TED, Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world.

In this TED presentation, Jane (2010)discussed her beliefs of how video games and gamers can change the real world through playing. I found Jane(2010) McGonigal's presentation very inspirational and encouraged me to look at games with a broader perspective. Being a gamer myself, I understood a lot of the information Jane(2010) shared about how video games MAKE players FEEL and how they develop key skills that can be applied to real life situations.

Jane(2010) mentioned the average amount of hours players devoted to online games were around 3 billion a week, which naturally would seem more like a problem than something to praise. But to her, she believes that figure needs to increase within the next decade if the world is to see a better approach to real life dilemmas "If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity, I believe that we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week, by the end of the next decade(Jane 2010)"

As previously mentioned, being a gamer myself I could relate to a lot of the information that was being said. Being a part of virtual world where you are your own hero, you have roles, jobs and goals that are challenging but very rewarding. You are consistently faced with problems and issue that only you, the player can resolve, but a game never gives you that sense of feeling unaccomplished, even if you think a task isn't going so well, there is no real failure within video games. You can always restart a mission and work yourself harder to achieve your goal. This sort of ethic is seen in most video games. Something can be difficult, challenging and complicated, but you're always encouraged to try harder and be determined to get that sense of accomplishment or reward. Aside from the challenging goals aspect, video games are a thriving social network which link players together in order to achieve. Either working as a team or playing against each other, the commitment to playing an online game creates a strong bond of trust, that is evident throughout game play. Jane(2010) states "If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity, I believe that we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week, by the end of the next decade(Jane 2010)"

Jane(2010) mentions these qualities in into 4 forms:

. Urgent Optimism - Extreme self motivation, where the player is encouraged to reach a goal in hopes they will become successful and earn a reward.

. Social Fabric - The social connection between players built on trust. Devoting time to one another and aiding each other in their own objectives. Creating a huge social network where players can depend on one another for success.

. Blissful Productivity - Gamers are determined as human beings to work hard, have been given the right work for them. It is why so many players spend hours a week playing online games, to work hard and achieve.

. Epic Meaning - Giving the online game deeper context, explanation of events and the virtual world makes the experience richer for the player. Games with a definitive, deeply structured world are able to fully immerse the player. Games such as World of War Craft(1994), Maplestory(2002) and many others. Every mission, activity, event, character and environment all contribute critically to the game world.
(Jane 2010)

Within a video game, you are the hero, you are your own contribution to the game. With limitless possibility, goals and rewards, the entire virtual world is yours to make what you want of it. Making new friends and working together, becoming wealthy or famous. Partake in unique jobs catered to your character. Everything becomes personal for the player, their own individual world in which they can actively be an important part of. With this mind set of many gamers, the contribution to physically act in reality becomes discarded. Reality is difficult and is not as rewarding or generates as much positive feedback as video games. It is obvious how a gamer would prefer to be engaged within video games more so than reality.

Jane's(2010) solution to this is to make video games apply ways in which player's are encouraged or persuaded to use their virtual skills in real like scenarios. She looked into the historical references that showed how the application of games encouraged people to be proactive in reality. 2,500 years ago in Greek history, the Kingdom of Lydia suffered from a great famine. The people were starving, depressed and eager to find a solution to their problem. That is when Herodotus, came up with the idea to make a dice based game that would distract people from being hungry and make them happier. After significant time had passed, the famine still remained, but the overall moral of the people was better and encouraged them to go on a journey to find another land capable of feeding them. From this Jane(2010) believes that games can actively affect how people react in reality, if they're made in a way that in game skills can be utilized in real life.

Jane(2010) as a game designer produced some examples of how video games can be designed specifically to captivate a player in a world where they can not only play, but also implement their skills in reality by learning. It was interesting to see how she made games based around real life issues and how she invited players to be part of a community that could solve those problems. Being able to make videos, blogs and social with others on how to come together to solve problems, whilst still feeling achieved and rewarded. One website 'Who We Are: Institute For The Future(IFTF 2010)' demonstrates the information from players and how they make solutions to the situations within the game. It is a very socially connected game and shows a lot of individuality with players/contributors. 

Overall I agree with Jane(2010) on the prospect of making people be involved with games in the next decade. Games are the strongest way to encourage people to do something, they can be very persuasive when put into the correct context. This should be implemented within games so people can develop their virtual skills in real life problem solving.

Bibliography: 

. TED (2010) Gaming can make a better world [Internet] available at <http://www.ted.com/talk/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html>. Accessed May 2012

. IFTF (2010) Who We Are Institute For the Future [Internet] available at <http://www.iftf.org/people/iftf>. Accessed May 2012

. TEDTalksDirector, (2010) Jane McGonigal Gaming can make a better world . [YouTube video] Available at <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM> Accessed May 2012