How PCGs Improve Your Critical Thinking (research article)[]
What are PCGs? Well “Paper Computer Games are a series of adventure games on paper” - Xaq Rzetelny (1). This is the perfect description. But that's not the only thing that PCGs are. I’ve been in the PCG Community for around 3 years, and I believe PCGs are games that train you to think more critically and most importantly, more creatively.
Now anyone who doesn’t play PCGS would be suspicious of this claim, and they would be smart for thinking for themselves. But here’s the reasons why they should believe me. First of all PCGs improve critical thinking and problem solving. Second, they increase creativity and improve your imagination. And last, they create a community that also promotes socialization and speaking skills.
Think quick! You're a knight stuck in a hallway with only two ways out; the way which you came, and the exit that's blocked by a flesh-eating monster. Now that's a typical scenario you might come across when playing a PCG. What would you do? I believe the average person would go the “normal” route and stab the monster with a sword. But someone who plays PCGs would think differently. They might ask, “Are there any objects nearby?” Or they might even try to reason with the monster, because if they die they know that they could just try again. So let's go back to the situation. Okay, you ask if there’s any objects nearby and the game master says, “yes, there is a lot of rubble and a few empty barrels.” Now at first thought that might seem to be useless stuff, but in the mind of a PCG player it’s a goldmine. “The Monster is coming closer, what will you do?” “I will grab some dust from the rubble and throw it into the monster's eyes.” you say. The gamemaster responds, “It leaps towards you, and you throw dust into its eyes, it’s blinded momentarily.” You think quickly, “I grab a barrel and put it over its head!” The game master replies, “you do so, and now you’ve gotten past the monster.” Interesting right! Think back to when you first read this scenario, what was your solution?
Let's talk about our first topic: critical thinking and problem solving. Of course I would like to use PCGs as data to represent my points, but there's currently no big official studies on PCGs. I’ll have to make due with my own studies and I'll also be using video games as a comparison as they have numerous big studies done on them. And of course I'm going to factor in the differences like how video games are very visual, single player, and more geared towards quick reaction times.
“Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013.” - Lisa Bowen of the American Psychological Association (2) . This particular statement peaked my interest. Think PCGs in general, they are RPGs most of the time that involve that exact skill. Problem solving. And if you have played PCGs you know that problem solving plays a big part, and the more you play the better you get at it. And the better you get at it the more you can use it in everyday life, just like the article said.
But still, keep an open mind. Is this all true? Can it really be applied to all people that play PCGs? Well my answer would be… I don’t know. Think about it, real video games are made by entire companies, they are extremely well thought out and dopamine inducing. They also are 3D most of the time, and that is the main difference between them and PCGs. But why even point that out? I compared PCGs to video games earlier, which was a good, but still unfair comparison. When playing a PCG which is made on paper, there are many things you don't practice like spatial awareness, perception, and reaction time. In a PCG the game is 2D, so there isn't really any spatial awareness. You also can't see anything moving such as a character's facial expressions so you can’t really perceive what's going to happen. And you also most of the time have plenty of time to think, so there isn’t really any moments of quick reactions that you would see in a shooter game for example. These are just a few reasons why you could argue that PCGs aren't that good at improving your brain, but still, I would argue otherwise.
Onto my second point, PCGs increase your creativity and imagination. In this sense I am talking about making PCGs, not playing them because that has already been explained earlier. So as you would imagine making a game requires a large amount of dedication, imagination, and creativity. What's the difference? Well, the idea comes from your imagination. The way you present that idea is your creativity. I think there's no denying that creating a beautiful work of art, or designing a building takes creativity and imagination. That's why I would say it also takes those to make a PCG.
A large part of making PCGs is not only the idea, but the drawing. In the article Developing creative thinking skills through art by the NAGC (3), the author says this, “Through the arts, children learn the fundamental process of discovering and imagining, originating and problem solving, thinking and creating.” Although an article about kids, I think the idea still applies to everyone. When you use your imagination to create a work of art which is your PCG you are using and improving all the skills listed above. And think about it, those aren't just some puny skills that you won't use in life, no, they are life altering skills that you will use forever. Whether it’s work, video games, puzzles, or just general life, you can always benefit from creativity and imagination.
Now if you still don’t believe that PCGs are any good for your brain I'll bring one last point to the table to change your mind. PCGs create a community that promotes socialization and speaking skills. What the heck? How? They are just silly games on paper right? Nope, that would be absolutely wrong. I mean just look at the community PCGs have created. We have all benefited in some way, whether that was making a new friend, having a good time, or maybe getting to share the idea we’ve had in our heads for so long. Either way it was all done because of PCGs and you couldn’t say otherwise. And people who have a hard time speaking to others might be more comfortable when talking about PCGs. And that all leads to development in social skills, It all helps you improve.
And all that folks is the reason why PCGs are games that train you to think more critically and most importantly, more creatively. I hope you took something away from this, and maybe you might even dive deeper into the community. You never know what experiences you might have.
-11/16/21, SalmanTheFish PCG
[Edited for punctuation errors on 2/12/22]
Sources:
(1) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxn58QnWMVvVL52Fc5WCrrQ
(2) https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/video-game
(3)https://www.nagc.org/blog/developing-creative-thinking-skills-through-art-0