Games Can Make the World Better

Games Can Make the World Better

My initial impression of this segment was excitement to hear that online gaming could possibly be used to solve real world issues. However, the number of hours needed to achieve this level of problem solving was extreme. If it is going to take twenty-one billion hours to solve just one major issue affecting the world today, this format may not be so effective. (McGonigal, 2010) Nonetheless, if everyone was willing to donate some extra playing time to speed up the required hours needed to solve world issues, then this process may be worth trying. In listening to the concepts of what gaming does psychologically and emotionally to individuals can be a great starting point in developing games that center around those concepts.

After watching this segment, the greatest impact that could affect my game design would be how to replicate real time current events into a virtual game. For example, say I want to create a game that helped young adults budget for a real home in the future. I would need to observe and research human behaviors in order to incorporate a genuine representation of the home buying experience in the virtual game. Recreating the true psychological and emotional turmoil’s in real life would be a tricky element in a virtual game. Creating a virtual model to replicate the  real world would be met with many detailed issues.

Respectively, play and learning can be combined to be an influential learning experience. Since games have the potential to build confidence and critical thinkers, this is a great tool to incorporate in the learning process. Games like Diner Dash and Sims create virtual worlds that develop your virtual intellect on how to survive in the real world. The learning tools embedded within the games teach how to live on a budget, how to make connections, and analyzing how to prioritize what is important in life to achieve stability. Even children have tablets like Leap Frog to learn math and spelling by engaging in arcade games to understand the concepts. The key to gaming is keeping the gamer attentive and motivated to reach their highest potential. Gaming promotes collaboration and endless ways to solve unexpected problems that may arise. Learning seeks the same need for collaboration and strong critical thinkers to engage in the learning process. Overall, the combination compliments each other and creates innovative ways to research other avenues to expand on how we currently learn.

Reference

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html