Reality is Broken: Why Games Make us Better and How They Can Change the World
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- Create Date：2021-04-22 10:53:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jane McGonigal
- ISBN：0143120611
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Summary
A visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness。 With 174 million gamers in the United States alone， we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation。 But why， Jane McGonigal asks， should games be used for escapist entertainment alone？ In this groundbreaking book， she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change-and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business， education， and nonprofit worlds。 Written for gamers and non-gamers alike， Reality Is Broken shows that the future will belong to those who can understand， design， and play games。
Reviews
Calvin Olsen
，
Some great ideas floating through this book。 Overlong， though。 My goodness。
SamScotMosher
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Game design is cool！ McGonigal does a great job of applying gaming’s strengths to real-life issues， and her arguments have caused me to look at games and my relationships differently。 However， the book is dated （even after only a decade）， optimistic to a fault， and boring in its first third for anyone familiar with gaming。 Still an enlightening read！
Chris Boutté
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I've been a gamer since I was a kid in the 80s， and now I'm a gaming father。 I think video games get a bad reputation， so I really enjoy books that explaining how games can be beneficial。 I read Jane McGonigal's newer book SuperBetter first and absolutely loved it。 This book was just as good and shows how gamifying different aspects of life brings people together， helps people at work and can even help save the planet。 I really enjoyed a story in here about how The Guardian gamified crowdsourcin I've been a gamer since I was a kid in the 80s， and now I'm a gaming father。 I think video games get a bad reputation， so I really enjoy books that explaining how games can be beneficial。 I read Jane McGonigal's newer book SuperBetter first and absolutely loved it。 This book was just as good and shows how gamifying different aspects of life brings people together， helps people at work and can even help save the planet。 I really enjoyed a story in here about how The Guardian gamified crowdsourcing to get people to help them comb through a ton of date。 My only critique is a small one， and it's that I wish there was an updated version of this book because there are all sorts of new apps and games as well as new studies。 。。。more
CE Lee
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Good at the start but became too long and too many case study examples towards the end
Timothy White
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Fantastic book， would recommend and will re-read。 Tempted to purchase the book to own so that I can re-read occasionally。 The only criticism that I have is that I wish that McGonigal would release a 2nd edition with updates as the 10 year old book is starting to seem dated。
Michelle
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Highly recommend！ Great way to think about re-calibrating engagement。
Janne Heinonen
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Ei enää ihan tuore， mutta toimii pääpiirteissään edelleen。 Hyvä alkuosa， lopussa sen sijaan puuduttavan pitkiä esimerkkejä peleistä， jotka ovat oikeastaan enemmänkin idealistisia joukkoistushaasteita kuin pelejä perinteisessä mielessä。 Onneksi lopussa oli vielä kertausluku， koska aineisto oli kuitenkin kokonaisuudessaan laajahko ja myös teesejä pelien voimasta oli useita。 3。5/5
Yangzi Jiang
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How i play video game （what makes me tick） is a snapshot of how i live my life
Laura
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A fundamental book to my undergrad and graduate thesis。
Neil Pasricha
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This book changed my view of video games。 I admit I was stuck thinking of gamers as slack-jawed teens sitting on stained couches in dark basements amongst piles of Ho Ho wrappers and Slurpee cups。 Play more video games？ No！ Get outside！ Run around！ That’s what I’m preaching。 Well， this book gave me a splash of cold water and nudged my parenting philosophy with my young children from “No video games！” to “Let me help you pick a good video game and play it with you！” Jane says some markers of heal This book changed my view of video games。 I admit I was stuck thinking of gamers as slack-jawed teens sitting on stained couches in dark basements amongst piles of Ho Ho wrappers and Slurpee cups。 Play more video games？ No！ Get outside！ Run around！ That’s what I’m preaching。 Well， this book gave me a splash of cold water and nudged my parenting philosophy with my young children from “No video games！” to “Let me help you pick a good video game and play it with you！” Jane says some markers of healthy video game use include constantly picking new games （to invite challenge and the learned resilience involved in figuring it out）， explaining how to play it to somebody else afterwards （to provoke learning and teaching and understanding）， and， finally， inviting a discussion on what the game can help us do better in real life （to avoid replacing reality with games – but rather enhancing it）。 While I won’t abandon my beliefs that we all suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder， I have felt my arguments against video games wilt in the face of this well-researched tour de force。 Jane foresees games helping us feel thrilled to start our days， increasing career satisfaction， helping the elderly feel socially connected， and tackling global-scale problems like climate change and poverty。 。。。more
Patrick Laverty
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This book inspired me to want to play Tap Tap Revenge again， which led to me discovering a BTS specific Tap Tap Revenge game on the App Store。 Some of my followers will know exactly how excited I am about this。 Link in the comments。
Florin Pitea
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Beautiful。 Informative。 Awe-inspiring。 Highly recommened。
Lachlan Jacob
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I really enjoyed the ideas in this book。 It has helped me gain new respect for video games， and also frames a lot of the problems we face today in a different light。 Though I found it went perhaps a little too long。 Also by the time I read it， it was a little out of date。
N9erz
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Quite a good and interesting start！Really good points of view， interessting perspectives and ideas。But unfortunately the second half was quite a drag going kind of away from "typical" （video）games into new and also creative aspects but it just felt like a commercial for the different special games the author created。 Quite a good and interesting start！Really good points of view， interessting perspectives and ideas。But unfortunately the second half was quite a drag going kind of away from "typical" （video）games into new and also creative aspects but it just felt like a commercial for the different special games the author created。 。。。more
Wenjia
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Very eye-opening way of viewing game （if not slightly overgeneralizing the term a bit towards the end there）。 Case studies are very compelling and I find myself reviewing many of them， trying to utilize them to better my own life， during a pandemic。 Definitely a good read and many food for thought to be savored。For a non-fiction， the writing is not as dry as some of the other books I've read。 Once we get into case studies of games， I find myself more engaged。 Author certainly knows how to end on Very eye-opening way of viewing game （if not slightly overgeneralizing the term a bit towards the end there）。 Case studies are very compelling and I find myself reviewing many of them， trying to utilize them to better my own life， during a pandemic。 Definitely a good read and many food for thought to be savored。For a non-fiction， the writing is not as dry as some of the other books I've read。 Once we get into case studies of games， I find myself more engaged。 Author certainly knows how to end on， to use her own word， an "awe-inspiring" note。 The conclusion is definitely the "epic win" of this book and I'm sure the chapter I will revisit in the future。 。。。more
NCHS Library
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From Follett: A visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness。With 174 million gamers in the United States alone， we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation。 But why， Jane McGonigal asks， should games be used for escapist entertainment alone？ In this groundbreaking book， she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global From Follett: A visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness。With 174 million gamers in the United States alone， we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation。 But why， Jane McGonigal asks， should games be used for escapist entertainment alone？ In this groundbreaking book， she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change-and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business， education， and nonprofit worlds。 Written for gamers and non-gamers alike， Reality Is Broken shows that the future will belong to those who can understand， design， and play games。 。。。more
Geovanny Gavilanes
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McGonigal presenta 14 "mejoras" a la realidad por medio de ejemplos de juegos de "realidad alternativa"， muchos de ellos ya quedan desfasados （ya que el libro es de 2010）， pero otros se potencian luego de diez años de evolución del videojuego。 Lectura para tomar perspectiva sobre la influencia del juego a nivel social， global y humano。 McGonigal presenta 14 "mejoras" a la realidad por medio de ejemplos de juegos de "realidad alternativa"， muchos de ellos ya quedan desfasados （ya que el libro es de 2010）， pero otros se potencian luego de diez años de evolución del videojuego。 Lectura para tomar perspectiva sobre la influencia del juego a nivel social， global y humano。 。。。more
Vaughan
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Gamification was a huge topic a few years back。 There is less talk now but far more visible and successful real world instances。 The book mostly ages well （although some of the online references no longer exist）， and I'm sure that there are better examples that could be included in a future update。Was a hard book for me to pick up and read end-to-end。 Kept nibbling through this。 There were interesting nuggets， but no real drive or hook that caught me and dragged me back to finish it。 In the end Gamification was a huge topic a few years back。 There is less talk now but far more visible and successful real world instances。 The book mostly ages well （although some of the online references no longer exist）， and I'm sure that there are better examples that could be included in a future update。Was a hard book for me to pick up and read end-to-end。 Kept nibbling through this。 There were interesting nuggets， but no real drive or hook that caught me and dragged me back to finish it。 In the end I forced myself to so I could return the book to the owner （thanks Woz）。I don't dispute a lot of what the book says。。。 but I don't think saying it （or reading it） will really enrich many lives either。 Some key take-aways* It's easier to change minds than behaviours-* People often abandon theories when they discover the difficuly of putting them into practice* The one easy step to unhappiness - do nothing* Mechanics of a good reward and incentive scheme-* Players are invested in their world and character-* Players have long term goals-* Players can't grief or exploit the scheme-* Content are rewards in and if themselves* Collaboration = Co-operating + co-creating + co-ordinating* Intrinsic rewards-* satisfying work-* experience （or hope） of success-* Social connection-* Meaning* SEHI = Super Empowered Hopeful Individual* Superstruct: To build upon/over a foundation 。。。more
Garrett
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Reality is Broken refers to how the world we live in is not designed to provide us the kinds of rewards that lead to happier lives。 McGonigal makes a case for how game designers got it right and that introducing gaming mechanics into the real world would make it a better place for us all。 Filled with examples， case studies， and citations McGonigal describes a world where games motivate us to compliment strangers， do our chores， and connect us with more people than we might otherwise。Full review Reality is Broken refers to how the world we live in is not designed to provide us the kinds of rewards that lead to happier lives。 McGonigal makes a case for how game designers got it right and that introducing gaming mechanics into the real world would make it a better place for us all。 Filled with examples， case studies， and citations McGonigal describes a world where games motivate us to compliment strangers， do our chores， and connect us with more people than we might otherwise。Full review @ http://bit。ly/3st1Rz9 。。。more
Joan Leung
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“A game is an opportunity to focus our energy， with relentless optimism， at something we're good at （or getting better at） and enjoy。 In other words， gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression。” -- Jane McGonigalI am not a gamer。 But I am curious about the relationship between games and happiness。 So I start to read this book: Reality is Broken， Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World。 In this groundbreaking book， Jane McGonigal shows how we can leverage the power “A game is an opportunity to focus our energy， with relentless optimism， at something we're good at （or getting better at） and enjoy。 In other words， gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression。” -- Jane McGonigalI am not a gamer。 But I am curious about the relationship between games and happiness。 So I start to read this book: Reality is Broken， Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World。 In this groundbreaking book， Jane McGonigal shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world – from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change – and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business， education， and nonprofit worlds。 Written for gamers and non-gamers alike， Reality is Broken shows that the future will belong to those who can understand， design and play games。Here are 3 lessons to help you mend reality:Lesson 1: We can get far more motivation and rewards from games than we ever could from real life。Games reward and motivate us far more than real life does。 You can turn even the most boring housework/study/difficulty times （escape real life） into a great time through gaming。 Video games allow us to create social bonds and connect with others at a level some of us can’t reach in real life。 They give us a sense of excitement and accomplishment， which motivates us far more than other rewards。 So yes， there’s real value to be gained from playing video games！Lesson 2: You can turn your boring life into an awesome experience by gamifying it。On a scale of 0 to 10， how excited do you get about cleaning the bathroom， vacuuming or buying groceries？ For me， I’d say I’m at -4 😀 Chores are a typical example of something in your life that isn’t really hard or actively getting you down – they’re just boring and thus make life feel dull。But as you just saw above， games replace this dullness with excitement， so why not turn the boring to-dos in your life into games？Jane also didn’t like doing housework， but when she discovered Chore Wars， the game was on。 This game lets you create a character and collect points for washing your dishes， making dinner or ironing your clothes。 Jane and her husband got so competitive that Jane even considered hiding the toilet brush， just to finish first and net the points！Of course， housework is just the start。 You can really turn anything into a game and doing so often makes your life a lot easier。Lesson 3: Long-time gamers develop a set of seriously valuable skills that they can use in the real world。The most prominent of those skills is probably collaboration。 Many games require the players to work together， form teams， communicate， set rules and abide by them and coordinate to reach a meaningful goal。To pull all of this off， gamers become more extroverted and willing to help online than they would be in real life。 Over time they develop a good “people sense” and can easily tell who’s a good partner and who’s not。 Lastly， long-time gamers have something called emergensight， which is the ability to navigate complex environments， read signals fast and adapt to change very quickly。The world has become a pretty fast-paced place， so it seems like gaming is actually a great preparation for real life。 What do you think？ 。。。more
Addy
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The perspective this book offers is extremely relevant to how we shape the future of our society。 Video games are an irrevocable part of the present world， and not only does this answer the question of where they optimally belong， but it also has some excellent suggestions on how to improve working conditions， teaching， and especially our personal lives。It is， however， important to realize how this book might be inaccurate。 It is rather painfully obvious how overly optimistic the author is， as a The perspective this book offers is extremely relevant to how we shape the future of our society。 Video games are an irrevocable part of the present world， and not only does this answer the question of where they optimally belong， but it also has some excellent suggestions on how to improve working conditions， teaching， and especially our personal lives。It is， however， important to realize how this book might be inaccurate。 It is rather painfully obvious how overly optimistic the author is， as are most people promoting an idea they are in love with。 Gamifying real life， for example， is not a viable solution to education。 She discusses a school where the entire thing is set up like an RPG with quests， levels， and other pretend things。 The issue with schools being set up like this is that education is meant to prepare us for real life， and many difficult jobs， such as those that require a network engineer to wake up at 2 in the morning and fix the same problem that was supposed to be fixed last week， or for the past 4 weeks， are best prepared for by teaching people to cope with the natural difficulty of reality， rather than making everything more exciting and rewarding than it actually is in it's natural state。 In short， there is too much optimism for making the world a video game， and not enough acknowledgement of the fact that sometimes the best way to deal with a problem is to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get to work。Furthermore， there's an idea that this book represents that I disagree with。 That is the idea， or possible misinterpretation of the idea， that video games should be changed from being made for fun and escapism to being made to change people's opinions。 I think the positive form of her message from this book is that we can make games that make the world a better place。 The negative interpretation is that we should make all of our games to be propaganda。 The video game industry， like virtually every other industry in 2020 and a few years prior， has seen a trend toward preaching leftism that changes otherwise good games into sappy virtue signals， forever to be added to the list of "Get Woke Go Broke" examples。 Making a game for the sake of fun is like making art for the sake of beauty。 It needs to happen， and nobody should be shamed for not making a political statement in their game。 。。。more
Mckinley
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Some interesting pointsFixes: tackle unnecessary obstacles， activate extreme positive emotions， do more satisfying work， find better hope of success， strengthen social connectivity， immerse in epic scale， participate wholeheartedly wherever， whenever， seek meaningful rewards for making a better effort， have more fun with strangers， invent and adopt new happiness hacks， contribute to a sustainable engagement economy， seek out more epic wins， spend ten thousand hours collaborating， develop massive Some interesting pointsFixes: tackle unnecessary obstacles， activate extreme positive emotions， do more satisfying work， find better hope of success， strengthen social connectivity， immerse in epic scale， participate wholeheartedly wherever， whenever， seek meaningful rewards for making a better effort， have more fun with strangers， invent and adopt new happiness hacks， contribute to a sustainable engagement economy， seek out more epic wins， spend ten thousand hours collaborating， develop massively multiplayer foresight 。。。more
Yiii Yi
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I feel like I've been misunderstood about games for so many years，Combined with the book， remind of me the book of Peter， in the "zero to one” said he to do Paypal not to pay for the purpose of more convenient， not for it to become a pioneer in the field of mobile Internet， his aim is more ambitious， = this is equivalent to game for players to create "initially completed a magnificent goal， even if it is super Mary save princess peach"， and Peter's grand goal is to save the people of the third w I feel like I've been misunderstood about games for so many years，Combined with the book， remind of me the book of Peter， in the "zero to one” said he to do Paypal not to pay for the purpose of more convenient， not for it to become a pioneer in the field of mobile Internet， his aim is more ambitious， = this is equivalent to game for players to create "initially completed a magnificent goal， even if it is super Mary save princess peach"， and Peter's grand goal is to save the people of the third world countries。He said he went to South America， found that people in these countries is particularly poor， again how to earn money， because their governments often inflation， a lot of money， so Peter teal says you day and night in the face of such government make inflation make into such， the common people life of pain， because again how efforts were couldn't catch up with the speed of the devaluation。Later， he went to Yale university to give a speech， and he said if we could invent something that would allow you to pay in dollars as long as you had an email address， it would help people in third world countries not to be so easily devalued。How to Recruit a team:When he got the idea out there and set up a grand vision for the students， there were more people willing to work for him and fulfill the dream together -- saving the people in the third world was more meaningful than just making money。Rules: Figurative goalsOne of the things that really impressed me about the book is that there's a big screen in the Paypal office that says the World Domination Index。 As soon as one person joins Paypal， that number will increase。 From the beginning， there are more than a dozen people， who are probably their own employees plus their relatives and friends using Paypal。 Then gradually， there are hundreds of millions of people using Paypal now。 。。。more
Nose
，
A compelling look at how the growing population of gamers worldwide could harness their skills to improve reality。 Occasionally reads like gamer propaganda， but the smart， confident prose makes it hard not to enjoy， and the author's enthusiasm is infectious。 In a time of climate dread and universal misery， it's a shiny little piece of optimistic thinking。 I liked it！ A compelling look at how the growing population of gamers worldwide could harness their skills to improve reality。 Occasionally reads like gamer propaganda， but the smart， confident prose makes it hard not to enjoy， and the author's enthusiasm is infectious。 In a time of climate dread and universal misery， it's a shiny little piece of optimistic thinking。 I liked it！ 。。。more
Dante Carlisle
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An excellent book that smoothly leads you along for 350 pages to learn how games are affecting our lives。 I wasn't sure what to expect for this particular book， but had decided to read it years ago and have finally gotten around to it。 Even after finishing， I believe I've taken a lot from this book， and I will never look at the way we play games the same。 This should be recommended reading for anyone who designs games， anyone who has a big idea， and anyone that would like to see how we can chang An excellent book that smoothly leads you along for 350 pages to learn how games are affecting our lives。 I wasn't sure what to expect for this particular book， but had decided to read it years ago and have finally gotten around to it。 Even after finishing， I believe I've taken a lot from this book， and I will never look at the way we play games the same。 This should be recommended reading for anyone who designs games， anyone who has a big idea， and anyone that would like to see how we can change the world around us。 This is a truly amazing work， and I love the ideas it presents。 。。。more
Amelia Laughlan
，
Jane McGonigal’s searingly optimistic social commentary about how game design can ‘fix’ reality is something everyone should read。 Even if you don’t agree with the points McGonigal raises， her book will shake up your perspective and revive your sense of optimism about the future。 McGonigal is a game designer， psychology researcher and future forecaster， and Reality is Broken explores the intersections of her work across these disciplines。 It is truly fascinating stuff。 The book posits that there Jane McGonigal’s searingly optimistic social commentary about how game design can ‘fix’ reality is something everyone should read。 Even if you don’t agree with the points McGonigal raises， her book will shake up your perspective and revive your sense of optimism about the future。 McGonigal is a game designer， psychology researcher and future forecaster， and Reality is Broken explores the intersections of her work across these disciplines。 It is truly fascinating stuff。 The book posits that there are many lessons from game design that can be borrowed and applied to how we design our societies， in order to make them more engaging， motivating， and increase global happiness levels。 This theory is presented as several ‘fixes’ for reality， that can be found in the world of games。 The subject matter is dense and the book overflows with examples and anecdotes。 But all this is wrapped in a clear and friendly writing style that keeps this book accessible to anyone。 You don’t need to know anything about games or game design in order to read this bookMcGonigal goes to great lengths to tie games to saving the future and her ideas are disruptive and inspiring。 The final chapter ‘Saving the Real World Together’ brings all her ideas together and makes excellent points about human potential。 For example， the idea that god games （such as Spore and Black & White） extend our imagination and enhance our ability for multi-generational problem-solving is inspiring。 And it’s true。 We prepare for the risks thrown at us by global disasters （e。g。 a pandemic） by gathering data， creating simulations and then tweaking those simulations until they output the future we want。 Just like playing a god game。 Aside from a short section in the final chapter about ‘African Ingenuity’， the book is very focused on what the members of rich， developed nations can do to use games to fix reality。 McGonigal starts to explore ideas about the developing world in the final chapter， but it would have been great to see more in this area。 Some parts of McGonigal’s discourse sit uneasily next to my experience of how social media has inflated people’s egos during the last 15 years。 In theory， providing people with a way to feel like they’re contributing to the greater good by doing very small amounts of meaningful work， such as micro-volunteering or participating in a crowdsourced knowledge project is great。 But in circles of privilege online I see large swathes of people these days who already hold an inflated sense of self-importance。 I wonder - how do we preach the importance of humility alongside instilling people with feelings that they are special and important for their microcontributions？ It’s a bit of a paradox， because （according to the psychology laid out by McGonigal） it is the fact that the work you are doing is connected to a great purpose that imbues the individual with happiness。 But where does this sit alongside humility？ I see a staggering lack of humility in today’s populace and I wonder what effect further propping up the individual’s sense of self-importance by ‘game designing’ aspects of society would do。 This is one such example of how Reality is Broken got me thinking critically about how we construct our societies。 I loved the out-of-the-box thinking that this book is full of。 I encourage everyone to expand their minds by reading it。 。。。more
camille
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This book was such an INCREDIBLE read！ I've been gaming （console and PC） since I was little， and I always wondered why I loved and enjoyed games so much。。。 well， this book helped me understand why a lot better。 It also made sure to highlight TONS of key points in how different kinds of games （not just console and PC） impact our day to day life， and how they can make our lives better。。。 whether it be with jobs， relationships， or real world problems。 The skills that games provide actually help us This book was such an INCREDIBLE read！ I've been gaming （console and PC） since I was little， and I always wondered why I loved and enjoyed games so much。。。 well， this book helped me understand why a lot better。 It also made sure to highlight TONS of key points in how different kinds of games （not just console and PC） impact our day to day life， and how they can make our lives better。。。 whether it be with jobs， relationships， or real world problems。 The skills that games provide actually help us more than I ever thought that they would。 I walked away from this book looking at games a lot differently now， and in a positive way。 I HIGHLY recommend this book for people who LOVE games， but also for the people who can't stand them either。 It'll open your minds！！！ 。。。more
Zhijing Jin
，
Usually people think that playing games is associated with negative words such as obsession， or waste of time。 Or at most gaming is just entertainment， as opposed to producing work。 However， this book transforms your way to think of games。Motivating examples: （1） Currently， people spend 3 billion hours a week playing games; an average high-schooler spends in total 10，000 hours in games， which is the same amount of time at school。 How do we make use of this tremendous human resource？ （2） We are v Usually people think that playing games is associated with negative words such as obsession， or waste of time。 Or at most gaming is just entertainment， as opposed to producing work。 However， this book transforms your way to think of games。Motivating examples: （1） Currently， people spend 3 billion hours a week playing games; an average high-schooler spends in total 10，000 hours in games， which is the same amount of time at school。 How do we make use of this tremendous human resource？ （2） We are very obsessed when playing games。 What can real life learn from game designs， such as instant reward system？ （3） For depression people， games can cure， with research-proven better outcomes than taking medicines。Disclaimer: Note that the author is driven by a vision to help the world with games。 Admittedly， games can also be a vicious hack of utilitarianism， As utilitarianism says that our goal is to maximize happiness， then some people might support a world described in the movie Matrix， where everyone's brain is connected to virtual reality， or in the movie Wall-E， where people indulged in their virtual worlds gets tremendous happiness。Takeaways:1。 [For inspiration] Games are an excellent resource。 （a） Games provide human resource， as so many people devote >=10000 hours into games， where 10000 hours is the time that people takes to really excel at something。（b） Real world systems can imitate what games are good at。 For example， the students who are happy to study at school are those who have sensed a "reward system" if they study hard。 If we want to involve more students into the joy of learning， we should design better schools， just like game worlds。 For ourselves， if we feel very un-motivated at doing something， such as finishing a report， we can design it into a game as well， giving ourselves credits and even maybe a score bar （if you know some web designs）！We can see that games make their users extremely self-motivated， which is the top-1 quality that teachers are eager to seek on students。 （Think of how much devotion gamers put into games， even when facing big challenges posed in the games。） How do we make students/employees/event participants extremely motivated as well？（c） Games make us experience life at a higher speed。 If we want to inspire game players， we can design meaningful， real-life like situations。 People can earn the life experiences of several hundred of years because they play the right games！ For example， the author Jane McGonigal has promoted games hypothesizing a world with no oil， or end-of-world situations。 After playing these games， the gamers pick up more economically friendly habits。2。 [For mental health] Games make people happier， and avoid suicide（a） Gamers get into the state of "flow，" which is close to the self-actualization need that Maslow proposes。（b） When gamers achieve an epic win， their mood is really lit up。（c） When the author wanted to suicide during a severe brain damage， games help her survive。Action items:1。 Re-design games， so that players who are good at these games are highly likely to succeed in real life as well。2。 Get inspirations from games， and understand life better。 For example， scientists like Robert Axelrod and Vincent Conitzer use game theory to interpret real life problems， as well as philosophy。3。 Use games to cure mental diseaseA list of points made by the book:- Four defining traits of games: goal， rules， feedback system， and voluntary participation。- Secrets of happiness: working hard at activities that provide us the reward that we can feel。 Critical comment:- The author is not showing rigorous logic， but enumerates a lot of intuitions， and explains things in favor of games。 We can take some of her points as the start of our own thoughts on games， but do not be too serious about how she proves her statements。- If her logic on "gaming makes life significantly better" is correct， then a thousand other things can also be put into "___ makes life significantly better" :）。Personal practice:I haven't played games for almost ten years。 After reading the book， I picked up a simple game myself。 It immediately expands my understanding of the world。 For example， it help me understand the concept of exchange， as economists point out as the pillar of their way of thinking。 In the game， it occurs to me that in order to get anything， I exchange。 For example， if I care about higher battle scores， then I would ignore these things to make my character look prettier， and use them to trade for stronger battle skills of my character。 This exchange is similar to aspects in life， where some people choose to ignore luxury goods and buy books， or， according to research， the poor choose to marry their kidsAnother example is that I observed what I am obsessed with。 If I really like some actions a lot， can I transform my work into tasks similar to these small things that I easily feel happy about？ More resources:- Jane's TED talks that can motivate you to read the book: [1][2] 。。。more
CTEP
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This month I read Reality Is Broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world by Jane McGonigal。 I was initially drawn to this book because there are many naysayers within my library community when it comes to offering weekly open gaming opportunities for teens。 I wanted to arm myself with a slew of talking points to address those who do not see the value in gaming。 As it turns out， I am also working with Ben and Jessica to create a summer gaming camp for middle school girls， s This month I read Reality Is Broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world by Jane McGonigal。 I was initially drawn to this book because there are many naysayers within my library community when it comes to offering weekly open gaming opportunities for teens。 I wanted to arm myself with a slew of talking points to address those who do not see the value in gaming。 As it turns out， I am also working with Ben and Jessica to create a summer gaming camp for middle school girls， so this book is all kinds of useful！Did you know that there are 183 million active gamers （those that game on average， 13 hours a week） in the United States alone？ That’s not counting the 5 million “extreme” gamers in the U。S。 who play around 45 hours a week！ These statistics often bring up concerns of people escaping reality into the world of video games at an alarming rate。 Jane McGonigal believes we first need to consider why people are escaping reality and then use video games to bring them back to reality all the while making it better。 She believes that reality is broken。 People like to be challenged。 They like to work hard toward a tangible goal。 They want to see the results of their work。 Often， however， our jobs do not challenge us。 It is partly for this reason， people find joy in video games。 They are not passively watching TV， but rather playing an active role in achieving a goal。 Throughout her book， McGonigal gives examples of games that have been and are currently be used to bring gamers back to reality such as World Without Oil。 In World Without Oil， gamers were tasked with the challenge of creating innovative ways to deal with a worldwide oil shortage。 Though people are “playing” a game， the results are real and can serve us in reality。 My personal favorite “alternate reality” game is Chore Wars in which you create avatars and gain points and power up based on the number of chores you complete in real life。 It makes cleaning fun！ McGonigal believes， that it is through the creation of games whose results hold meaning in our real lives， that we can move toward a more satisfying reality。 I found this book incredibly useful as a CTEP member， but it also got me thinking about things outside of CTEP。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Daniel Guglielmo
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