Purchase
Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
Penguin
January 2011
On Sale: January 20, 2011
400 pages ISBN: 1594202850 EAN: 9781594202858 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
Visionary game designer Jane McGonigal reveals how we can
harness the power of games to solve real-world problems and
boost global happiness. More than 174 million Americans are gamers, and the average
young person in the United States will spend ten thousand
hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. According to
world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal, the reason for
this mass exodus to virtual worlds is that videogames are
increasingly fulfilling genuine human needs. In this
groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of
gaming, McGonigal reveals how we can use the lessons of game
design to fix what is wrong with the real world. Drawing on positive psychology, cognitive science, and
sociology, Reality Is Broken uncovers how game designers
have hit on core truths about what makes us happy and
utilized these discoveriesto astonishing effect in virtual
environments. Videogames consistently provide the
exhilarating rewards, stimulating challenges, and epic
victories that are so often lacking in the real world. But
why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for
escapist entertainment alone? Her research suggests that
gamers are expert problem solvers and collaborators because
they regularly cooperate with other players to overcome
daunting virtual challenges, and she helped pioneer a
fast-growing genre of games that aims to turn gameplay to
socially positive ends. In Reality Is Broken, she reveals how these new alternate
reality games are already improving the quality of our daily
lives, fighting social problems such as depression and
obesity, and addressing vital twenty-first-century
challenges-and she forecasts the thrilling possibilities
that lie ahead. She introduces us to games like World
Without Oil, a simulation designed to brainstorm-and
therefore avert- the challenges of a worldwide oil shortage,
and Evoke, a game commissioned by the World Bank Institute
that sends players on missions to address issues from
poverty to climate change. McGonigal persuasively argues that those who continue to
dismiss games will be at a major disadvantage in the coming
years. Gamers, on the other hand, will be able to leverage
the collaborative and motivational power of games in their
own lives, communities, and businesses. Written for gamers
and nongamers alike, Reality Is Broken shows us that the
future will belong to those who can understand, design, and
play games.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|