I think that she has an interesting perspective on gaming. Video gaming has a bad reputation by many people; people see video games as a distraction to real world situations and "waste" valuable time. However, Jane searched to connect why people invest so much time and energy into video gaming. She wanted to know why gamers believe that they can change the virtual world, and how she can use this information to help them change the real world. I think that she definitely has a potential start to something great, however, it would take the world as a community to come together and participate. I think that her real life games such as the lack of oil game could really prepare our societies to adapt to situations that eventually will happen. There are only limited natural resources and we have no control over environmental disasters, so by gathering ideas and striving for "epic wins" we can learn how to adapt and survive as the world changes over time. This will help to prevent as much chaos and possible extinction of the human race. It sounds drastic to think that games could save the world, but like she says, we can see through our own history as well as the history of all life on earth, that the world does change, and that mass extinctions occur if organisms (us people too) are not able to adapt and cope with the environment.
Video games changing the world? *Sigh* I wish. But I might be more of a bummer than Jane... I am a pretty big gamer, first person shooters, strategy games all the good ones. I definetly do feel that video games have value in growing skills, knowledge about the world and cognitive ability. But really; all technology is neutral- But it can be used for good or bad stuff (like the force). So although it has the potential to be educational, grow skills, even keep people in shape (I'm all about Dance Dance Revolution!)- The "Dark Side" of video games also does exist. For me the darker side of video games has to do with the "sucking" potential that lots of MMORPG's have (Massive Multiplayer online Role Playing games). Especially games like "Second Life"- Where players have the potential to live out their lives, get married, have sex, spend REAL money on virtual items in the game. I have heard of people "in the real world" getting divorced because their husband/wife in real life, becasue their partner had an online sexual relationship with a person in the game. There was also another account of a person spending five hundred dollars to buy an island so they could live their with their virtual boyfriend. That being said- I don't feel that video games are evil- I quite like video games. But I feel that they can be used to accomplish either good or bad things, depending on how they're used- But Maybe saving the world might be a stretch
After listening to Jane McGonigal's speech I both agree and disagree with the point she made. I agree that games help give people motivation to complete tasks, but do the games make them get motivated in the real world. Receiving positive feedback in games could also be a positive thing. Getting "levelled up" or "+1 intelligence" will help improve individuals self esteem. But in the real world they do not necessarily receive these positive comments or successes on a regular basis. Tackling obstacles in online games is also a good point she made. Almost every online game requires you to tackle an obstacle. This could help the individual develop strategies which they could use later in life. Online games can be a good way to gain social skills, but are these social skills limited to discussing strategic game play or can they help in the real world as well? I agree with her point that these games give epic meaning. I related this to an individuals' needs to belong. If a person belongs to a certain team or tribe in a game it will help them feel a sense of belonging.
I disagree on what she had to say because how do we know we are playing the "right" kind of games that will help us become "super empowered human beings". Some video games out there do not help develop any skills other than motivation to succeed. No social skills are obtained and they can often not be very productive. Also she said that we are playing 3 billion hours of video games per week. Wouldn't playing games this much limit time that student's spend on homework thus, lowering grades? I believe video games need to be played in moderation as much can be gained in playing them, but also much can be lost because of lost school work time. Her speech was very good and her passion for her field of study is amazing.
This is an uplifting perspective on games in a time that seems to be anti-gaming. A lot of people have been focusing on gaming in a negative light solely pointing the finger at the fact that it is playing a major role in the increase in child hood obesity. This is a true, unarguable fact but there are positives to gaming, which were all outlined very well in this video. The trouble I see in her argument is getting all the gamers in the world to switch over to these games, with all the hours etc. she pointed out for WoW I dont see people switching over to this type of game. People are looking to have fun when gaming so to achieve both a high level of fun and be productive etc. these games will have to most likely be ground breaking and take away from the already deeply established franchises like Call of Duty, WoW, or Halo, which will not be an easy feat.
Although I enjoyed Jane's perspective I do not understand it to be realistic. It is a great notion to use video games to solve all the problems of the world, but great ideas do not directly correlate to perfect solutions. Some people go through their k-12 school years doing problems, learning subjects, and gaining knowledge about their world without ever applying their learned skills to the outside world. The same can be said about the "gamers" Jane mentions. Who is to say any of these people will step away from their games to apply the principles to the real world problems she is hoping they will solve? Many gamers I know play the games they enjoy knowing that they are not real and not wanting them to be real in any way. If we are already making assumptions about games being alternate realities and different from real life then it is my belief that changing this prevalent viewpoint would be more of a challenge than translating video game problem solving to real world problem solving. Jane's points are well supported and very interesting but I do not think they are practical in the world we live in. Video games are entertaining and help people escape from their real lives, solving world hunger does not seem to apply to a gamer's motives for playing.
After watching this video, I feel that this view on games changing the world may be a little far-fetched. I agree that games can motivate people giving them opportunities in the "game world" to succeed, but I am apprehensive in believing that gaming can benefit you in reality. Games are definitely a way for people to escape their reality on a daily basis, and that is fine. Saying that more and more people in the world playing games will change the outcome of the world and solve problems is perhaps far more advanced than where the world is now. I understand that when you are gaming you are in a different reality and are more capable of being social with other gamers, but that does not make these gamers more capable of being social in the real world. Therefore, I do not understand how their "gaming" personality can help with their real world personality to change the world. Jane had an interesting perspective on this and I would be interested to see an outcome where gamers build up their confidence and ideas to make a significant change, but at this point I think any sort of evolution due to gaming is far down the road.
I have a hard time with this. Although I think she has an interesting point, I find it hard to believe that playing games will change the world. I can understand that part when she talked about playing games creating a social fabric and creating social trust so people want to work together, but at the same time, if they are spending all these hours gaming, they aren’t being social in real life, only on the computer. It doesn’t make sense to me that major things that are wrong with the world can be changed with a computer game. I believe that in order to change the world, a physical action is required. Games are used to escape reality, so even if you made the games more like real life, it still isn’t your real life... it’s a simulation of a life. If people are spending time gaming they are not even interacting in the real social world. I believe that is a problem in itself because as human beings I think that we need to communicate with each other in person and on a personal level, not through a computer simulation. It just doesn’t make sense to me that doing nothing productive can solve something like world hunger. Maybe I’m just being cynical because I just came back from a third world country where I personally saw people struggling to survive, but I don’t know how sitting around will help them have better lives. Like I said before... changing the world requires an action, and I don’t believe that action is playing online games.
I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but I do not comply with anything that Jane is saying. I feel that in today’s world, her motives seem a tad unrealistic. I agree with some of the other comments about all of the negativity in gaming and how it causes violence in the world and obesity etc. Gaming to me also seems like an escape from reality. Yes in these games people may experience an “epic win”, but that’s it, it’s a game! The game itself is an imaginary reality. The world isn’t like half of the video games out there. So how are we supposed to play games to save the world’s problems? How are we supposed to implement an hour of gaming into our everyday life? In today’s world people either don’t have access to games, or do not have time to play games in their everyday life. I believe that people have already been on the way to solving world issues by going “green”, donating to charities, volunteering, doing missionary work, and carpooling. I do agree that the games Jane and her colleagues had created at their institute are a good idea to make people think about how they would survive on an oil shortage and what not, but the problem is that it is a game, a fake reality. I feel that her ideas are good, but again unrealistic in today’s society. The world is becoming more aware of the worlds problems and I believe that gaming is not a suitable solution, not today or near future.
I appreciate that Jane is giving new insight on the potential for gaming to have positive effects on gamers. I would agree that gaming allows individuals to create a social fabric..... the problem is that Jane mostly refers to wow and the games created by her institute. One of the problems I find with her theory is that even though the games her institute creates are ones in which players are engaged in solving real world problems, this does not mean that all gamers or even a large percentage of gamers will want to play this kind of game. I believe it will be some time before the same population of grand theft auto players are all engaged in games that involve creating thinking to save human society. The other major problem is one that has already been pointed out and that is that to save real world problems you need real world skills. Online games may promote creative thinking for new inventions that may solve problems but we still need people with the skills to make these ideas a reality. However, something very valuable that can be taken from Jane's speech is that people often prefer to spend time being "productive" online. So, I think that instead of putting all our energy into making games even more engaging we should be studying how we can take ideas from online gaming and apply them to aspects of reality like school assigments to make them more engaging.
I found Jane's views on gaming very interesting. Although i dont personally game. I have a little brother who is what i would called addicted to call of duty. It has gotten so bad that my parent have stepped in and put boundaries on his time he plays COD. This video points out the "why" of people being hardcore gamers. I feel that hearing about that people enjoy the success and epic wins. How they never fail in this gaming world is very interesting and give the general public a more insightful view on the gaming community. However i do know agree with her saying that this attitude that gamers have is going to change the world, because there is going to be too many epic fails, and feelings on not succeeding to bring the gaming community out into the real world to do any real justice on the problems the world is facing today.
I feel that Jane McGonigal’s speech about gamers being able to help the world deal with real life problems is a unique point of view because she has created a world where gamers could be the people we go to in order to come up with extremely creative ideas and solutions to worldwide problems, such as obesity, poverty, gas shortages, water shortages, etc.
However, with that being said I do not totally agree with Jane McGonigal’s ideas. Although it may be true that gamers are the right kind of people to make such ‘out of this world’ suggestions, they may also be the same people who fail to express these ‘out of this world’ ideas because they are not comfortable interacting with anyone besides a computer. As Jane mentions, many of these gamers feel more comfortable and have more success with online gaming because of the immediate gratification and what she calls ‘epic wins,’ that they feel while playing such games. All of this creates a very positive atmosphere for gamers and as a result, I feel that many of these same individuals may be unwilling to leave such positive and rewarding environments and immerse themselves in the outside world, thus rarely bringing their expertise to the forefront. Jane suggests having 21 billion hours spent on game play per week. If we are trying to solve serious world problems, this may require more than just 21 billion hours of game play. These sorts of problems require not only the expertise of the gamers, but may require them to interact with other people as well, and form a solution as a group. Therefore, we may not just want to look at 21 billion hours of game play, but also look at ways in which we can get these gamers to feel as though they are being just as rewarded from the outside world, as they do with these online games.
It is obvious that gaming is becoming a much bigger area of interest and will continue to grow in years to come. Therefore, we need to find a way to make sure that these gamers feel just as comfortable in the outside world, as they do in front of their computer so that they can offer up their own ‘epic wins,’ and show the world their invaluable solutions to worldwide problems.
I can understand where she's coming from, because gamers certainly do have a certain set of skills that could be put to use in the real world. I especially like her "real-world" games, where players have to solve real issues in the form of a game. It makes sense to me, but it's not going to actually change things when it's just pretend. In order to solve problems like hunger, pollution, poverty, etc, it will take a lot more than just some online games. She suggests that people should spend MORE time playing video games, but I fail to see how that will help. To solve these huge global issues, we need to get off our asses and do something about it.
That being said, I do see the potential of certain games in the educational setting. Games like the new xbox kinect, and some of the wii sports games can help kids stay fit and active if used properly. There are also many games, especially on the computer, that can enhance learning and memory. But I don't understand why playing WOW for twelve hours a day is going to help people. I know a few people that have become completely consumed by video games, and practically ruined their lives. People can lose jobs, ruin relationships, and become obese and unhealthy from become addicted to video games. I can see why, as I often have trouble putting my phone down when I'm playing games. I think as teachers and future parents, we need to be very careful about which games we let our kids play, and how much time we let them spend playing them. Sure there are a lot of advantages to games, especially in the classroom, but we have to be aware of the issues that can occur as well.
I think that she has an interesting perspective on gaming. Video gaming has a bad reputation by many people; people see video games as a distraction to real world situations and "waste" valuable time. However, Jane searched to connect why people invest so much time and energy into video gaming. She wanted to know why gamers believe that they can change the virtual world, and how she can use this information to help them change the real world. I think that she definitely has a potential start to something great, however, it would take the world as a community to come together and participate. I think that her real life games such as the lack of oil game could really prepare our societies to adapt to situations that eventually will happen. There are only limited natural resources and we have no control over environmental disasters, so by gathering ideas and striving for "epic wins" we can learn how to adapt and survive as the world changes over time. This will help to prevent as much chaos and possible extinction of the human race. It sounds drastic to think that games could save the world, but like she says, we can see through our own history as well as the history of all life on earth, that the world does change, and that mass extinctions occur if organisms (us people too) are not able to adapt and cope with the environment.
ReplyDeleteVideo games changing the world? *Sigh* I wish. But I might be more of a bummer than Jane...
ReplyDeleteI am a pretty big gamer, first person shooters, strategy games all the good ones. I definetly do feel that video games have value in growing skills, knowledge about the world and cognitive ability.
But really; all technology is neutral- But it can be used for good or bad stuff (like the force). So although it has the potential to be educational, grow skills, even keep people in shape (I'm all about Dance Dance Revolution!)- The "Dark Side" of video games also does exist.
For me the darker side of video games has to do with the "sucking" potential that lots of MMORPG's have (Massive Multiplayer online Role Playing games). Especially games like "Second Life"- Where players have the potential to live out their lives, get married, have sex, spend REAL money on virtual items in the game. I have heard of people "in the real world" getting divorced because their husband/wife in real life, becasue their partner had an online sexual relationship with a person in the game. There was also another account of a person spending five hundred dollars to buy an island so they could live their with their virtual boyfriend.
That being said- I don't feel that video games are evil- I quite like video games. But I feel that they can be used to accomplish either good or bad things, depending on how they're used- But Maybe saving the world might be a stretch
After listening to Jane McGonigal's speech I both agree and disagree with the point she made. I agree that games help give people motivation to complete tasks, but do the games make them get motivated in the real world. Receiving positive feedback in games could also be a positive thing. Getting "levelled up" or "+1 intelligence" will help improve individuals self esteem. But in the real world they do not necessarily receive these positive comments or successes on a regular basis. Tackling obstacles in online games is also a good point she made. Almost every online game requires you to tackle an obstacle. This could help the individual develop strategies which they could use later in life. Online games can be a good way to gain social skills, but are these social skills limited to discussing strategic game play or can they help in the real world as well? I agree with her point that these games give epic meaning. I related this to an individuals' needs to belong. If a person belongs to a certain team or tribe in a game it will help them feel a sense of belonging.
ReplyDeleteI disagree on what she had to say because how do we know we are playing the "right" kind of games that will help us become "super empowered human beings". Some video games out there do not help develop any skills other than motivation to succeed. No social skills are obtained and they can often not be very productive. Also she said that we are playing 3 billion hours of video games per week. Wouldn't playing games this much limit time that student's spend on homework thus, lowering grades? I believe video games need to be played in moderation as much can be gained in playing them, but also much can be lost because of lost school work time. Her speech was very good and her passion for her field of study is amazing.
This is an uplifting perspective on games in a time that seems to be anti-gaming. A lot of people have been focusing on gaming in a negative light solely pointing the finger at the fact that it is playing a major role in the increase in child hood obesity. This is a true, unarguable fact but there are positives to gaming, which were all outlined very well in this video. The trouble I see in her argument is getting all the gamers in the world to switch over to these games, with all the hours etc. she pointed out for WoW I dont see people switching over to this type of game. People are looking to have fun when gaming so to achieve both a high level of fun and be productive etc. these games will have to most likely be ground breaking and take away from the already deeply established franchises like Call of Duty, WoW, or Halo, which will not be an easy feat.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I enjoyed Jane's perspective I do not understand it to be realistic. It is a great notion to use video games to solve all the problems of the world, but great ideas do not directly correlate to perfect solutions. Some people go through their k-12 school years doing problems, learning subjects, and gaining knowledge about their world without ever applying their learned skills to the outside world. The same can be said about the "gamers" Jane mentions. Who is to say any of these people will step away from their games to apply the principles to the real world problems she is hoping they will solve? Many gamers I know play the games they enjoy knowing that they are not real and not wanting them to be real in any way. If we are already making assumptions about games being alternate realities and different from real life then it is my belief that changing this prevalent viewpoint would be more of a challenge than translating video game problem solving to real world problem solving. Jane's points are well supported and very interesting but I do not think they are practical in the world we live in. Video games are entertaining and help people escape from their real lives, solving world hunger does not seem to apply to a gamer's motives for playing.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video, I feel that this view on games changing the world may be a little far-fetched. I agree that games can motivate people giving them opportunities in the "game world" to succeed, but I am apprehensive in believing that gaming can benefit you in reality. Games are definitely a way for people to escape their reality on a daily basis, and that is fine. Saying that more and more people in the world playing games will change the outcome of the world and solve problems is perhaps far more advanced than where the world is now. I understand that when you are gaming you are in a different reality and are more capable of being social with other gamers, but that does not make these gamers more capable of being social in the real world. Therefore, I do not understand how their "gaming" personality can help with their real world personality to change the world. Jane had an interesting perspective on this and I would be interested to see an outcome where gamers build up their confidence and ideas to make a significant change, but at this point I think any sort of evolution due to gaming is far down the road.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time with this. Although I think she has an interesting point, I find it hard to believe that playing games will change the world. I can understand that part when she talked about playing games creating a social fabric and creating social trust so people want to work together, but at the same time, if they are spending all these hours gaming, they aren’t being social in real life, only on the computer. It doesn’t make sense to me that major things that are wrong with the world can be changed with a computer game. I believe that in order to change the world, a physical action is required.
ReplyDeleteGames are used to escape reality, so even if you made the games more like real life, it still isn’t your real life... it’s a simulation of a life. If people are spending time gaming they are not even interacting in the real social world. I believe that is a problem in itself because as human beings I think that we need to communicate with each other in person and on a personal level, not through a computer simulation. It just doesn’t make sense to me that doing nothing productive can solve something like world hunger. Maybe I’m just being cynical because I just came back from a third world country where I personally saw people struggling to survive, but I don’t know how sitting around will help them have better lives. Like I said before... changing the world requires an action, and I don’t believe that action is playing online games.
I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but I do not comply with anything that Jane is saying. I feel that in today’s world, her motives seem a tad unrealistic. I agree with some of the other comments about all of the negativity in gaming and how it causes violence in the world and obesity etc. Gaming to me also seems like an escape from reality. Yes in these games people may experience an “epic win”, but that’s it, it’s a game! The game itself is an imaginary reality. The world isn’t like half of the video games out there. So how are we supposed to play games to save the world’s problems? How are we supposed to implement an hour of gaming into our everyday life? In today’s world people either don’t have access to games, or do not have time to play games in their everyday life. I believe that people have already been on the way to solving world issues by going “green”, donating to charities, volunteering, doing missionary work, and carpooling. I do agree that the games Jane and her colleagues had created at their institute are a good idea to make people think about how they would survive on an oil shortage and what not, but the problem is that it is a game, a fake reality. I feel that her ideas are good, but again unrealistic in today’s society. The world is becoming more aware of the worlds problems and I believe that gaming is not a suitable solution, not today or near future.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that Jane is giving new insight on the potential for gaming to have positive effects on gamers. I would agree that gaming allows individuals to create a social fabric..... the problem is that Jane mostly refers to wow and the games created by her institute. One of the problems I find with her theory is that even though the games her institute creates are ones in which players are engaged in solving real world problems, this does not mean that all gamers or even a large percentage of gamers will want to play this kind of game. I believe it will be some time before the same population of grand theft auto players are all engaged in games that involve creating thinking to save human society. The other major problem is one that has already been pointed out and that is that to save real world problems you need real world skills. Online games may promote creative thinking for new inventions that may solve problems but we still need people with the skills to make these ideas a reality.
ReplyDeleteHowever, something very valuable that can be taken from Jane's speech is that people often prefer to spend time being "productive" online. So, I think that instead of putting all our energy into making games even more engaging we should be studying how we can take ideas from online gaming and apply them to aspects of reality like school assigments to make them more engaging.
I found Jane's views on gaming very interesting. Although i dont personally game. I have a little brother who is what i would called addicted to call of duty. It has gotten so bad that my parent have stepped in and put boundaries on his time he plays COD. This video points out the "why" of people being hardcore gamers. I feel that hearing about that people enjoy the success and epic wins. How they never fail in this gaming world is very interesting and give the general public a more insightful view on the gaming community. However i do know agree with her saying that this attitude that gamers have is going to change the world, because there is going to be too many epic fails, and feelings on not succeeding to bring the gaming community out into the real world to do any real justice on the problems the world is facing today.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Jane McGonigal’s speech about gamers being able to help the world deal with real life problems is a unique point of view because she has created a world where gamers could be the people we go to in order to come up with extremely creative ideas and solutions to worldwide problems, such as obesity, poverty, gas shortages, water shortages, etc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with that being said I do not totally agree with Jane McGonigal’s ideas. Although it may be true that gamers are the right kind of people to make such ‘out of this world’ suggestions, they may also be the same people who fail to express these ‘out of this world’ ideas because they are not comfortable interacting with anyone besides a computer. As Jane mentions, many of these gamers feel more comfortable and have more success with online gaming because of the immediate gratification and what she calls ‘epic wins,’ that they feel while playing such games. All of this creates a very positive atmosphere for gamers and as a result, I feel that many of these same individuals may be unwilling to leave such positive and rewarding environments and immerse themselves in the outside world, thus rarely bringing their expertise to the forefront. Jane suggests having 21 billion hours spent on game play per week. If we are trying to solve serious world problems, this may require more than just 21 billion hours of game play. These sorts of problems require not only the expertise of the gamers, but may require them to interact with other people as well, and form a solution as a group. Therefore, we may not just want to look at 21 billion hours of game play, but also look at ways in which we can get these gamers to feel as though they are being just as rewarded from the outside world, as they do with these online games.
It is obvious that gaming is becoming a much bigger area of interest and will continue to grow in years to come. Therefore, we need to find a way to make sure that these gamers feel just as comfortable in the outside world, as they do in front of their computer so that they can offer up their own ‘epic wins,’ and show the world their invaluable solutions to worldwide problems.
I can understand where she's coming from, because gamers certainly do have a certain set of skills that could be put to use in the real world. I especially like her "real-world" games, where players have to solve real issues in the form of a game. It makes sense to me, but it's not going to actually change things when it's just pretend. In order to solve problems like hunger, pollution, poverty, etc, it will take a lot more than just some online games. She suggests that people should spend MORE time playing video games, but I fail to see how that will help. To solve these huge global issues, we need to get off our asses and do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I do see the potential of certain games in the educational setting. Games like the new xbox kinect, and some of the wii sports games can help kids stay fit and active if used properly. There are also many games, especially on the computer, that can enhance learning and memory. But I don't understand why playing WOW for twelve hours a day is going to help people. I know a few people that have become completely consumed by video games, and practically ruined their lives. People can lose jobs, ruin relationships, and become obese and unhealthy from become addicted to video games. I can see why, as I often have trouble putting my phone down when I'm playing games. I think as teachers and future parents, we need to be very careful about which games we let our kids play, and how much time we let them spend playing them. Sure there are a lot of advantages to games, especially in the classroom, but we have to be aware of the issues that can occur as well.