July 9, 2010 26 Comments

Games and Fun

I saw this Jane McGonigal video on TED the other day for the second time, and have been thinking about it ever since: can games make the world better? Forget the rest of my blog post and just watch this. Ask yourself whether or not you could make more fun and more games out of what we all do for a living:

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Marcus Hickman

Tweeted about this a mere 90mins ago! Check out the epicwin app which surely span out of this talk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmKwF_Si734
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http://www.tammycamp.com Tammy Camp

I've never seen this TED video before, thanks for introducing it to me; what a super-likeable and inspiring person. “Urgent Optimism” is now firmly stamped into my brain.

I'd heard rumblings some years ago about studies being conducted into how certain games were training children to have advanced hand and eye coordination, but since then, I've only actually heard scare stories about geeky gamers being found dead in a mound of biscuit wrappers, or about Second Lifers losing the ability to function in 'real life'. It's nice to hear some more optimistic stories.

Listening to Jane talk about why gamers feel more successful in games than they do in real life, one big lesson stuck out. The addictive nature of rewards. I'm currently in cold turkey withdrawl from GodFinger for iPad; I got comletely hooked for a little while there in a game where next to nothing happens. Why? Because I was getting bright, shiny rewards with tinkly sound effects for carrying out the most inane tasks. Surely a lesson for all employers and office managers!
http://blog.mocha.uk.com/ Sarah A

I was initially doubtful when I started watching this video, but was pleasantly surprised. Very thought provoking … Thanks for sharing.
http://twtrcoach.com TwtrCoach

Wow..

Thanks Chris for sharing this video. Such a inspiring – energetic and positive message on how we can actually create an epic meaning as Social Innovator… and like Tammy I loved the ability of creating an Urgent Optimism…

Made me jot down some new values here..

Cheers.. Are
http://twitter.com/joey_strawn Joey Strawn

Being a video game fan myself, this TED talk spoke almost directly to me. I loved every minute of it. I've never played WoW, but there are other games that are just as addicting and this talk reminded me of a book called “Everything Bad is Good For You” by Stephen Johnson. Amazing read, amazing TED talk. This is turning our to be a great Friday.
klrichardson

Thanks Chris for sharing this with your community. I have followed Jane's work on gaming & social gaming for some time (LOVED her most recent work with the World Bank on “EVOKE”.) There are two words in this video that have resonated with me since I watched it…EPIC WIN. I wonder if your ideas around achieving escape velocity can meld with that thought. Wouldn't we start working toward escape velocity if we were focused on achieving an epic win?
http://www.tammycamp.com Tammy Camp

That's PERFECT! Is that avilable now?
http://www.DavidJGarcia.com/blog David Garcia

Absolutely, games can (and will) make the world a better place.

It's easy to look at things like Farmville and World of Warcraft and say, “Millions are addicted and wasting their time.” It's more valuable to say, “Why? And how can I use this for good?”

Zynga, Blizzard and others have perfected the art of motivating people to do things. After all, Farmville is simply clicking for pixels. Yet millions are addicted. Why? Because the creators have figure out how to use powerful gameplay mechanics to reward you with good feelings for coming back.

Although games are based on these techniques, the use of gameplay mechanics is not limited to games. Cheezburger and Huffington Post have trophies and levels to encourage comments. The iPhone is an app-collecting game. Other examples include:
• FourSquare
• Friends, likes and comments on Facebook
• Frequent flier programs and credit card rewards
• “Profile __% complete” on LinkedIn and others
• High school, undergrad or post-grad degree(s)
• Boy Scout merit badges
• The Fortune 500 or Forbes 100 lists
• Anything with a checklist, goal, badge, award, degree, point, level or profile.

Now, imagine (as Jane McGonigal suggests) using those same rewards, mechanics and feelings to motivate people to engage or to improve their lives. I work for The Frugality Game, and our goal is to help you improve your finances while having fun. We use these techniques to give people the motivation, education and tools needed to change their lives for the better financially.

We're using these tools (that's what gameplay mechanics are: motivation tools) to spread financial literacy. But why not use them to encourage giving (Farmville has touched on this)? To reward loyal customers? To encourage site engagement? To solve hunger? To teach?

My prediction: FourSquare and Farmville are just the proofs-of-concept. Over the next decade you'll see much more of gameplay mechanics used to drive behavior (for good, for evil and for profit).

If you enjoyed McGonigal's talk, here are a couple more:

http://g4tv.com/videos/44277/dice-2010-design-o…
http://chi.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detai…
http://www.sweet-joni.blogspot.com Joni_In_MN

Quite Interesting post considering I've been “against” sitting playing games all night long instead of doing something productive in “reality”… Tho I did pick up the keyword she spoke “an hr a day per person” :-)

If I could find that sorta balance in any addiction now that'd be so helpful — hence I love games, facebook, myspace, coffee, candy, (blah blah blah) Yes, I know I'm trying to be responsible with TIME MANAGEMENT ~ Learning each & every day something new!!! :-)

Anyway, thinking back many yrs ago the Nintendo machine I had did bring some pretty good strategic moves… & more recently as I recall when Kev was “rooming” here — the FUN we had playing cribbage. Great time of communicating, focusing & MATH improvement… so yah for the “Gamers”!!!

Thanks Chris for sharing!!!
Aboutdarabell

Sometimes I think we are drinking the same cool aid, the same Pierre or something. I love this video. The presuption is correct if we can channel the problem solving skills of the kids playing Warcraft, Doom etc we can solve Climate Change. We could solve global poverty too!

The video says to things about society for me. One we have bread a fair ammount of apathy, that many would rather would help a fictional group called the Orcs. I used to play when I was kid. Second the video offers hope that these skills can e tapped in the future and society can benefit from meeting the gamers.

I think Jane McGonigal ends setting a project up with the Centre Of Futurology to that sets up imagined scenarios that in energy crisis. The have stuff mapped out. I could go into lots of geeky gfacts from New Scientist and Ecology magazine but I leave that for another day.

To me businesses have to promote problem solving, promote people and planet.

Thanks

Dara
http://BestSellerAuthors.com Warren Whitlock

this video had the same effect on me when I first saw it. Thanks for getting me to watch it again.

Take my saying “if you can tell the difference between work and play, you aren't doing one them right” to a whole new level.

I realize that what I'm saying is what Jane was talking about moving success in the virtual world to success in the real world. .. hacking life.
http://www.marketinghandy.blogspot.com/ Mike Handy

This is going to stick with me an bug me for awhile… what does this mean for business? What does this mean for my day to day life?

How do we change the daily we game we play so we don't just sit on the sidelines in real life? How do we create epic wins in real life?
http://www.profoundprofessionals.com Marcy Gerena

Great video! I agree and believe the principles learned through gamming can be used to solve real world problems.

I do have an observation and a question. I am not a psychologist or game expert, but I do have a thought I would like to explore. It appears the difference from virtual online gaming and real world would be the position a person is viewing a situation. When we experience things in the real world, we view what is happening around us versus have a clear view of all the things to consider in front of us. When we position ourselves in a middle of a situation, there are likely emotions, values, beliefs and experiences limiting our perception and ability to identify obstacles, forces, or areas of opportunity.

Would focusing on mastering emotional intelligence skills be the essential element needed to create a simulated view of the “world game” in the same way one would see it playing a virtual online game?

Thanks
Marcy
http://www.FameFoundry.com/ Charlotte Website Design

Thought provoking. Thanks for sharing.
http://mydarabell.com/ Dara Bell

The Afterthought
Much of human capacity is not the part of the brain we are not using but the people we are not using. Collaboration is not a dirty word!
http://www.5minutesformom.com/ Susan (5 Minutes For Mom)

Phenomenal!

Wow… I think she may have changed my view on online gaming.
rricart

This video was amazing! I think those 4 super powers that she talked about are a key to survival! Blissful Productivity, when we're not happy about what we're doing then we're not as productive and when we do things without direction or meaning then we don't work as hard to accomplish…..LOVE THIS VIDEO! thanks for sharing Chris!
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ere was no planning involved in taking the typing class. I just went by a place that advertised the classes and in no time I signed up for them. I'm glad I did.

Any skill like that will serve a person for a lifetime.

I wish I had taken some computer classes as soon as they were available. It was only many years later that I was attracted to learning about the computer.That has been incredibly powerful in my career and life. I will definitely sign up my kids when the time comes.
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Elva Brown

What is the name (and interpreter) of the song in the movie “Funny games” in the scene at the beginning when the family is still traveling in their truck? I mean the metal song.
Include a link(4 the song) if possible pls

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http://www.blackfridayplanet.com/ William Hushburn

I think that is an alarming event. I didn’t know that people uses most of its time playing on line games. Yes, if she thinks that’s better, then so be it.

Games and Fun

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