Outside The Box

Yet again I've learned something from my child.

Today he was playing "Mission", on Wii Play. In this game, you have a tank and your objective is to destroy the enemy tank before it destroys you. With your controller, you can move, drop bombs, and fire shots. To aim your shot, you point with the controller.

J doesn't do this. He doesn't aim his shots. Anyone who's played Wii knows that the controller pointers can be a bit finicky for an adult, never mind a four year old.

What he does instead is, using the arrow keys, maneuvers his tank around the enemy tank so that his cannon is facing the right way for him to fire (instead of moving the cannon).

He is amazingly good at this. Better than me, in fact. He can dodge shots like nobody's business, ducking back and forth, and circling around until his cannon is lined up, and then BOOM! He fires (and racks up points).

It's interesting to me, how he can completely disregard and important aspect of the game (aiming the cannon), and yet still beat the computer consistently because he is proficient enough in another area (maneuvering).

So here's my lesson: (pay attention, Jeanne ;)

Sometimes not confining yourself to a traditional approach frees you up to learn an equal or better alternative...