what games help you improve your thought patterns?

[SuperSabin]

Thought I'd take in interesting approach with this thread, as the thread title asks, what games help YOU improve your thought patterns?

For me, without a doubt, its puzzle games like Puzzle League, and Yoshi's Cookie also helps too. These games help me with improving in my schoolwork and when i'm in a situation where i've done something wrong. They help me to think things over and improve my methods and strategies.

Brain games kind of help as well, I have a demo of a game on my cell phone I played a few times, it really helped too.

[che]

FPS games. I now honestly believe if a rocket is ever shot at me I can dodge it. This is a direct improvement to my thought patterns.

[ultimatekupo]

I play puzzle games to help me think sometimes. I play them in xbox arcade games such as poker smash which for some people is really difficult for some reason because you have to think in all directions. My dad is amazing at puzzles and sucks at that game because he can't think in more then one direction at once. You would have to play it to see what I mean, and hexic. Most people hate that game too but I'm great at those kinds of puzzles. Those games keep you on your toes when you have time limits and problem solving thinking of how every move you make effects moves you make through the rest of the game. try some xbox arcade games or something. I like my puzzles hard core most people like em less complicated though.

[Rocky]

Any game I can play against other people in a competitive environment. I like deep thinking and metagame stuff in everything, and I think anything that allows me to challenge my mind against someone else's will test that capability.

Like chad said, FPS games for example build on a lot of that. There are basics you can learn, like muscle memory on how to aim at someone properly, to memorizing an area layout, to knowing different "hotspots" on the map, whether there's a sweet powerful weapon or a part of the map that is advantageous. Then theres the deeper level of thinking, like what routes are quickest to take, what order or movement pattern is best to roam around the map, how one should successfully control such hotspots, and how to prioritize what to do in any situation. Then there's the deepest level of thinking, is when you start predicting other people and their actions, like where they will be on the map, what they will try to control, and how to "bait" either them, the hotspot, yourself, and/or a combination of all the above.

I think games that incorporate those that I listed about are the funnest to me and also the most challenging, because as fun as it is to smash the computer day in/day out on a game, a true test of skill and how your thought processing works is against other people.

[TheFallenSoul]

This is a very interesting question

Though i will admit RTS games with a large amount of Micromanagement and Macromanagement are the ones that do it for me. A key example of this is Starcraft, hands down it has the most Micro and Macro in it of any other RTS out there and is also the most famous of them all.

[Rydia Lover]

i play alot of fire emblem, when you get to many of the later chapters on hard mode, you often need alot of perception to pay attention to every unit and predict every move the enemy player will make

[smurphy]

Funnily enough any of the Gran Turismos do the job for me. I sink way too much though into stuff like calculating braking points, engine maximisation, camber angles etc and I find that my thought process is streamlined for a few days after a Gran Turismo marathon. Its like my brain runs at excess capacity while playing these games.

[Ssk0rne]

Haven't really thought about it till now, but all games pretty much help your thought patterns out in different ways. As for puzzle games, the only one I've really gotten into has been Portal. It's pretty challenging at times and have you think outside the box, especially with the stages where you need to time everything just right to beat it.

For an FPS, like Rocky said, you need to learn the maps, hotspots, and basically how other players act. You gotta always be a few steps ahead of the rest.

[TheFallenSoul]

For an FPS, like Rocky said, you need to learn the maps, hotspots, and basically how other players act. You gotta always be a few steps ahead of the rest.

true this is for a FPS. Its hard for me to play sometimes when i am not use to the maps or some of the players i am with. Especially when it comes to snipers. You may never know if they are the type that camp and pick off at a distance, or those that like CQC and quick scope you to death. Knowing your enemy is always the key to victory

[Unknown Entity]

Puzzle games. Especially the Professor Layton games. Some of the puzzles trick you into thinking they're really hard when the answer is right infront of your nose. Best way to tackle some of the puzzles in that game is with an open mind. Helps with problem solving and decision abilities for me.

FPS games just remind me that I don't have eyes in the back of my head.
I guess with that you need to be very aware of your surroundings. You need to be a step ahead, and it's good if you know something like the back of your hand.

With RPGs, you have to push and work for the good stuff. Which is long and tiresome, but if what you get out of it is worth it, then full steam ahead.

Games like The Sims boost creativity. For me, the best part about those games is just building a house. ^^;

[jcsimpson]

The brain age games really helped me but I think those games are obvious as that's exactly what they were created for. After playing Brain age two for a few months and then stopping I could actually notice a difference in how my memory and math skills were depleting.

[Pete]

Resident Evil 5 taught me never to go to Africa... though between AIDS and Darfur, I still wasn't convinced. Throw in black zombies, and now I have a solid reason.

FPS's teach you muscle memory to a degree, as well as basic hand eye coordination.

I think that the cell phone games and timewasters like that are what really work though. Things like Brain Age and Sudoku.

[Musashiden]

LittleBigPlanet.

That game has made me look at the world in a completely different way. If I see something tip over I immediately focus in and watch how it falls, see if it interacts with anything, then later I'll try to reduplicate it in LBP. If it works, I think of a way to make it a incorporate it into a level. It really makes me notice more things and makes me more observant.