What video games can teach us about the game of life

Nikki Bush in conversation with Gareth Woods, a leading expert in the eSports and gaming industry who sheds an interesting light on video gaming. He is the author of a new book, Go Play Inside – what video games can teach us about the game of life. Gareth is also a fascinating case study in how to build a meaningful portfolio of experiences and multiple streams of income in a world where career security and job security are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. He is an unusual T-thinker who double majored in law and science at university, and started his working life in a law firm, drawing up contracts. He then moved to an online retailer, where he was involved in procurement. He is a standup comedian on the side, co-owned a gym with his wife for a number of years (where he was also a cross-fit trainer) and has founded two different companies that connect big brands to the burgeoning gamer community. Gareth is also marketing director for New-York-based, gaming-analytics company, Hearthsim. He is married and has a five-year-old son. For more information visit www.nikkibush.com or www.thegarethwoods.com

This conversation covers:

Some of the key life lessons Gareth has learnt from gaming
Insights from an alternative viewpoint about gaming
Is it ‘just a game’?
Learning as a result of gaming, not as a reason to play
The hours it takes to gain mastery in a video game
Control and creating order out of chaos
How games unite
Creating a space for pure fun
The array of gaming-related professions or jobs that people may get involved in beyond being a gamer
How video games mirror the changing world of work
If 10-year-old Gareth Woods had known that he would play video games and tell jokes for a living, he probably wouldn’t have wasted all those years at school and university. Really? We have a robust conversation around this statement that’s worth listening to.

“When we finish our life we want to look back and go, “Whoa! What a roller coaster ride, and I had the strength to overcome it and what I learned to get through it.”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“There is a weird counterpoint where we’re trying to allow gaming but only if they add value; as if the value is something as obtuse as that they will get better at math, their hand eye coordination will improve or their problem solving will increase. This is as opposed to asking, “Why does anything have to have a purpose? Why can’t the purpose of something fun, be that it is fun.”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“In this time, where there’s so much that we thought we were in control of (the economy, our jobs, all that sort of stuff), especially during this COVID and locked-down stage, if one turns it into a video game, one asks, “What do I actually control, and what don’t I?”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“This is accomplishable; success is inevitable. How much are you willing to persevere at something.”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“At what point do you become the person that is deflating the passions of this child?”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“In gaming and in sport, for every one thing that’s different, there are two things that are exactly the same.”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert

“Why would you have 10 specialists at a specialist-level salary, when you can have five generalists, who do 80% as good a job as any other specialists, but can do all those jobs. They can also pivot and move around, and they can bring insights.”

Gareth Woods, eSports and gaming industry expert