If you’re one of the people who has spent many past hours playing Mario Kart games, then you wouldn’t have just been entertained. It turns out it was actually preparing you for real-world driving.
A recent study has found that certain video games can make you a better driver once you get behind the wheel as they significantly sharpen visual motor skills.
The study, which was published in the journal Psychological Science, was conducted by researchers from New York University Shanghai and the University of Hong Kong. They had 80 students from the University of Hong Kong participate in several experiments involving different video games.
The games used included some considered ‘action-based’ as they required the gamer to respond to visual cues. These included first-person shooters like Unreal Tournament and driving-centric games like Mario Kart.
In one experiment, subjects with no experience of action-based video games were asked to play Mario Kart or a first-person shooter game. After ten one-hour sessions, the subjects’ visuomotor-control skills showed significant improvement. In contrast, when subjects played ‘non-action’ videogames, such as Sims 2 and Rollercoaster Tycoon, no significant improvement was picked up after the same amount of playing time.
Both novices and experienced drivers benefit
Those behind the study also pointed out that playing action-based games like Mario Kart can benefit those with or without driving experience. Only 14 of the 80 participants had a driver’s licence but those that had one enjoyed similar benefits during the study.
While Mario Kart is one option for improving visuomotor-control skills, which are needed for driving a car properly, the study found that first-person shooter games are actually more effective than driving games.
The study argues that shooter games help people become better defensive drivers, since they “require players to constantly make predictions about both where and when bullets will most likely hit.”
Although there has been much debate about whether first person shooter games make players more violent in real life, the researchers behind this recent study dismiss such concerns saying there’s “no solid research evidence” supporting such claims.
