Sucking at videogames.

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I love playing video games (mostly from the SNES era, though I've also played a lot games on later consoles), but I'm absolutely horrible at them. I think it's unrelated to autism (I've met other autistics who are aces at gaming), but I can see how you would think that autism could factor into it.

I do suck, though I love them; of course, in genre like RPG I suck much less.

The one time I played GFA Vice City thats all I did, I used to play Interstate 76 for hours on end never actually playing or understanding the game. I would just drive around zoned out in a gold 70' Chevelle SS sometimes with a cannon on the roof blowing up gas stations and things while listening to awesome 70's music. This may have been a sub for stimming at dads house.


I agree, unless you have a motor skills issue from asperger that effects it, like my inabillity to use wireless motion controls like those found in Wii and meny modern systems. I beleave one of the reasons aspies tend to do so good at them and meny NT's also is for some thats all they do in a day. I haven't raced online in almost 3 years and my issue then was not spending enough on equipment and not having enough time to practice enough. Lets be honest if your an aspie my age and lower(or any age for that matter since the first systems came out in the 70's) with no friends theres a good chance your a gamer, I used to do this too when I was younger.

I have been a huge PC gamer since I purchased my first PC back in 97, as to whether or not I am any good at games, well thats debatable, but I love good quality graphics, and I love tinkering with computers, I was so dissatisfied with my first computer that I built my second one and all since. Right now I mostly play Star Trek Online FTP but my son also got me into Global Agenda, I played WoW for years, and Star Wars Galaxies was my first MMO experience, I've been hooked ever since, I hope to one day be able to plug my brain directly in a simulation, who knows perhaps technology will advance to the point that we will be able to download our consciousness into a computer simulation, other wise I plan on gaming until the day I die.

An Aspie with better things to do. I think one of the worst stereotypes is that Aspies should be good at video games. Now knowing that I am an Aspie, I finally have better understanding of how I learn. Aspie's are able to develop an unatural focus on specific subjects; this is what allows us to excel at say, Psychics but suck at Chemistry, or Paint amazing art (focusing on every tiny detail) but suck at Calculus. Basically we excel at the things that interest us the most. For us to do really well however we have to be focused on a specific item. Remember that Aspies' aren't broken; we have may NT traits; there are different levels of the Spectrum when it comes to Asperger's and as such HFA and Asperger's are likely just one and the same as some Aspies clearly do have additional disabilities that fall in like with HFA while some HFA individuals have trait that fall in line with Asperger's. Its because of the way we measure Aspergers and HFA that has caused this confusion. The truth is it's all Autism.

Getting back on track like our fully NT counterparts (I even question if a pure NT truly exist); when they relax, they often suck at games too and use it more as a leisurely activity. The truth is for many of us we use it as leisure. The last game I played was Alan Wake; I didn't play it to have the highest score on Xbox live; I played it because of the story and the experience. Aspie's and our HFA friends are people just like everyone else.

When i was younger i was quite good in playing car racing and sports video games but lost interest when i turned 14 years old.

Here are some AS-related traits that can impact some video games:

* social perspective-taking (player-versus-player or cooperative games)
* fine motor coordination (games with complex button pushes or many different buttons)
* spatial skills (first versus third person mode, navigating ingame maps, platforming)
* processing speed (games with rapid events requiring instant reaction)
* organizational skills (games with inventory management, ingame money that needs to be saved up for rewards, or multiplayer activities requiring scheduling - eg 'raid Black Temple on Tuesday night')

Alternatively, some AS related traits can also make you better at some video games:

* intense interests, fewer other activities (for a lot of video games, the best predictor of how good you'll be is how much time you've spent playing)
* spatial skills (these can be either a strength or a weakness in AS)
* greater reliance on verbal versus nonverbal communication (a lot of NTs seem to make the mistake of expecting others to read them better online than they actually can)
* memorization skills (learning little facts about the game that turn out later to be beneficial, such as which mobs drop a rare item)
* good computer skills (especially relevant for games which allow 3rd party mods)

AS affects a lot of different areas. Why would it be so surprising that it affects gaming as well?

So what would make an NT good/bad at videogames then?

Im quite good at first person shooter games, its probably my main genre, but my favorite game series ever is an aerial combat series. (Ace Combat for those who have played it.)

I remember when the original Playstation was released I thought that the graphics looked neat, and I went to a store and picked up a controller and tried to control one of the characters. I think the game was Tomb Raider. I was so bad at even walking that I gave up after a few minutes. That is what I generally do when I try to play a video game: try to play it for a few minutes and then give up.

I did think it was funny how much I kept dying or hurting myself.

I can play games like Tetris or chess. They don't require as much coordination.