The Right Video Game Makes You A Faster Driver

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Normally I would laugh at a claim like this but, not only does this guy know his racing games, he's actually a real-life race car driver too.

As a professional driver and a frequent video gamer I can attest that, yes, video games can absolutely make you faster, but only if you pick the right game.
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If you mean by making poeple drive faster on public streets, then yes pretty much every driving game can induce younger people to think they are pro's.

However a well designed racign sim that teaches you the lines to drive as well as the brake distances can definently teach you some "basics" going into real road racing / SCCA / NASA type events. The better the physics of the game, the better your understanding. For instance if a game puts alot of emphasis on tire adhesion at its limits and rewards you for throttling through the turn that in turn will help in real life.

Now of course, dumb ass kids that play Gran Turismo daily will think they are hot shit in their Scion TC and will do something incredibly stupid as well.

So you get some good & bad.
 
Didn't Top Gear test this at some point? Was it Leguna Seca that has the infamous negative G turn?
 
Oh look, another Jalopnik piece with thinly veiled (read: not at all) political rhetoric! I like the site, but they need to keep the politics out of it.
 
Whats the difference between a simulator and a game?
 
Whats the difference between a simulator and a game?
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I'm not sure what the proper terminology for it is, but simulator and game are from two different groups so they can both apply to the same thing. But in this context it refers to how much hand holding the game has to do for the player. Some games bounce you back on the track if you hit the guard rail, some alters the road conditions to favor the player, some makes you stall if your clutch timing doesn't match the car.

Test Drive Unlimited vs NFS:Most Wanted. I may not be hard core but even i can feel the difference between certain driving games on my g25. The first time I drove a car was in driving school and I already knew how to handle a stick shift and manage the rpms.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8beiRg7HRZ8
 
I believe he was referring to improving your response time and I actually agree. My brain seems to "run" better after gaming for a few days versus taking a week off! :p
 
rand4505 said:
Stopped reading when he mentioned tax returns.
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Didn't bother reading once I found it to be on a gawker site...

But back to the discussion. Of course virtual training will help out with the real deal. Not as well, but it is far more accessible. However I wouldn't use GTA as an example of a driving simulator, but it is closer to how the traffic is where I live. Also a game like Gran Turismo would make you think you are too invincible for real driving.

The ironic part of this is that I can't even make a proper turn in a racing game but am a decent driver in real life. Games lack the proper force feedback and feeling that you are moving through space to simulate real in-car movements.
 
westrock2000 said:
Didn't Top Gear test this at some point? Was it Leguna Seca that has the infamous negative G turn?
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Yes, and had Jeremy Clarkson drove the same way he did in the PS3 version of the track on the actual track, an accident is actually likely to happen.
 
Real racing obviously has a lot more to it than sim racing and you can't just drive like you would in a sim in real life or you would probably crap you pants right before you kill yourself.

But, I have definitely noticed that fast racers in real life do tend to be pretty good at sims as well. One guy I know who won state level gokart championships also played rfactor and he was so good at it you almost felt he was cheating. Also, on the FSAE racing team I was on the guys who were the best drivers on the team also tended to be the ones who spent ages in the simulator we set up to practice and got really good at it (since we need a handful of drivers for competition, we go through the whole team and try and pick the best).

That said, I think a day at the track is probably more useful to building skill than a week in a simulator... except a day at the track is significantly more expensive than a week in a simulator :p
 
the only thing I got from the article is he needs to get a gamer wife like I have

the only time she biatches about gaming is when she cant play.. LOL
 
It is quite obvious that using simulators to train will improve your driving skills. Haven't airlines done this for decades to train their crews?
 
iRacing is the shit. Formula 1 drivers use it as a simulator, as well as Nascar drivers. It's as realistic to real life driving as is possible. They map out real world tracks right down to the location of every crack, slick and tree in the area. Hell i learned to drive a manual transmission like a pro long before i even bought my first 5 speed.

Yeah its a full on simulator, but damn it fun and the closest thing you can get to the real world, only with less dying and insurance payments.
 
Zepher said:
Whats the difference between a simulator and a game?
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A simulator emphasizes an experience as close to reality as possible above all other considerations. A game on the other hand implies its merely created for entertainment value, and realism is optional.
 
sviola said:
It is quite obvious that using simulators to train will improve your driving skills. Haven't airlines done this for decades to train their crews?
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As has NASA and the military, from planes to tanks.

Simulation will always remain inferior to real experience, but its a great first step since its safe and cost effective.
 
The first time I drove in the snow I noticed that all my time with need for speed was paying off when I performed a perfect power slide around an icy corner. It only works on rear wheel drive though, front wheel drive is a different sort of control in the snow.
 
Mario Kart made me into the driver I am today. It was a necessary educational experience I need to drive in Chicago.
 
LOL @ the diss on "GT". And even though I'll vote for him in Nov., LOL @ the swipe the guy took at Romney.
 
I completely agree.. especially with games like GT and Forza. If anything, it sort of conditions you on turn approaches and keeping the tightest lines possible.
 
westrock2000 said:
Didn't Top Gear test this at some point? Was it Leguna Seca that has the infamous negative G turn?
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No they proved that some video games are inaccurate and the same exact car in real life couldn't get around Laguna Seca under 1.50, partly because the track wasn't entirely accurate, and the car physics weren't entirely real (personally I think that is still an issue with the console racers) in GT4, mind you Clarkson could get the diesel Jag around Nurburgring under 10 minutes, but Sabina Schmidt took almost a minute off that time because she knows the track and has driven in the 24 hour event.

I'm all for serious sim racers like GTR, Rfactor, and iRacing, but the only thing going for the console racers is GT5's annual GT Academy...haven't seen anything like that offered by Microsoft or Forza.
 
I used to think that I'm the best kid driver around when I mastered Gran Turismo 1 & 2.

Then I bought the PC game FIA GT Racing... changed my driving perception forever.

*hint*a500-hpcarisawheelspinnightmareevenwithracingtires* :D
 
One bad thing about simulators is that even the best ones can reinforce REALLY bad habbits.

For example, we had a really expensive golfing simulator with multiple projectors that wrapped around you, speed sensors, the works and you of course used real golf balls and quality clubs etc in a virtual driving range.

Problem was that it was not very good at detecting ball spin.

So since I worked there, I got to use the machine afterhours for free, so would spend an hour before opening and an hour after closing with buddies taking turns on it. I had such a fantastically powerful drive after several months of training, and thought I was a pro. I go out to the real golfing range finally, only to find out that I have a really consistent but massive slice to my swing, and its really hard to UNLEARN something you've practiced over and over so much.
 
I used iRacing to familiarize myself with Laguna Seca prior to my first time running there. While no simulation is equivalent to the real thing, it was an excellent way to learn the track that allowed me to get up to full speed far quicker when the real day came.

Plus the track modeling is better than GT -- my understanding is that the red concrete blocks inside the apexes have no effect on the car in GT, but in iRacing they make a huge difference when you hit them. Important to learn because when you hit them in real life you are likely going to bend a wheel (or worse...) :eek:
 
Was this study sponsored by Steam? If so, impeccable timing for their Summer Sale. :p
 
Also, I grew up on Ridge Racer, Burn out, need for speed, and Gran turismo. Honeslty driving games should be used in schools to teach driving. I drive fast but not insanely and stupidly. gotta stay safe.
 
westrock2000 said:
I don't want to link any one specific page because I don't want to imply that any view is right or wrong.

But just google Barry Soetoro
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Thanks. I looked it up. First several results were Snopes article discussing foreign financial aid registration which he filled out - which proved to be false. Interesting.

I was thinking he was talking about Barry Bonds because that's the only celebrity Barry I know.
 
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