Author: Jane McGonigal
Price: $15.68
Product Description
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.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #536 in Books
- Published on: 2011-01-20
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 400 pages
Customer Reviews
Heady philosophical topics packaged in an engrossing, captivating, easy to read book
I encourage anyone who is interested in playing games, whether they be board, video, MMORPGs, or alternative reality games in general (ARGS), to read this book.
I have listened to the author speak, and have participated in a few games of her design, and have always been fascinated by her passion for analyzing the effects of games on its participants and society. She is a scientist of the next generation. As our world becomes smaller and our communities larger, we are beginning to see things in a new world view. Whether your particular political leanings are left or right makes no difference, for how we handle these problems are what needs debate.
An Inspirational Must-Read
Reality is Broken is an inspirational must-read regardless of where you stand or what you think you know about games. Jane McGonigal shatters common perception and stereotypes from page one, offering an eye-opening analysis of the psychological, historical, and sociological power of games and game-playing. The book is peppered with examples of how to harness that power to improve ourselves and our world and proudly kicks us in the most surefire direction to do so. As a game designer and game player, I have never felt more capable of affecting the future.
Reality is Broken doesn't encourage endless screen-staring and mindless clicking or button mashing, but instead highlights the basic human needs that are no longer met by the real world. Humans spend 3 billion hours a week playing games because they provide positive emotions, blissful productivity, social connection, and epic meaning - everything we need for a flourishing, satisfying life. Even shooter-style games teach us to work together, to be more resilient in the face of failure, and they fill us with a sense of accomplishment that strengthens us in the real world.
