cover, ect. While using cover isn't exactly a mechanic useful in everyday life, I'm now better prepared when the bullets start flying my way at least. Even the training bit from America's Army taught me about basic medical care for injured people, more than the absolute nothing I was taught in any of my years of school. Overall, I'd say that gaming has made me more aware of my environment, its made me more interested in things I take for granted daily when I pass them by.

There've been a lot of scientific studies that show that video games help to improve hand-eye coordination.

Also, Shadow of the Colossus showed me that I'm really, really small. And I'm no short man (6' 1" at last check).

I would definitely agree that a game like Gears teaches you teamwork, which is definitely a skill that is important in the real world. Teams that work well together and communicate do much better generally in Gears.

I english learning do, thanks games!

Really, I got my "edge" in english (in comparison to others of my age) thanks to Civ II, Ultima 7, Settlers (a German game, no less), a bit of Zelda, and Baldur's Gate and Torment later on.

And I seem to be good in anything involving reflexes: table tennis and table soccer in general, and reflex saves in badminton for instance.

It's really hard to pinpoint how it changed me and my wii brain (sorry), since I've been gaming for as long as I remember. Hey, maybe gaming has given me a memory!

My younger brother finally learned to read because I started refusing to read the text in Final Fantasy for him.

I've learned a thing or two about perhaps less mundane things from games. Politics and ethics tend to show up a lot in games I play. Also history and strategy (no, not RTS, real strategy). Avalon Hill FTW!

As for Gears, it's taught me some patience with myself as I learn to shoot on the 360. Patience in general, too, as I sit through the same in-game cut scene that happens right after the checkpoint (If I have to hear "Look at all that juice!" again it will be too soon.) It's taught me the value of teamwork and solidarity through showing me what happens when Dom wanders off again and gets himself killed far enough away for me to have little hope of grabbing him. It's taught me bad things via eventually making me mock and then loathe Dom as he whimpers.

But yeah, patience. I got too used to being the fodder in front with a pumpie and deagle in Counter-Strike. Changing the soundtrack to Bruddah Iz sure helps.

Driving games are great teachers, especially when picking your lines for passing slower cars. With practice you can pick the best line in various traffic scenarios, and various traffic speeds.

I'm not sure BurnOut series applies, since it encourages you to slam cars into others.

I definately think logical thinking is a great asset. I don't know if I learned it from games, or if it just rewards it though.

It wasn't until I started applying my mad Boolean logic skills to my gambits in FFXII that I really saw the potential in the system. Now is that because I'm a programmer who looks at life this way, or because I spent more hours than I care to admit to in mixed company bashing at other AI's during my formative years that I look at life this way and therefore became a programmer? I don't know. Chicken and egg sort of thing, I guess.

I know it helps coordination and spatial imagination. And any complex structured activity has been shown to be good for the brain.

One thing it does that I think gets short shrift is the way it keeps alive the concept of learning. You and I think nothing of picking up a new piece of hardware or software and investing the skull-sweat and/or thumb callouses in learning how it works and making the most of it. People who don't game may not be in that habit and they can go for a frighteningly long time between learning new things.

Gears of War has taught me to avoid stepping out of the light and to shoot all propane tanks when I see them.

You're a strong person. I don't think I could ever actually read Final Fantasy text out loud without succumbing to embarrassment.

You're going to make me read through the 8-Bit Theater archives if you're not careful.

This forum and the game tips.

I captured this on my cell phone while on the way home. Sorry about it being blurry.

Yeah, I'm quoting myself again. This isn't the first time, so you might have to get used to it.

Anyway, it seems that the full cut scenes get skipped with your buttons, but not the talky-walky bits. I really just want to start over at the shooting, not be told again to look at that fool torque bow. Such wicked technology just killed me! Why would I want to look at it again?

Ok, sorry about my bump in the tracks. Back to "How do your games make you smarter?"

Grand Theft Auto taught me how to pick up hookers and then run them down to get my money back afterwards. Best. Lesson. Ever.