Civ can help your career

[yoalexsaid]

A lot of the articles and threads on this site are extremely impressive in terms of the depth of understanding of the game mechanics and the analysis and conception of different strategy (not in terms of military, but in general planning). (also the just the level of professional writing is impressive compared to other video game forums)

you guys seem to be exceptionally bright, with talents that must present themselves in your jobs and everyday life.

so my question is are you guys not living up to your true potential (i.e. playing civ instead of conquering the financial world), or are you all secretly Bill Gates when he's not in the office?

i'm a chemical engineer, so i can't really apply civ to my job, but what about the rest of you? your ability to find and exploit advantages is amazing. the game is DESIGNED to be balanced, but god isnt going to make you download a patch so the rest of the world can keep up. maybe obama can (just kidding, i voted for him).

the real world is more complicated than a simple game, but that means there are an infinite amount of ways to "win". you could be reaping the benefits from applying the same skills you use in civ to life instead of playing this game! unless you already do and civ is your hobby.

 

[r_rolo1]

First ,as one of the writers of a article in the War Academy, thank you [/false modesty]

Seriously, I think it is the other way around: this kind of game atracts people that like to make short and long term planning ( and people that dig every possible quirk that can give some edge ... this is especially important in high levels, but some people abuse a little ) and those qualities help a lot in real life as well. But obviously training in a game may sharpen things as well, I guess....

Oh, and you're a chemical engineer? The ones that in my univ we call the "chemical plumbers" .... ( I'm taking a chemistry degree and will most likely go to the organic chemistry side ... )

 

[LegionSteve]

I think I use a lot of the same skills at work (manager/programmer in a business software company) as I do when playing Civ. Unfortunately I can't use the same strategies - I don't have a trebuchet to fire at people - though I often wish I did.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

so my question is are you guys not living up to your true potential ?

Mother Lemon said that I never had any potential to begin with...

I take my r/l management skills and apply them to Civ, but other than that, I play to escape, have fun, and to flex my brain muscles. I also take a rather light hearted approach to the game.

 

[yoalexsaid]

haha i was just thought that the type of people you are describing would be out there in the real world already working on their career with no time to play games, or even heard of games like civ.

"plumbers" really? its the highest paid job with a bachelor degree.

 

[r_rolo1]

True, chemical engineers are very well paid indeed ( if you don't mind the low life expectancy, one of the lowest of the people with bachelor degrees )... let's say that in our univ there is a "friendly" competition between chemical engineers and chemists ....

 

[Spiceweasel]

I'm a programmer by trade. I consider the heart of the job to be about understanding complex systems. I also consider that to be at the heart of Civ gameplay.

Over the years, I've learned a lot from the Civ games, as well as many other games (mostly strategy ones). And I apply those lessons to other aspects of my life. Personally, I think the world would be a much better place if our leaders had more experience with things like Civ. Just imagine hearing on the Senate floor, "We can't afford to enact this program. It would be just like overexpanding without enough cottages to support them."

Of course, that's just Civ. I hope that I never have to use the skills I've got from playing Left 4 Dead.

 

[Junuxx]

Civ has had a huge influence on me as a kid, sparking my interests in a very wide range of subjects and helping me develop and learn all sorts of stuff, which is pretty awesome.

But on the other hand, all my virtual geopolitical manipulations have somehow made me see the real world as a pretty weird game. Sets of rules, strategies, objectives and rewards that can be fun and challenging if you go along with it, but don't make any sense when you step away and look at it from a distance.

I'm stuck in university for lack of challenge, definitely underachieving and procrastinating.
No wait, I didn't say that. I'm a sneaky builder, secretly preparing a tech lead to take over the world. But don't tell anyone!

 

[yoalexsaid]

lol i like the senate statement, but i guess thats kinda my point. the people in any position of influence or power have the pandering and people skills to get into those positions, but people with real management skills and potential are playing civ instead of running for the senate.

 

[mechaerik]

I'm unemployed and lazy.


But then, I'm 16.

 

[Chiyochan]

A lot of the articles and threads on this site are extremely impressive in terms of the depth of understanding of the game mechanics and the analysis and conception of different strategy (not in terms of military, but in general planning). (also the just the level of professional writing is impressive compared to other video game forums)

you guys seem to be exceptionally bright, with talents that must present themselves in your jobs and everyday life.

so my question is are you guys not living up to your true potential (i.e. playing civ instead of conquering the financial world), or are you all secretly Bill Gates when he's not in the office?

i'm a chemical engineer, so i can't really apply civ to my job, but what about the rest of you? your ability to find and exploit advantages is amazing. the game is DESIGNED to be balanced, but god isnt going to make you download a patch so the rest of the world can keep up. maybe obama can (just kidding, i voted for him).

the real world is more complicated than a simple game, but that means there are an infinite amount of ways to "win". you could be reaping the benefits from applying the same skills you use in civ to life instead of playing this game! unless you already do and civ is your hobby.

you must not be going to a lot of mod forums, there are quite a numerous ammount of forums that do mods for games that have a much better community than this, although given the varied approaches one can go about modding a turn based strategy like civ, the modding community certainly has the market on general variety. just about anything you can think of has a modding community, many of which sometimes vastly outclass the bureaucratic game design philosophy that stagnates modern gaming, thats not to say however that all of them are gold, but its certainly telling that unpaid non proffessionals can put together something enjoyable as a hobby and have it occasionally come out better.

sometimes i wonder why many of these talented individuals don't just band together and make their own better version of Civ. you already have a vast number of user generated content like blue marble terrain, custom made units and what have you,
(although personally i would ditch the way cities are displayed atm, City view is much cleaner and nice to look at. )

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I'm unemployed and lazy.


But then, I'm 16.

I'm unemployed and lazy too.

And I'm 39.

At least you're young. You still have the time to learn to do it with style. Far too late for an old lady like me.

 

[Adria]

the real world is more complicated than a simple game, but that means there are an infinite amount of ways to "win". you could be reaping the benefits from applying the same skills you use in civ to life instead of playing this game! unless you already do and civ is your hobby.

I've enjoyed playing 'thinking' games for as long as I can remember, but I've only been playing this particular one for a few months. For me, I think I was drawn in because I could apply the way I think in real life to a game, and not the other way around.

I've yet to get anywhere near as into the math and details in this game as many posters here do. I'm sure I'll get there eventually though, maybe when the weather turns (in the fall) and I spend more time indoors. There are days where I feel I need to exercise my brain more, and I can't quite bring myself to re-open my university texts so this will provide a different avenue for that.

 

[theskibum]

Oh, and you're a chemical engineer? The ones that in my univ we call the "chemical plumbers" .... ( I'm taking a chemistry degree and will most likely go to the organic chemistry side ... )

To the OP forget those goofy research scientists. I am a mechanical engineer, and physicists view us in the same way. You just have to remember that the scientists come up with the new theories that are perfectly described by mathematics, but the engineers are the ones that have to deal with the real life imperfections and still get $h1t to work! We are the true heros of the world

On topic. I would definately say I apply my style of multi-angular planning that I use in work and real life to CIV. Being an engineer certainly definately requires me to see and analyze many angles of a challenge, pick the best solution and then efficiently execute that solution.

 

[Adria]

To the OP forget those goofy research scientists. I am a mechanical engineer, and physicists view us in the same way. You just have to remember that the scientists come up with the new theories that are perfectly described by mathematics, but the engineers are the ones that have to deal with the real life imperfections and still get $h1t to work! We are the true heros of the world

On topic. I would definately say I apply my style of multi-angular planning that I use in work and real life to CIV. Being an engineer certainly definately requires me to see and analyze many angles of a challenge, pick the best solution and then efficiently execute that solution.

I was on the physics side back in university...

Both are difficult in their own way - they present different challenges. I always preferred the more hands-on side of physics, and had contemplated engineering at one point. I'm glad I went the route I did though.

More on topic, this is definitely the type of game that would attract analytical people. Especially at the higher difficulty levels.

 

[theskibum]

I was on the physics side back in university...

Both are difficult in their own way - they present different challenges. I always preferred the more hands-on side of physics, and had contemplated engineering at one point. I'm glad I went the route I did though.

More on topic, this is definitely the type of game that would attract analytical people. Especially at the higher difficulty levels.

Funny, I never saw physics as all that hands on compared with engineering. Though it does certainly depend on the field of engineering or physics you deal with. In my position I am very hands on with the equipment my company builds, but there are other engineers who work the more R&D side that wouldn't know how to actually put together the assemblies they design if confronted with the actual parts and screws!!!

 

[bestbrian]

Like Lemon, this game is my escape from reality, and it's just the sandbox I like to play in.

Strangely enough, though, I had a situation several months ago where a drunken bum snuck onto a city bus without paying his fare. When the bus driver called him on it, the bum then proceeded to whip "it" out and chase her around the bus, and down the street with "it" in his hand. When I got there and locked him up, I noticed he looked an awful lot like Zara (except that the bum was wearing a green track suit). I told him that he looked like Zara, and gave him a little history lesson, but he didn't seem to appreciate it. Oh well; pearls to swine.

And that's about as close as my civ life meets my real life.

 

[Rusty Edge]

I'm a retired insurance adjuster and I think random events are way cool....

Actually I started playing when I had another career, and civ was my escape from situations I couldn't control. Now I think of it as my hobby.

My wife is one of the VPs of a multi-national corp, and she says the game is too much like work to be fun. She's never actually played.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

I am also unemployed, but the fact that a student fresh out of college is struggling to find work while in the process of moving to another city isn't exactly shocking.

Not many useful career hits. Maybe I should list that I can regularly beat immortal difficulty on my resume' and see if that helps .

Maybe not.

 

[Chiyochan]

I am also unemployed, but the fact that a student fresh out of college is struggling to find work while in the process of moving to another city isn't exactly shocking.

Not many useful career hits. Maybe I should list that I can regularly beat immortal difficulty on my resume' and see if that helps .

Maybe not.

you'd be surprised how hard it is just to get a dead end minumwage hell hole job, I've been trying for months