Meta-play, metacognition, and procedural literacy

In beginning a question of education and training, it becomes important to understand what kind of education or training one is referring to. I am more willing to buy into Bogost's argument that videogames tend to teach players not only how to play that game but also how to manipulate systems. I've noticed that different types of games my friends play reflects directly on their professional and educational experience. Those who are more linear thinkers tend to play rail or curtain shooters, while people who have broader game experience tend to work in more diversified fields, such as mechanical engineering or biosystems engineering. Their experiences shape how capable they are with dealing with different kinds of procedures and different experiences, as well as how they process new information into their respective orientations. Players, as Gee explains, situate themselves within the space to solve problems. (p241) I'm reminded of Ender's Game, where children are challenged with increasingly difficult games, each designed to address different thought processes to force the player to make difficult decisions to address unusual circumstances.
In much the same way, players of Grand Theft Auto are given a wide range of procedures to apply to solving the problems in the game. While most (okay, all) of these procedures are highly illegal, the player is still challenged with developing new solutions within the restrictions of the game. For example, when a player runs over someone, a cop may start to chase him. The player can then try to outrun the cop, or back over the dismounted officer, or hide his car in a chop shop and pick up another one, among many other different solutions. There are different consequences for each of these solutions, but the player must decide and weigh the risks and rewards of each approach. A player can apply this same thought process in business or professional study, as Beck and Wade argue. Gamers tend to have better success because they can think more clearly about the system of appropriate responses and then apply that knowledge to the system. Someone who understands more clearly how a system works, having interacted with many different kinds of systems, can more quickly adapt to those systems. One has only to look at my resume to understand that this kind of metacognition works in gamers. I mean, who else can boast that they were debate team captain, a lobbyist, manager of a retail store, and leader of combat troops in two warzones as well as a graduate student? My ability to adapt to changing circumstances may be directly attributed to a wide variety of game experiences, from first person shooters to strategy simulators to Tetris. Ah, validation!