Reality Is Broken

Game designer Jane McGonigal argues that games deserve to be more than escapist entertainment. Pointing to the 174 million people who play games in the United States, she contends that every coming generation will be a generation of players, and her research suggests that gamers become skilled problem solvers and collaborators because they routinely team up to beat hard virtual challenges. She proposes turning those skills on real problems, from depression and obesity to poverty and climate change, and describes games already changing business, education and nonprofit work. Her case is addressed to gamers and non-gamers alike, with the claim that those able to design, understand and play games will shape the future.

Xi-Wei Yeo, director of Living Theories, strongly recommends it to anyone interested in gamification and calls McGonigal the Martha Stewart of the field.