You read correctly, gaming can be
used as a tool to save this planet. At least that is what game developer Jane
McGonigal believes. In a fascinating TED.com
presentation she basically says that we, as the people of planet Earth, need to
play more video games in order to save it. If you’re a gamer, you’re probably
saying to yourself, “What an awesome idea!” If you’re not, then you’re probably
thinking where did this nut-job come from? As I was watching her presentation,
I found myself on both sides of the gamut. The gamer in me loved her ideas,
whereas the rational being in me was more skeptical. After watching the entire video
and pondering on what she had said, I now think Jane McGonigal is a genius.
First and foremost, I encourage
every reader to watch the video before continuing with the rest of this post.
If not for anything else, she shares an interesting perspective worth hearing.
She tackles the psychology behind gamers as they strive to achieve, what she
calls, an ‘Epic Win’. If people in today’s society took on issues with the same
mentality gamers take on defeating bosses or difficult levels, then she feels
problems in our world could be solved faster. While promoting her book Reality
is Broken, on The
Colbert Report, she dispels critics that say gaming is a waste of time.
Through her research she believes that gaming is actually one of the most
productive things a person can do. She also brings up in both videos, that
gaming brings out our best qualities. While playing games, we become resilient,
optimistic and motivated individuals. Qualities that later have an effect on
our real lives even. The key is tapping into these qualities through gaming, in
order to help solve world problems.
In her TED presentation she brings
up Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour theory of success. The theory basically
states that if anyone can achieve 10,000 hours of study and practice in anything, then they could be and should be considered masters in their respective studies. McGonigal gives us a
statistic from a Carnegie Mellon University study, that the average gamer by the age of
21 has played for about 10,000 hours. With both, this statistic and Gladwell’s
theory in mind, she asks exactly what are gamers becoming masters of? McGonigal believes
gamers are becoming masters of those qualities we spoke about above and that they all will eventually add up to one thing. That one thing she believes to be is that, “Gamers are super-empowered hopeful
individuals…people who believe they are individually capable of changing the
world.” A world she believes can be changed through increased gaming.
The gamer in me hopes that she is
one hundred and ten percent right. This perspective that she has given that gaming
can and should play within our culture and society, is a breath of fresh air. I
have come across countless discussions and narratives on the negative effects of gaming in general, that
to see a positive, psychological view of gaming and gamers for once is amazing.
If anything, she has given game developers a new task and arena to venture
into. Making games both entertaining and socially applicable is a market that
would be interesting to keep an eye on and ultimately watch grow into a weapon for saving this world.
To learn more about Jane McGonigal, as I encourage you all to
do, click on her name to be taken to her personal website. There you’ll find
links to her book, games, and other videos for you to watch. To watch more
presentation like hers and others of completely different topics, visit Ted.com and just browse through their
collection. For you’ll never know what new and interesting ideas you’ll find out
there.
