I can’t remember which button I used to jump and which to hit, but I know for a fact that pressing the A button at the start of the game in Streets of Rage is a terrible idea. Viewing the mythical Sega Megadrive game teleports my memory automatically to that knowledge even though I haven’t played it for decades.
Some of you may have felt identified with that situation and find yourself in the same point where I was a few days ago: “Yes but why?“?Why can I remember how to play a video game Even though it’s been years since I last played it?
automatic memories
Those who drive a vehicle on a daily basis at some point in their lives will have reached their destination without really knowing how they got there. You’ve done it by maintaining a controlled speed, following the correct path and without incident, but everything involved in the process, from mastering the direction of the vehicle to avoiding obstacles, seems to have gone completely unnoticed.
This, which is actually related to something called white line fever – another topic for another day – is in line with how the brain takes certain actions to the point of automate processes without us having to stop to analyze what we should do next.
Despite the fact that there are games or moments that demand a little more attention – the thing about them coming to talk to you and being able to have a fluid conversation while you are playing Call of Duty is a good example – a large part of the actions are so internalized that you could pay attention what is said in a podcast while you play without too much trouble.
To understand how all these processes work and understand why we remember certain actions of a game even if it’s been a long time since we took the controls, it’s time to approach how memory works and memories that a priori should not be there are stored for a long time.
how memory works
The first thing we should know is that the brain will store everything that is important to it. But how do you decide what is important and what is not? The key is in the Hippocampus, the brain police that is responsible for analyzing and classifying everything that comes to you through the senses such as sight or touch, but also the emotions and reactions caused by these stimuli.
This information is stored as something called sensory memory, which in Christian would be the short-term memory of your day to day. For example, if you turn your head and see the face of a stranger, his features will remain in your memory for several seconds or minutes waiting to see if that information is correct. useful or disposable.
In the event that there is an impact in relation to that image, the brain will store the information in a drawer called short-term memory pending the next analysis. Is it related to something we already have saved? Is the impact relevant enough? Can it help me in the future?
If the answer is yes, then said information is stored as long term memorycreating the relevant connections so that the next time we have to analyze something we have a reference to hold on to.
Why do we remember video game controls?
And you will say, okay, this is all very well, but I don’t think knowing how to do an Ollie in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is something that has to do with my memories, has been excessively shocking or can help me in the future, right? You are not wrong.
To clear up the X that this mystery implies, we have to approach what is known as implicit procedural memory, a type of memory intended to store procedures automatically so that the brain process of recognizing a situation and acting accordingly is not only done as quickly as possible, but also on an unconscious level.
How do we reach that level of memory? Based attention and, more importantly, of repetition. The more repetitions, the more recorded a process remains and the more automatic and unconscious it can become.
If you’re trying to remember how many times you pressed X to Ollie or the number of times you accidentally pressed A in street of rageyou will begin to understand where the shots go.
Let us add there visual stimuli that demand attentionin addition to causing an impact through the emotionsespecially in a young mind, and we already have the key ingredients for a perfect breeding ground capable of explaining why we remember video game controls even if the years go by.
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