Brain volume can predict RTS game aptitude - Study

most epic rts ever

@EggVillain I have no doubts people will follow up on testing, but that is the general premise of preliminary work (which is something I would classify this research as). The problem is that editorial writing is generally used to sell a story, scientific journal writing is used to sell a method, and the science can get a little fuzzy. Brain volume is still unknown in predicting RTS aptitude (despite what gamespot says), and they did not find a correlatiob between complex skill aquisition and brain regions (despite what the scientisist say). At this point and time, the only thing that can really be said is that while playing Rise of Nations, specific regions of the tests subjects' brains tend to light up. Further analysis needs to be done to determine if these regions light up for other strategy games (or anything else involving strategy), and a in a wider array of patients. Of course, this is not as glamorous.

interesting.

@ Scarletsspider Well, nobody said you'll get smarter. You're not an older person, are you? For you, such kind of brain stimulation is nothing out of common, but for older people such brain activity helps in fighting its aging process.

well I've been playing RTS for years. can't say I've gotten smarter! but if you say so...

Ha, I knew gaming wasn't a waste of time. RoN is one the best RTS ever made so it's good to know those hundreds of hours spent playing helped with something :P

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

@Witchsight Yeah, make these old people play Serious Sam in 90 minute sessions. I'd like to do that for my thesis.

Ah no wonder I don't like these games anymore. Red Alert 2 is still the best.

"games are for enjoying not thinking for whole life.... i would rather play call of duty or assassin's creed" epic fail... and call of duty players are always wondering why everyone is making derogatory remarks about them.

Righto, looks like GameSpot wants a sequel to RoN as much as I do considering they pulled this story out of nowhere. Bring us RoN 2 and not RoL, seriously.

@Shtiv1987 They did'nt say smarter people they said people with certain areas of the brain being larger. Its also researched that people with smaller brains tend to be smarter, a rather contradicting 2 studies going on in the scientific field.... but I also suppose you could have a smaller total brain and still have certain areas be bigger then other people.

Lol, I myself have quite a big head, and I don't think Im good at Starcraft 2. Actually I kind of suck. Also, I don't see how intelligence is required to play this game, as nearly all players just learn builds from strategy sites and just do that over and over.

games are for enjoying not thinking for whole life.... i would rather play call of duty or assassin's creed

RON ,what an astonishing RTS !!

Smarter people are better at strategy games?! FOR REAL?! I am shocked.

They should have done the study with Hearts of Iron :P

@ Witchsight Better have the cart and paddles nearby... Most RTS games involve some kind of very long-term planning of some sort and regular, slower game play, so they are not likely to give older players heart attacks. :P Many FPS games involve a lot of knee-jerk reactions along with massive injections of adrenaline to the body, often in addition to a large consumption of external energy drinks and snacks - perhaps not a good game setting choice for testing uninitiated players in the 65-75 age range. ;)

Ok, that makes sense. I thought this was going to say a bigger brain makes you better at RTS. Now THAT would have been interesting. This? This just says you're good at what you're good at. Just because these people haven't played RTS games doesn't mean they aren't good at strategy.

let me guess: cerebellum, cingulate, insula..(shows up on basically every MRI study lol). but doesn't this just mean an ability to learn faster?

Now do the same study with a FPS...

I guess, IQ tests weren't enough to make people feel bad about themselves.lol.

I'm slow when playing RTS games & i'm fast when playing platformers.Fact.

Apparenty, most of you didn't really read the article. It doesn't say „bigger brain = more intelligence”, it only points out that the volume of grey matter in certain regions enhances your complex squill aquisition speed. And intellingence doesn's mean just: motor control, detecting errors, self regulation, planning, and dual tasking.

i dont know, when my brain is quiet, i do a lot better at complimicated games. its when its loud that i have problems with all the stratergizing and stuff.

@Gelugon_baat My thoughts exactly "requires a diverse skill set from players" I call shenanigans!

Great, now I've been reminded how much I want RON 2.

BREAKING NEWS: Bigger brain = More intelligence. We needed a scientific study to establish this fact.

Another expensive case of over analising useless info. The world already knows some people are smarter then others.

@Pawfalcon I'll assume certain areas of the pre frontal cortex (PFC) But a link to this particular article would be really interesting to see... Could not find it on a database search :(

"Having more brain mass makes you better at things that require thought and the smarter you are the better?" Very poorly written sentence, you're probably bad at Rise of Nations.

....and they couldn't mention which regions? Seems like an important bit.

Interesting humm...

Nothing new, I would say - other than another research article that happens to promote Rise of Nations. :P

@Paul2004 Me too, I also want to Unleashed Total war like Spamming Enemies with Avatar War Mechs :)

I remember playing Rise of Nations for about a year. Pretty good game.

I wish they would make an updated RON. That was a great game. Also my head could swell again.

Rise of Nations on the Easiest setting? My 7-year old cousin can do that. They should've had them play Supreme Commander. On Hard. Against a full squad of bots.

I should find a good RTS game to play. Although I'd rather Destroy the world than create one.

Having more brain mass makes you better at things that require thought and the smarter you are the better? I am shocked.

quick thinking is the key in RTS.

I spend more than a hour on C&C matches, more than 4 for RoN :P

they ranked it based on how fast they won ?, lol guess i would be the worst even tho i know how to win (I just like to prolong my Strat games :), get the best and unleash total war XD)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the test should be longer so it more accurately determine long term effects and not just short term ( at least a year)

As much as I'd say this research is stupid,it does have a bit of credibility since they picked a pretty complex strategy game. However, Rise of Nations becomes very instinctive after you really learn to play because the game play is similar despite which race you pick, so I think overall, it may improve cognitive abilities only in the short run. This would actually more interesting if the test was done on a bigger sample and picked people from various age groups, not just simply older people.

@endocrine I don't know the ins and outs of medical testing. But the scientific method is the scientific method... The study in question is just what it is. You can't generalise the results to the wider population at all. But the way these studies work is that other professionals will read them and perhaps get ideas on how to test the variables differently. Or even directly replicate the study it self in order to try and replicate the results. So in essence the more studies like these that could be carried out in the future that produce similar results will only give strength to the theories be proposed. I can't say I am read up on this particular research area but the implications are certainly interesting.

This article makes me want to play rise of nations again!

People with more developed brains better at learning complex games? Surely you jest! That's just crazy talk!

look at all the knows it all posting..none of you are doctors...if you are then your probably came across this site while on here looking on google for a diagnosis procedure, cause we know doctors are a dime a dozen and your knowledge is based off if you can use a search engine. lol. Anyone can be a doctor.

20 people is too few i agree statistically you need at least 30 samples before you can draw any firm conclusion