The Memory Palace Technique And Video Games

It seems to me plausible that one may be able to use a roleplaying game of some kind, one that contains many cities and locations, for the MMM technique. Not to say that one must memorize the entire map of a given game, as that would be missing the point, but to say that the places one knows the geographical location of within the construct of the game, is open for the memory techniques by all means. I say so only for the types of games that one holds a special affinity for, because I can attest from my past and how other people feel, that after dozens or hundreds of hours spent on a game for example, if one enters a house in the game, one instinctively knows exactly where to go to in terms of finding the kitchen, bedroom, garage for cars etc. Sooner or later, one will know where the major stations of the house are (the rooms, couches, beds, closets, kitchen counters etc.) in the same sense as one knows the format of one's own house.

I think the effect can be enhanced in the future with technologies such as the Occulus Rift and other virtual reality headsets. If virtual reality games gain more popularity, and as graphics and resolution increase, it may very well be that at the level of the brain, it will be virtually impossible (no pun intended) to distinguish between reality and virtual reality, and hence the parts of the brain that subconsciously memorize places in order for these techniques to work, will also activate at the same efficacy when immersed in a virtual environment.

Whether or not using games such as Skyrim, GTA V, The Sims 3 et al. is as effective as single screen games in my opinion is subject to debate, but it's certainly worth experimentation. I think there is an argument to be made in fact for the roleplaying games, namely that one can say with a higher degree of certainty that since virtual reality games simulate the 3D world that we handle in our everyday lives, certainly that type of game is best suited for memory techniques. Hence, the pseudo 3D (or 2D-3D world) that games like the Sims 3 offer will be "2nd best", and so it necessitates that the completely 2D games will be least effective. My argument for this entirely hinges on the hypothesis that for memory techniques: 3D > pseudo-3D > 2D. Please let me know what you think!

Great Video Anthony. I have been known in the past to use the Video game "Doom" and "Wolfenstein" for one reason, levels are "rooms". Yes you shoot things in the Game but you go from room to room.  But that is my take on this topic. As always great job coach. 🙂 See you around.