After watching the TEDTalk, Gaming can make a better world: Jane McGonigal changed the way in which I looked at the notion of gaming. The idea that three billion hours were spent playing video games, a number so large it is hard for me to grasp just how much that is. I’ve always had the perspective that video games are fun but that it can consume so much time that can be spent doing something more useful. My mom never let my brother and I play video games growing up because she did not want us to get addicted. With that kind of perspective on video games and the way in which Jane explained that gamers could actually change the world. She described the feeling of reality not being as good as in the game world. Being anxious or depressed in reality is something that would occur in the game world.
She then discussed the four traits that all gamers have urgent optimism, social fabric, blissful productivity, and epic meaning. With the entire four trait you have a gamer that is “super-empowered hopeful individual” that are capable of changing the virtual world but not the real world. Jane then discusses the three games she has produced to get people inspired so to begin thinking of changing the real world. After watching the TEDTalk it definitely changed the way I look at the notion of playing video games, but this idea that gaming can make a better world is also skeptical one in the sense that it depends on the video game one is playing. There are so many types of video games out there and any that one can lead a person to do things based on that. Jane mentions that playing video games allows us to escape from real world suffering but exactly how much of that escape is brought back to reality?
One of the things that kind of intrigued me when watching this discussion was the connection I was able to make with the 360 audio presentation by Ingmar Riedel-Kruse of Stanford who created a video game using living microbes. Now I agree with you in the sense that I’m not really sure how adding billions more gaming hours can potentially help solve the worlds problems. But then I realized, what if games like the ones Riedel-Kruse created were put in the context of solving a certain disease. Gamers could be presented with all of the knowledge that doctors currently know about the disease such as what works and what doesn’t work. Then, in the form of a game, they could be allowed to work together with potential live organisms to try and figure out a cure for that particular disease. I know this seems kind of farfetched but with the way technology and the gaming industry is advancing why couldn’t it be possible in years to come? Just something that I thought was interesting when I listened to these two pieces.
I agreed with most of your discussion about the pros and cons of video games. I, too, was not exposed to video games as a child because of their perceived negative physical and psychological impact. However, after watching the presentation, I came to the realization that video games are like most things in the world in that they can be used for good or for bad. For example, social media can be used to organize thousands of people in an effective protest, as seen during the Arab Spring. However, social networking can also be used in negative ways, like to anonymously bully someone or launch slanderous attacks against individuals. In the video Jane suggests that one way to use video games is to use the productivity produced in the game to affect real world social changes. Like you state, I believe this is possible in the right circumstances. I do not believe that positive social change is a byproduct of all types of video games. I also agree that the “escape” may not really be an “escape” at all. In some sense an addiction or living in an alternate universe may increase isolation and negative psychological consequences.
Dear Jessica,
I have the same concerns as you do, but your discussion makes me think deeper. McGonigal talked about the four empowered traits about gamers: urgent optimism, social fabric, blissful productivity, and epic meaning. What if gamers cannot go back to reality or they treat the gaming life more importantly? There are a lot of important tangible assets we have in our real life: family, friends and career. I have mentioned in my discussion about my cousins who is addicted into games, careless about his family and hurt his own health. All the four empowered traits about gamers are great, but how to bring those four traits into our gamers’ life is the biggest question I have. As the technology develops fully, once the virtual reality become common for everyone, gamers might be the real life savers. However, I do not think now it is the right time for gamers to increase their game hours. And it will lead me to think McGonigal’s speech will give gamers an excuse for playing more games, at least for my brother it will be the best excuse for him. One more question I have is gamers use games to escape the real life; will the game also bring them back to the real life? My suggestion is playing more games only if you are professional gamers or when games are worth to play, not only for fun or escaping from real life for now. In the future, when we develop more virtual reality games, it will be the right time for playing more game since it will solve more real life problems.
You bring up very interesting points. It is hard to say if a gamer is accustomed to being in the virtual world produced by the video game it is difficult to say wether or not they are capable of being in reality. I too have a cousin who used to play video games all the time. Anytime I saw him he was playing video games and it almost became an addiction for him. He is a high school drop out and a young dad, it is hard for me to blame him playing video games as a prime reason for his choices but like you mention was he able to be present in reality after being part of the virtual life. I do still agree though with some of the ideas that Jane presented in gamers being able to change the world. Just like anything in life if hard work and determination are applied any goal can be achieved. If gamers are capable of going back and forth to virtual and real life there should be no reason for any real world problems to be capable of being solved due to the ability of working with people from all across the world collaborating on an idea. I could see this occurring sometime in the future.
In my opinion, it is really negative way that people try to escape the real world and go to play video games. I think it doesn’t work because we still live in the real world. I think video games is a good way to let people relax from the hard work, but it may not good to spend too much time on it, just like you said, it will make people get addicted. I agree with Jane McGonigal said, play games can help to solve some social, but it is a really expensive way because it will make people spend a lot of time which can make people do a lot of more useful things and it will also create some other social problems. When people play games, they just use a litter of time to solve some social problem with unintentional. Also when people spend much time on video games, it will make some other social. The ability of communication of people will reduce, so that people will not communicate will people on the real world because they do not know how to talk with people but just want to stay at the game world. Also since people spend a lot of time on games, they cannot take a good care of their study and their grade will be lower. Before, we usually think that playing games is one kind of brainstorming, it will make people smart, but if people spend long time on games, it will change and their mind will be closed, and some of them cannot answer the same level problem which they can easy to get answer before. So I think we should not spend a lot of time on playing games, but just let it as one of entertainments.