The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[crazy canuck]

Could it be a Euro/North America issue? In the US at least, most (home grown) top athletes attended college (at least nominally) whereas it used to be uncommon for players in Bundesliga to even have Abitur (the school exam that permits attending university), and the club system being the ones growing/building talent.

There is definitely that point of difference.  But the other disconnect is that the vast majority of elite athletes in the world never go on to play professionally because there is no professional league for them.  There have been moves to monetizing sports but generally swimmers, rowers, wrestlers (the real kind) weight lifters, etc etc etc have very few opportunities do to their sport professionally. 

[Josquius]

I'm entirely right.

It's a rare quality to have.  But I have no idea what your anecdote has to do with what I said.

.

So what did you mean then if not that sports provide well for a career outside of the professional leagues?

[grumbler]

It's a rare quality to have.  But I have no idea what your anecdote has to do with what I said.

.

So what did you mean then if not that sports provide well for a career outside of the professional leagues?

I'm guessing that you have never known very well any serious athlete or athletic program, or this question would never enter your mind.  What does organized sports teach?  Teamwork.  Communication.  Learning to focus on the process and not the prize.  Learning the payoffs that come from hard work and dedication, even pain, not flashy short-term gambles.  Experiencing dealing with crushing defeats and disappointments.  The value of "make yourself just a little bit better each and every day."

Sports are not the only way to learn these lessons, and not every athlete learns them, but every serious athlete learns them and then applies them to their lives outside sports.

[Josquius]

It's a rare quality to have.  But I have no idea what your anecdote has to do with what I said.

.

So what did you mean then if not that sports provide well for a career outside of the professional leagues?

I'm guessing that you have never known very well any serious athlete or athletic program, or this question would never enter your mind.  What does organized sports teach?  Teamwork.  Communication.  Learning to focus on the process and not the prize.  Learning the payoffs that come from hard work and dedication, even pain, not flashy short-term gambles.  Experiencing dealing with crushing defeats and disappointments.  The value of "make yourself just a little bit better each and every day."

Sports are not the only way to learn these lessons, and not every athlete learns them, but every serious athlete learns them and then applies them to their lives outside sports.

Except I have known serious athletes.
And see the article I posted. Plenty of contrary evidence. It's a known problem.

[Syt]

Anno 117 "Pax Romana" announced. 

I like it, but ... Anno 1800 had way too much DLC. Also, Ubisoft, so who knows what shenanigans they'll build into it.

[Maladict]

Anno 117 "Pax Romana" announced. 

 

[crazy canuck]

It's a rare quality to have.  But I have no idea what your anecdote has to do with what I said.

.

So what did you mean then if not that sports provide well for a career outside of the professional leagues?

I'm guessing that you have never known very well any serious athlete or athletic program, or this question would never enter your mind.  What does organized sports teach?  Teamwork.  Communication.  Learning to focus on the process and not the prize.  Learning the payoffs that come from hard work and dedication, even pain, not flashy short-term gambles.  Experiencing dealing with crushing defeats and disappointments.  The value of "make yourself just a little bit better each and every day."

Sports are not the only way to learn these lessons, and not every athlete learns them, but every serious athlete learns them and then applies them to their lives outside sports.

It's interesting to me that we actually have to explain this to people now.  It wasn't so many decades ago that this was common knowledge.

[grumbler]

Except I have known serious athletes.
And see the article I posted. Plenty of contrary evidence. It's a known problem.

Anecdotal evidence isn't evidence.  There's nothing in any of your article's anecdotes that demonstrates any link between sports and the criminal behavior or personal depression that those men suffered.  "I tried out for football, didn't make it, and football forced me to sell drugs" is not a plausible story.

Athletes failing to achieve as much as they desire in their sport isn't a "problem," it's just a fact of life.  And one that teaches valuable lessons in itself.  Sports will not be the last thing that disappoints them in their lives.

[Sheilbh]

I think there is a Euro/North American divide here. Football clubs are now very big on what they do to improve the life chances of their youth plays in their academies - for example they do now qualify from high school with A-levels.

But for a very long time that wasn't the case. I think there's a difference between the North American system which involves going through college to the Euro system which was often doing football instead of high school.

[grumbler]

It's interesting to me that we actually have to explain this to people now.  It wasn't so many decades ago that this was common knowledge.

I think that sports participation was much higher in the past, so people had either experienced this or were close to someone who had experience in sports, so they could see it themselves.  In the past couple of decades it has become more common to use spare time as screen time rather than going out and playing sports when you want to be entertained.

I don't think that I have encountered anyone before who thinks that sports are actually a bad thing, though.

[Zanza]

I like it, but ... Anno 1800 had way too much DLC. Also, Ubisoft, so who knows what shenanigans they'll build into it.

I actually deactivate some if the DLCs if I play Anno 1800. But many add good stuff to the game.

The Arctic and Africa DLCs are bolted on, but have a great narrative when you play them the first time. Bit after that, their integration into the core Old/New World economy does not work well.

The DLC that gives you a second old world map is extremely annoying. You have already built up your main island and then you are supposed to start over on that large island. Poor design.

The tourist DLC is also just an add-on with poor integration into the rest of the game.

I never bought any of the Cosmetic DLCs.

[Josquius]

Except I have known serious athletes.
And see the article I posted. Plenty of contrary evidence. It's a known problem.

Anecdotal evidence isn't evidence.  There's nothing in any of your article's anecdotes that demonstrates any link between sports and the criminal behavior or personal depression that those men suffered.  "I tried out for football, didn't make it, and football forced me to sell drugs" is not a plausible story.

Athletes failing to achieve as much as they desire in their sport isn't a "problem," it's just a fact of life.  And one that teaches valuable lessons in itself.  Sports will not be the last thing that disappoints them in their lives.

Qualitative evidence certainly is evidence.
I'd be interested to see some quant on the topic too but not having it to hand doesn't mean this problem doesn't exist.
Academies are not making big efforts to remedy a problem which isn't real.

Anyway. The core point was - having elite programming skills is directly transferable to a good job as well as allowing for nerdy hobbies.
Being good at football, whatever incidental soft skills you may pick up along the way, isn't.

[Syt]

Gameplay showcase for Star Wars Outlaws.

Yes, it's Ubisoft , but I'm happy to take an Assassins Creed/Far Cry style Star Wars game.

(Tbh, I found this 10 minute gameplay showcase much more informative than Dragon Age's 20 minute one)

[grumbler]

Qualitative evidence certainly is evidence.
I'd be interested to see some quant on the topic too but not having it to hand doesn't mean this problem doesn't exist.
Academies are not making big efforts to remedy a problem which isn't real.

Anyway. The core point was - having elite programming skills is directly transferable to a good job as well as allowing for nerdy hobbies.
Being good at football, whatever incidental soft skills you may pick up along the way, isn't.

You have presented no qualitative evidence.  Just anecdotal evidence.

The problems at UK football academies are problems at UK football academies, not problems with sports.

Your core point was that "[t]hese aren't otherwise useless skills like making pretty dots or throwing a ball in a hoop. They're very very immediately practically applicable skills," referring to the ability to make pixels jump around on a screen as inherently superior to becoming an excellent athlete.

In both cases, it is the required intermediate skills (like programming for the amateur game makers or self-discipline for the athlete) that provide value, not the specifics of making pixels jump or throwing a ball in a hoop.

[Tamas]

Gameplay showcase for Star Wars Outlaws.

Yes, it's Ubisoft , but I'm happy to take an Assassins Creed/Far Cry style Star Wars game.

(Tbh, I found this 10 minute gameplay showcase much more informative than Dragon Age's 20 minute one)

Yes. My body is ready for Assassins Creed: Star Wars.