McGonigal and her Games

"In fact, as Brian Sutton-Smith, a leading psychologist of play, once said, 'The opposite of play isn't work. It's depression.'" (McGonigal, Pg 28, 2011)

Many gamers and none gamers out there probably would not have known that work in fact is not the opposite to play. The majority of gamers out there believe that when they leave their work and come home and play their video games that this is an escape from what they believe is the enemy, work. This however from reading McGonigal's text is not the case, in fact we as gamers are actually looking for harder work out of a video game, work that challenges our brains and puts us to our maximum potentials to complete task that keep us active. We as gamers are not trying to escape work, we are trying to escape the boredom of tasks that are too easy and that can lead us into depression where as video games give us harder and more entertaining challenges that allow our brains to expand more and be free from boredom. This information is useful to gamers as they are slated fro being lazy just because they enjoy challenging gaming experiences over the boredom of tasks set out for them that do not stimulate their brains enough. (McGonigal, Pg 28, 2011)

"When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation." (McGonigal, Pg 21, 2011)

From this quote McGonigal is trying to tell us that not all different types of games are that different after all. For example this may sound a bit far fetched but we could compare the video game Call Of Duty and its Search and Destroy mode to a game of golf. In the Search and Destroy mode the goal is to find the enemies bomb and blow it up, the rules are simple, each player has one life and only one player can carry the bomb at once, in the feedback system it tells us how many players are left and how long we have left on the time limit. Golf has got all these defining traits, the goal is to get a ball in a hole, the rules are that you must stand so far back and hit the ball with golf clubs and the feedback system is seeing how many shots it takes to get the ball in the hole. With this quote and text McGonigal could change the way people view games altogether.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

J.McGonigal, Reality Is Broken, The Penguin Press, 2011

Infinity Ward, 2003-2013, Call of Duty, Video Games, Activision.

Gaming I.R.L.

'Gamers' can be seen as a cultural group that some people do not want to belong to. In an 'IGN' interview the massively popular video game franchise 'Call of Duty' (2003 - 2013) creators 'Infinity Ward' stated that their fans and players "aren't hardcore gamers, or even gamers, but they play Call of Duty every night." (IGN, 2013) This throws up a question of what a gamer is, which differs to what person you ask. Jane McGonigal would argue that games make us better and she dies so in her book 'Reality is Broken'.

When describing a game McGonigal states, "When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, a voluntary participation" (McGonigal, 2011: 21). If we look at an  example we can easily see what she is talking about, let's look at the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title 'Super Mario Bros.' (1985). The goal in Super Mario Bros. was to rescue the Princess, the rules were that you have a certain number of lives, creatures can kill you and you can get power ups for your character. A feedback system was in place that told us how we got on, how many coin we have collected and how far into the game we are. As for voluntary participation, at anytime we can walk away from the game if we choose. McGonigal's explanation of a game in this sense seems spots on though what if we looked deeper into why we play the games?

Video Games can be viewed as an escape from real life, a common new media term when talking online and even when in person is 'I.R.L.' (in real life). Even this term suggests that we view games as another 'universe', somewhere were our lives are different. Our own realities are not as satisfying as within our games, no stimulation, challenge or goals. This could end in no enjoyment in our life, although with games we can have immediate gratification, whether it be saving the universe in 'Mass Effect 3' (2012) or living a fantasy life of adventure in 'World of Warcraft' (2004).

Games can have a good effect on our lives in real situations, take the game 'Tetris' for example, this improves our puzzle solving skills while we play, or our team building in the 'Halo' series (2001 - 2013) while playing team objective game types. There are even games designed to improve us, like 'Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training' (2006) which tries to improve our reaction time, mathematics, spelling and more.
"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at." (McGonigal, 2011: 22)


Bibliography

Bioware, 2012, Mass Effect 3, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Electronic Arts.

Blizzard Entertainment, 2004, World of Warcraft, Computer Game, PC and OS, Blizzard Entertainment.

Bungie, 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved, Console Game, Xbox, Microsoft Studios.

IGN (2013) Call of Duty Players 'Aren't Hardcore Gamers', Says Infinity Ward [Online]. Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/21/call-of-duty-players-arent-hardcore-gamers-says-infinity-ward (Accessed: 13 November 2013)

Infinity Ward, 2003, Call of Duty, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Activision.

McGonigal, J (2011) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And Why They Can Change The World. Penguin Press HC.

Nintendo, 2006, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?, Nintendo DS, Nintendo.

Nintendo EAD, 1985, Super Mario Bros., Console Game, NES, Nintendo.

Pajitnov, A, 1984, Tetris, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Spectrum HoloByte.

Defining 'Game'

 

Although the majority of us have played or participated in numerous different games, not many of us consider the actual definition of the word 'Game'.

According to McGonigal, "Games come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.20). Whether it is a card game, online game, board game or a games console, it is still a game, but the only thing making it different is the format which we play the game in. In this day and age, you can play board games such as monopoly and the popular card game 'Uno' online.

McGonigal argues that "all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.21) each trait system has a function.

1. Goal: gives a "sense of purpose" to the player
2. Rules: "place limitations" on the way the player can accomplish his goal, making the game more challenging
3. Feedback system: indicates to the player "how close they are" to finally achieving their goal
4. Voluntary participation: where "everyone accepts the goal, the rules and the feedback" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 21)

According to McGonigal, regardless to the format of the game, it must share those four traits in any way for it to be a game. Bernard Suits, a great philosopher, according to McGonigal provides the best concluded definition of a game, "playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 22)

 

"Many gamers would rather keep playing than win" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 25)

 

In her book, McGonigal refers to several examples of games which support her theory amongst which was the 'addictive' game Tetris, which "awaits for you to fail" and one is "gauranteed to lose" but we continure playing the game because as we lose, we "feel the urge to climb back on" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 24), attempting to beat our high score.

 

Another example that would support her theory is the Candy Crush Saga which became increasingly popular over the past 2 years, where there are different goals for each level and you are given tasks which become increasingly challenging as you go through the levels, and the moves you are allowed become limited, where in some cases causes the player to lose the level and becomes addictive in the sense that one feels the urge to pass the level and the next and so on.

 

References:

 

McGonigal, J. 2011 'Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World' ,The Penguin Press

Gamification & Work.

"A good game is a unique way of structuring experience and provoking positive emotion. It is an extremely powerful tool for inspiring participation and motivating hard work" (McGonigal, 2011, p.33). This sums up the point that McGonigal is trying to convey, that being the gamification of the work process. McGonigal states that the emotional state of the worker and the work being done are closely related. When one is doing 'busywork' it is often seen as predictable and boring, a chore. However when we choose to do this work for ourselves we feel more invigorated and productive, we feel that what we are doing is having a real time impact on the world around us. (McGonigal, 2011, p.30)

McGonigal states that all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation. These traits are designed to give players a "sense of purpose...foster strategic thinking...motivation to keep playing" and "to establish common ground for multiple people to play together" (McGonigal, 2011, p.21). These four traits describe what is so compelling and addictive about games, games are engaging because the players have agreed upon a predetermined set of rules which limits their actions, they have "agreed to make the work more challenging than it has any reasonable right to be" (McGonigal, 2011, p.23). McGonigal proposes that reality is too easy as games challenge us with these voluntary obstacles that put our personal strengths to better use and we should incorporate this into everyday life.

McGonigals theory's in action are evident in the PSB Idea Channel video "Is Minecraft The Ultimate Educational Tool?". The video explains the processes in which educational work is becoming gamified. Although not necessarily a game created with educating in mind, the video explains that teachers have been using minecraft to teach a variety of subjects such as computer science, foreign languages, art etc. Mods have been developed which allows the players to create, code and execute programmes within the game effectively teaching them computer science. This is due to its ability to become a creative, collaborative, entertaining environment where the students themselves are in control of their own challenges. McGonigal envisions a school and a world which does not use games but is a game in itself.

Bibliography

McGonigal, J., Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World..[Online]
Available at: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FcontentWrapper.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_1811422_1%26displayName%3DLinked%2BFile%26course_id%3D_62517_1%26navItem%3Dcontent%26attachment%3Dtrue%26href%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Flearning.ulster.ac.uk%252Fbbcswebdav%252Fpid-1811422-dt-content-rid-4330029_1%252Fxid-4330029_1
[Accessed 11th November 2013]

Is Minecraft The Ultimate Education Tool? 2013, video, PSB Idea Channel, 6th March [Viewed 11th November 2013] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI0BN5AWOe8>.

Reality is Broken But Games Are Fun!

"Games today come in more forms, platforms and genres than at any other time in the human race." (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 20)

With this quote McGonigal simply states that in today's world there is many many forms of games available to the population, these range from Board games, Card games, Puzzle games, Quiz games, Computer games and Console games. She goes onto tell us that even though there is all these kinds of games out there they all share the same attributes that essentially make them games.

"When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation." (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 21)

These four defining traits are what make games what they are, each one of these traits add another level of structure to a game and each one makes them entertaining for the participant. Each trait has its own purpose for a game.

The first trait the Goal is what any participant strives to achieve when they first start to play whichever game they tackle. With the Goal it gives every gamer a purpose to play.

The second trait Rules, this trait is what binds the participant to what the restraints of the game and also gives it a purpose otherwise there would be no challenge for the gamer.

The third trait Feedback System, this is the trait tells the participant how they are doing in the game and how close they are to their main objective. It comes in forms of levels, scores and progress bars.

The final trait is Voluntary Participation, the last trait is the one that combines the first three traits, this one is accepted by every player who starts the game as they agree to abide by the first three.

"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism  at something were good at and enjoy" (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 28)

McGonigal goes on to talk about the effects that games have on people outside of the gaming world. She believes that taking all the benefits that video games give to the participants and utilizing them in the real world would make the human race is some way thrive as everyone would be testing their limits daily and enjoying what they do.

Bibliography: 

McGonigal. J (2011) - Reality is Broken