Elite Gamers > MBA Graduates?

[eric0095]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuOzBS_O-M

Well, not on paper, but the argument could be made (and the above video does just that) that they are. Let me be clear though, that this man is not talking about the average 'hardcore' gamer. He's talking about the top-level players that are innovating. These are the guys teaching the hardcore gamers what's what.

Whuddya guys think? You're the CEO of a company, would you hire the top-level gamer or the MBA from Harvard?

[SiphonXP]

I can't help but thinking about the guy from Suits, with tons of knowledge and skill but no degree.

[xTONYx]

I can't help but thinking about the guy from Suits, with tons of knowledge and skill but no degree.

......and Lewis the moron with the degree

[Rodri]

To relate it back to Evony, every good alliance needs a think-tank and it also needs leadership that is willing to listen to new ideas and trial different strategies. A good alliance also needs teachers and enforcers and sergeants to marshal the troops.

As a former host and vice-host, one of the most difficult tasks for leadership is balancing the needs of the weakest members against the desires of the strongest members because they can often be in conflict, especially when it comes to making war on other strong alliances. So the sergeants also need to be pushing the troops to grow and increase in strength constantly and this needs game knowledge (knowing the numbers to hit or cap. a 10, knowing how to explain camp timing, reviewing performances and correcting (without rancour) any mistakes.

Then there are the areas of information gathering and diplomacy and an overall strategy that must be flexible enough to cope with changing circumstances on a daily basis. No alliance will prosper unless leadership has the support of the general membership and this requires a heap of other skills to form bonds between members and forge a sense of unity of purpose. Working out the numbers is really only a small portion of the overall skill set required to be a good leader in Evony.

But out in the real world, mention of an interest in playing games online is usually frowned upon and will not get you any job, unless you are applying for a game testing position with a gaming company.

Would I hire elite gamers? Perhaps. It would depend upon a number of other factors. Perhaps gamers should be running the world but that's a dangerous concept because the hard-core gamers would just want to dominate everything and destroy any opposition and that's not good for the poor little n00bs who get in the way.

[Stal]

I can't help but thinking about the guy from Suits, with tons of knowledge and skill but no degree.

......and Lewis the moron with the degree

hahahaha very true

To relate it back to Evony, every good alliance needs a think-tank and it also needs leadership that is willing to listen to new ideas and trial different strategies. A good alliance also needs teachers and enforcers and sergeants to marshal the troops.

As a former host and vice-host, one of the most difficult tasks for leadership is balancing the needs of the weakest members against the desires of the strongest members because they can often be in conflict, especially when it comes to making war on other strong alliances. So the sergeants also need to be pushing the troops to grow and increase in strength constantly and this needs game knowledge (knowing the numbers to hit or cap. a 10, knowing how to explain camp timing, reviewing performances and correcting (without rancour) any mistakes.

Then there are the areas of information gathering and diplomacy and an overall strategy that must be flexible enough to cope with changing circumstances on a daily basis. No alliance will prosper unless leadership has the support of the general membership and this requires a heap of other skills to form bonds between members and forge a sense of unity of purpose. Working out the numbers is really only a small portion of the overall skill set required to be a good leader in Evony.

But out in the real world, mention of an interest in playing games online is usually frowned upon and will not get you any job, unless you are applying for a game testing position with a gaming company.

Would I hire elite gamers? Perhaps. It would depend upon a number of other factors. Perhaps gamers should be running the world but that's a dangerous concept because the hard-core gamers would just want to dominate everything and destroy any opposition and that's not good for the poor little n00bs who get in the way.

very good points in every case. I think that perhaps playing computer games like evony can bring out some of one's overall skills and it is up to each person to develop and demonstrate them in a work environment... I have done this purely on accident and it helps in general ...

as for the OP, I wouldnt say based purely on those parameters... I handle recruitment for my alliance and i really dont give a sh!t about how much prest this player has or how many 12s and 14s another player has held on a server i look at attitude... if the Gamer's mind set, personality, and ability exceeds that of the MBA then I would take the Gamer without hesitation.

[Alusair]

I can't help but thinking about the guy from Suits, with tons of knowledge and skill but no degree.

......and Lewis the moron with the degree

Not familiar with the show (assuming it's a show), I've seen this happen in the real world. Theoretic knowledge is good and all, but it doesn't compare to practical knowledge.

Rule of thumb, you'd want to trust the guy with the degree that says "I know stuff", but sometimes the guy that's actually been working the job for X years has a better idea of what's going on than the guy that only knows it from a book.

[eric0095]

But out in the real world, mention of an interest in playing games online is usually frowned upon and will not get you any job,

Currently, you're right. The general populous still seem to have an inaccurate image of the average gamer being a 300lb slob in his mom's basement. However, the world is changing. Pretty soon, organizing hundreds of people in a fictional universe over the internet (and doing so at a top-level) will become something credible to put on a resume. Especially when you consider that the guys becoming the top dogs of companies in the near future, will be the ones who grew up playing their SNES/Genesis/etc.

That being said, you'd have to list it just like you would any other credential (Responsibilities performed, etc). I'm not sure how references would work with that, but i'm sure it'd be easy enough to provide proof of online achievements.

unless you are applying for a game testing position with a gaming company.

Even now, being a gamer does not qualify you to be a game tester. Critical thinking, problem solving, communication, perfectionist and so on, are all qualities game testers must show an aptitude for.

[SunnyG]

Pretty soon, organizing hundreds of people in a fictional universe over the internet (and doing so at a top-level) will become something credible to put on a resume. Especially when you consider that the guys becoming the top dogs of companies in the near future, will be the ones who grew up playing their SNES/Genesis/etc.

Last year, I had to attend a college orientation (though I am finished with my education...go figure haha), and at least 1/3 of the day was spent in an auditorium with a professor who was saying that exact thing. More and more, companies are running their operations via satellite and internet so they can employ the people they need to get jobs done without having to relocate people all over the world. So, having the skills to organize, problem solve and rally groups of other people online into doing what you need or want done, will be a huge asset to companies. And playing games online definitely falls into that category.

This, of course, coupled with having the knowledge and/or degree needed to perform to that companies expectations lol

[Rodri]

The thing about gamers is, they are individuals doing what they enjoy doing the most and that makes them highly motivated people in that particular area (the game). No company or corporation could ever inspire that kind of motivation in it's employees unless it can somehow convince them that what they are doing is following their passion.

That, combined with a sense of exploration and freedom enables gamers to pull apart a game and find the bits they can exploit, or come up with strategies that leave the game makers scratching their heads and wondering how they found this or that exploit or why they developed this or that strategy (and how come nobody in the company found that before release?).

Gamers (usually) tend to be switched on when they are playing their games and employees might be there and doing the tasks assigned to them but the only real motivation in the workplace is the paycheck at the end of the day. Money tends to come and go and even if you are motivated by income, it's a fairly shallow and transient reward compared to a motivated person achieving a perceived goal in a game they are passionate about. That seems to be a more fulfilling reward even if it is virtual, or esoteric. It's a funny thing, difficult to explain really.

There's a downside to all that passion and energy gamers invest in their games and that is seen in obsessive or addictive behaviour, such as spending too much time in the game world and not enough time dealing with the things that need to be done in the real world. This can turn into depression and anger when the romance with the chosen game is broken somehow. Evidence: my own rage-quits of more than one occasion. Game companies try to keep players playing as much as possible as that will generate income for them, sometimes against the best interests of their customers.

Tapping into that passion in any workplace would require work to become more like play and even then, as in any game, there will be high-flyers and there will be pedestrians. Some lucky people manage to combine what they love doing with making an income and when it works, they tend to be very successful and highly energised. It doesn't seem to work so well in a corporate environment but in a small business or self-employment situation it can be incredibly successful.

[eric0095]

Tapping into that passion in any workplace would require work to become more like play and even then, as in any game, there will be high-flyers and there will be pedestrians. Some lucky people manage to combine what they love doing with making an income and when it works, they tend to be very successful and highly energised. It doesn't seem to work so well in a corporate environment but in a small business or self-employment situation it can be incredibly successful.

True, to an extent. He says near the end of the video:

But it gets back to this notion of passion, it gets back to this notion of curiosity, and it gets back to this notion that this is an interest-driven phenomenon that unleashes exponential learning of a dimension that’s almost unimaginable any other way.

When you think about the credential, you have to factor in that there are others who are passionate about the game. However, the 95% of said passionate gamers are NOT the elite. So there's a difference between having the proper kind of passion/motivation, and actually doing something with it. Like you said, this correlates to the real world via the motivation of just money. For some this is enough to succeed and innovate. For others, not so much.

What i'm getting at is that putting the 'Elite Gamer' on your resume would show that you are not just another schmuck who is passionate. It shows that you're passionate AND you have the ability/drive to excel in your field of work. So in many ways, something like that on a resume should already be a legitimate credential.