As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer.
When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story.
Description: having a strong interest in the production of video games and spending large amounts of time playing them. Gamers are invested in the outcome of their games, finishing missions, collecting achievements, and interacting with other gamers online. Conversations …
Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: strong hand-eye coordination, fast reflexes, evolved problem solving abilities, management skills (strong time management skills, understanding distribution and resource …
Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: Self-controlled, intelligent, strategic, determined, enterprising, rational, intense…
Required Resources and Training: Gaming skills are achieved through practice and research. Spending time gaming and watching expert gamers tackle levels, missions and overcome obstacles can help gamers learn how to broaden their minds when problem solving, seeking alternative ways to…
Associated Stereotypes and Perceptions:
- all gamers are nerdy, overweight basement rats
- gamers are male
- that gamers are wasting their lives
Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:
Gamers learn valuable skills that can be applied to many “real life” situations. Strategic thinking, time and resource management, adaptability and a results-driven focus are all skills that a good leader might have. Heightened observation skills and hand-eye coordination could help with many “hands on” tasks–sports, creative expressions such as…
Resources for Further Information:
6 Real World Skills Learned From Playing Video Games
12 Steps to Becoming a Master Gamer
How Stuff Works: Learning Skills From Video Games
Talents and skills not only make our characters stand out, they often help them attain their goals. So choosing them strategically can greatly enhance both the character and the story.
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photo credit: vancouverfilmschool via photopin cc
Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.
So what you’re saying is that all that time I spend gaming is really “research.” Awesome. 🙂
It makes you feel less guilty for playing, right? LOL
The types of games you play will also engage you in other mindsets as well. Playing a fantasy RPG, Need for Speed, or Angry Birds may build on some similar skills, but they also differ in the messages they relay.
A fantasy RPG might produce quests which produce nothing more than a gem which may or may not render anything of value. The quests, however, teach those analytical skills. More females play these than you would think.
Need for Speed gameplay focuses more on perfecting hand-eye coordination and balance, which produces something of value when achieved – upgrades to your vehicle. I would not expect to read about a female character having this mindset, not unless she’s a tomboy. 🙂
Angry birds, yes, patience. I don’t have the patience to play that one, but I read in an article that it has a soothing effect on the player. I think that game has a great strategy, teaching spatial perspective and timing. Anyone good at Angry birds might do well with billiards. There’s no way I’d ever have a protagonist of mine playing this game. It’s stereotypically something for older people and lazy minded.
Great breakdown, and yes, different types of games encourage a different skill set to form. I think gaming in moderation is a good way to train our brains. 🙂
This is my son’s dream: to become a game designer. I love role-playing ones such as Final Fantasy. I wish I had more time for them.
My son would love this too.My cousin designed games as a kid and now works with a very large game production firm, so sometimes dreams can become a reality! 🙂
I love playing computer games even though I am not a young nerdy male. I also think playing games helps develop patience because sometimes you have to play a scene over a few times before you get it right and don’t die 🙂
I love gaming as well, and I agree about teaching patience, and caution. I don’t play as much as I like because I tend to be consumed by each new game I play, lol!
A post describing me? You shouldn’t have! 😉
I will say that I don’t play first person shooters, though. The one time I took a guy who did play them to the range, he had a lot of bad habits to unlearn… LOL
That is true too–especially people who thinks it’s cool to shoot “gang style” by turning the barrel sideways–a great way to miss your shot! And yay gamers!
Thanks for another useful post. I hadn’t thought of these skills since I mostly write historical, but who knows what tomorrow may bring?
That’s right! And we keep seeing genres mash ups, so who knows–time travel could come into it, blending the two, or take the idea of gaming and apply it to something kids did in the past. Same idea, and often a skill set comes of it, right?
Useful thoughts and suggestions especially as I’m a writer & gamer, whose WIP features gamers. And met my wife in-game.
I love that you met your wife by gaming! That’s just awesome 🙂