11 years later, and she still brings a tear to my eye with her insights. I am a gamer, since 10 years old with my sisters and brothers, a big gaming family. My husband and i raised our kids as gamers, since they were soo young we gave them an unplugged controller to pretend they were playing, to make us play, and work together as a family. Now our kids are raising their kids the same way. We play games co op, and sometimes against each other.... as grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, uncles, aunts, kids, cousins, and grandkids. And even if we are not in the same house, city, or state, and (because we are a large military family), country..... we are always together and supportive and teaching. And i am proud of that family bond.
The AP Company is holding me hostage until I score better than a 3 on the essay section, please send help. I should have just taken the standard course
This is my most favorite Ted Talk by far. Hugely inspirational! If everything kids needed to know was taught in gaming, you'd never be able to pull them away from their learning.
i used this for my essey about gaming. im so glad i got that subject because i have spent so much time gaming and already knew so much about it it would be an easy grade
yes well actually her video is your excuse haha, save yourself some time and maybe some trouble with your poor patience in child-parental communication, and just let your parents watch this video. By the way, things could go a lot worse for some parents, they might be slightly smarter on perspectives on real life tasks. But your purpose for showing these ideas to your parents is the real difference. These subtle differences always making a fuss and whatnot, you would see lol.
I think the problem is that people really, really don't want to play games that have a clear message like this or are politically motivated like this. It's the reason people take issue with games like America's Army; regardless of the actual quality of the game, people feel as if being politically motivated somehow diminishes the game's quality. A world-changing game needs to encourage players to create these solutions, but it needs to do so undetectably.
"... overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, frustrated or cynical...We never have these feelings when we are playing games." Just some casual player talking.
Everyone you meet online is for a reason. The fact that we took time out of our schedules to connect into this virtual world is amazing in itself. We don't know anything about each other, differences are almost irrelevant. Yet we decide to work together as human beings to reach a goal. I do believe that her proposal is possible, that one day in the near further we can be the same way in real life.
This means that if we have about 7 billion people on the planet then EVERY person needs to play only 3 hours a week or more to reach 21 billion, so shes not saying that you need to FILL your entire life with games and stop living, and shes not saying that we need to play Call of Duty all the time to "Save" the world. She is saying that if we play games like World without Oil every week for 3 hours or more that show how easily you could change things to stop using it, then we could learn and be motivated to fix problems like that
I think that the major limitation of this proposal is the fact that the world doesn't operate on the same rules as a game. As mentioned in the talk, the game can detect what is on the verge of the player's ability. Real life doesn't do that, and so the payoff is not nearly as close at hand in the real world (which is what I think drives people to games to begin with: the gap between what I can do and how it will impact the "grand scheme of things" or how I'll be rewarded for my efforts in pursuing it). I tend to agree that people do respond better when there is an "epic" outcome that they can look forward to, but many of the problems faced by the world today are mundane when viewed at a person-to-person level. To illustrate, I try to remember to turn off the water while I'm brushing my teeth, but there is a ZERO percent chance that, if I don't, the water police is going to come to my house and try to lock me up (which I will be completely able to foil if I set the difficulty level to "Easy"), sending me on a journey that will end with me having a first-hand role in dismantling the evil corporation that caused the water shortage to begin with, ultimately making it so that I don't have to worry about how much water I use while brushing my teeth because water, under the new paradigm of a world rid of the evil water-squandering corporation, is abundant. Without the epic payoff associated with the epic effort, I feel like the participation level would be drastically reduced. All of this is not to say that I disagree with the premise that gaming can be a VERY useful tool to help solve the problems that we are currently facing--rather, I just think that the reason that gamers choose to play must be accounted for in the equations.
As a gamer (if I can even call myself that), I found out that I hate confrontations/challenges so what I do is level up a lot to become overpowered and then confront/overkill the boss in battles. I do not like the hassle of fighting the boss while on the same level. What I am trying to say is, not all gamers are the same in their way of getting that epic win, but I kinda agree that games can be a good practice for real life situations. Anyway, great speech :)
Chaz Tabing Different solutions for one problem. Basically, you prefer gaining experience before doing a challenge and that's okay. It still transcends to your real life because it tells you who you are and how you would face an obstable!
You're right you got no place calling yourself a gamer if you hate confrontation and have to be overpowered to overkill final bosses, you just established yourself as a 🅟🅤🅢🅢🅨 🅐🅢🅢 🅖🅐🅜🅔🅡...
yeahhh I won't have time to solve any real world issues for like a month or so, Legion just dropped and I gotta be ready for the new pvp season and increasing my item level for raiding.
People, this video is not an excuse for you to spend 24 hours in front of TV/Computer. Gaming is fucking amazing and healthy to the brain, but playing TOO MUCH is the opposite.
Everyone says that we are playing too much but the truth is...: 15999/16000 1 points are requires to open: "insert an op weapon that you wanted for a long time here"
The story about the city in famine makes total sense, I can play for many hours and not even realise it, all thoughts of food, drink and most other real world requirements / issues just go out the window. Time truly does fly when your having fun.
I can't recommend Jane Mc Gonigol's work in high enough terms. It's dynamics goes to the heart of any and all nay-saying arguments that online (or off line) gamers, storytellers, imagineers overall...that their thoughts are not of the rational world. The world has problems and Jane McGonigol's presentation literally evokes a greater truth. In cognitive reality, brain power is, reality. Ultimately, fantasy is not about nothing...but about thought and problem solving. The gaming world is where creation and achievement join forces. She suggests we discover ways and means to connect mind to its emotional engine by, as in world Of Warcraft, as an example, to ever escalating levels of consciousness. Inventiveness, is a major player in online or off line games. We play at survival in at the very least...two worlds, real and virtual. Positive achievement in either, drives the expansion of mind and its relationship to ever greater points on the consciousness scale. She doesn't say it, but I will. Hey I'm just a simple ventriloquist, an entertainer who believes that there is a God place in every human brain. I'm not the only one with an inner voice. On occasion or more often, with some, that inner voice speaks to us, in my case, that on occasion midst my dips into the twilight zone of make believe, allows me, and all of us, to see ourselves on the game board midst all our problems in the real world. McGonigol's work, I believe offers many urgent answers in our search for the positive and in our hope for future generations just now coming online.
I absolutely agree with her. For just one example, the Mass Effect trilogy taught me that if everyone can put aside their differences and come together, then something brilliant may be achieved.
Now, I don't mean to hate. I'm a gamer who can spend hours at times gaming. I'll listen to any reason why gaming is good or bad; however, what is her point? "Gaming can make a better world"? How? The explanation is either nonexistent or poorly explained. Keep in mind, I'm not hating. I'm looking for a legitimate answer. If anyone could reply with an educated response, I'd appreciate it.
I had the same feeling, even as a gamer. She was trying to explain why positive emotion is so important, but it was a bit one sided in my opinions. Just from experience, since I spend lots of hours online gaming day by day, it doesn't really help me save the world. On the contrary I happen to realize I got to quit it or reduce the times, otherwise I will burn out all my creativeness and productivity. The problem is the addictive nature of video games, and although studies show that it can cure depression, or help out from other mental diseases, but only in the early stages, later they create obstacles. This talk was disappointing, sadly.
10 лет назад
AngryNinjah I guess it's because yoy're already a gamer you don't see her point: Gamification in Education. How to use game mechanics in education. She's most probably talking to a bunch of non-gamers (maybe teachers?) and trying to make them understand how you can use an onlinegame in education. If you had the possibility to use a game in school to learn new stuff, would that help you? :)
She explains it a lot better in the RU-vid video "Games for Change: Solving the World's Biggest Problems through alternate realities". Also, in this video, she does say that she would like to see people playing games that are more beneficial to them. As for myself, I saw that over the years, strategy-driven video games have greatly increased my problem-solving skills, my persistence and resilience. Playing with others is a great cure for the 'winter blues' - another benefit. Also, as her sister Kelly McGonigal points out in other videos, guilt only causes people to increase compulsive behavior, so don't waste time feeling guilty about excessive gaming. There are much better ways to manage compulsions.
Just to add another input: I started to care about the world when I stopped playing video games. Before that, I was all into fun and competition, not care and compassion - and I'm not the only one with such experience. Thought this to be relevant for the discussion. All the best.
Thing thing I'm taking way from this is the importance of collaboration. In video games, people come together to solve a problem especially competition which may actually not feel that doable(ever beat a friend at a game after a long time of them being way better than you?) I feel the biggest difference between games and real life, is that in real life there is less mutual cooperation and more hierarchy. Hierarchy can be thought of as a result of scarcity. More scarcity means more rules, less freedom, less risk ect. How can you enjoy gaming if everything is so controlled. So right now we have tones of bureaucracy and people working those jobs will often not enjoy the lack of autonomy. So maybe what people should think about is moving away from the that model of the world as according to Jane, the gamer model is far more productive.
I think what shes trying to say is that if we can apply those skills learnt by playing to the real world, we can join together as a group and actually solve problems instead of fighting. Think about the difference between solving a problem in a game and solving a problem with others at work or in school. You feel more dedicated to the problem at hand and the environment itself makes people work together more peacefully and compromise is more of an option and people will work together to get the problem done. Like in MMORPGS with clans or guilds as an option; "You heal me, I'll fight the monsters." It's a win-win for everyone and people agree to work together to do it inside of arguing over "Why do I have to do the healing?". We're more selfless and empathetic in the gaming platform than when it comes to looking at eachother IRL- you're more likely to assist the newbie than you are to help the new kid at school and maybe it's because there's less social strings attached but the point is you're building up skills with empathy and social awareness and teamwork that we've failed to generate in reality and transferring these things into the world we live in would result in more people that are willing to work together to fix real world problems than not.
I was pursuing a career path that I have failed to achieve prior. My failure came in the form of a test, I prepared the best I could and failed by a small margin. I started playing a game that required real time decision making, leadership skills, hand eye coordination, creativity, strategic thinking, and courage (the perfect brain game in my opinion). When I went back to write the test again I felt so much sharper and focused, so much more precise and aware. I absolutely knew this game honed my brain prowess in such a way I was able to not only pass this test, but absolutely nail it. Many people are ignorant to the benefits gaming can provide, but from a neuroplasticity perspective, games are an amazing resource under utilized. The key is moderation and balance. You need all other aspects of your life such as social, work, education, spiritual ect...all to be balanced.
Yeah might as well say "we need to save the world by watching the Wizard of Oz as much as possible every week" xD Consume more, care about the destruction of mother nature less. It's what they want out of us, think about it...
From all the negative reactions I'm reading from gamers I can only conclude that many gamers are a bunch of idiots in real life. If she has done anything wrong it is to think that gamers are somehow as open minded and optimistic as the versions of themselves when they are playing games. Come on guys stop being such a bunch of narrow minded pessimists. There are actually many solutions to most problems in real life and even if there wasn't the point is that in the real world we give up too easily and we don't apply the best versions of ourselves in the face of real life problems. Personally I have found gaming to be a great tool at self exploration, thinking through philosophical issues and understanding real people and real life better than I could have done otherwise.
They simply proved her wrong. Nowadays "science" is just a show, a way to make money, fame. I stopeed taking her seriously when I saw her other video about gaming positive power, especially when she started to quote a top 5 list !... A top 5 list !? WTF !! a scientific quoting a top N list ... that stupid stuff written by SEO geeks and meant to bring web traffic ! what a shame ! + everybody knows that most things dying people regrets are theire social relationships, people they loved, bad things they did to other people. All what this shame list is about is selfish stuff. Typically american !
I as a gamer am proud to have seen this clip. It was great to watch and learn more about how games are great not just in story, gameplay, music, graphics and artwork but also as an escape from the harsh realities of the world. We gamers also tend to survive those who try to eliminate video games, which they will never succeed. We gamers have survived politicians, religious groups, lawmakers and now, we struggle against feminists like Anita Sarkeesian.
WOW! I am a curriculum designer and was a teacher for many years. This gives me a whole new outlook on incorporating gaming into my curriculum design for our clients. Thanks TED (and Jane)!
the part about the people who ate one day and played the next. I can totally relate cause when I'm playing video games I'm so immersed into them i usually forget to eat xD
I have been playing since I was 3 years old in the days of the original NES. Ever since I was a boy, I always loved playing video games, although in my teens I still played, my parents wanted me to be like that typical school jock, but at least they were happy about my good grades, then they learned that what their child likes at once cannot be changed. Video games have made a positive influence in my life due to their good messages that are beneficial to the world. To me, being a gamer is a way of life and I love every moment of it. I hope that my future girlfriend is a gamer as well. Anyways, this is what inspired me to start my own webseries, made my preview already and hopefully I can make this work. Play Hard Gamers!
She fails to realise that in video games, problems are designed to be solved, and also to be fun in the process, while in the real world, problems are often dull, unrewarding, if not unsolvable altogether. Proposing that real world problems can be portrayed as "games" to be played is simply grossly out of touch with reality. So while playing video games can connect gamers in the virtual dimension, it will solve real world problems no more than it will bring people together in real life.
A big proportion of people I know and hold dear has been through gaming. Whether it be online or offline games it is something that crosses race, colour and gender boundaries. The games she is talking about seem to be specifically set up to simulate real world problems with the fun and affirmation every day games give, albeit with real world relevance. Your most worrying point of them being "problems that are designed to be solved" implies many of the world problems such as hunger, energy, climate etc. are problems that cannot/ should not be solved. Are we all just doomed to keep going down the same road until our non-renewable resources run out?
David Bowen Very possibly, yes. In any case, I don't see the people of the world coming together to solve these problems, and certainly not through games "set up to simulate real world problems".
TheDivinedProphecy thats exacly that "optimism" she was talkiong about and that many people lack it. i for example do think that its possible, maybe not at this very moment but one day and its all up to the people. also, i think that almost all the problems are solvable. P.S. games do bring people together in ways some cant even imagine.
TheDivinedProphecy Just some examples: Some of the games are actually being used to simulate real world problem (there was a manager who used farmville to simulate his company, Some other games have been used to simulate traffic patterns). Those games were not designed for those problems, but people could find a similarity to use them as a simulator. Some other games are actually designed to solve a problem but the player might not understand the problem. There was a game that was designed to find genetic code of a biological virus. The researchers couldn't figure it out easily, but they designed a game that the player could design the RNA and see how the virus acts. Based on those designs they would get scores. Finally one of the players hit the actual RNA code (You can think of all players as iterations of evolutionary process) and helped the researchers to decode its RNA. Yes, players get 'can-do' attitude because they see games and puzzles being solved all the time. For a real world problem, that can-do attitude helps a lot and computer games can be used to make very good iterations.
This is a really interesting talk. I can definitely resonate with the idea that gamifying real world problems could empower people (or gamers) to utilise creative and optimism otherwise unused in their waking lives. When we tackle problems in-game we inherently believe in our own abilities; after all, the problem is made to be solvable for the player. However, applying the format of gaming to real-world sectors would make the player feel as if the burdens of reality have been lifted somehow, and give impetus to their problem-solving efforts.
Fair point, or an alternative to feeling the restrictions on reality are lifted - people can somewhat keep themselves intentionally ignorant to the looming issues down the road (or the game does). And instead focus on the immediate, practical step they can take that doesn’t feel overwhelming. Leverage the ignorance is bliss approach, and incremental improvement + awareness building
There is no difference between simulations and video games, there is no difference between real life and simulations. Video games are simplified versions of real life situations in the form of simulations, as should know, computer simulations are the most powerful research tools that science has today. The difference is the complexity and the ideas that the simulation focuses on. If we can turn real life into a game, what power does that have? The fact that simulations can change the world is non debatable. What simulations do this, and what simulations people actually play is another question, but the idea that we can veer what simulations people play into a direction that can help humanity isn't far fetched.
David Monroy "there is no difference between real life and simulations." The whole point of having a simulation in the first place, is because you can't do it in real life. Why can't you do it in real life, because of the differences between the 2! Saying there is no difference between the 2 is just dumb.
I used to play World of Warcraft. I was the Guild Leader and the Main Tank. Our guild was ranked #3 on the server as a raiding guild. We had appliances and do 3 interviews per week like real job. World of Warcraft taught me how to manage and run a "company". Now I own a company called "Worldcraft Logistics" and I run it like World of Warcraft. I even apply DKP (dragon kill point) as the our company bonus system. Game developers spend large amount of time making the "perfect" world, and we should all learn from it.
A decade ago i would have been really concerned about the effect gaming has on kids, particularly violent video games but lately iv been seeing game makers really take advantage of games to make kids think, iv seen video games about domestic violence and the emotional journey a kid has through in that faze of his life, a woman dealing with depression and facing suicide and there are other games out there that are very strategy based, games that teach kids the dynamics of creating and running a civilization or city. It is simply undeniable the real world opportunities that can come from kids playing video games. I realized that i had skills in social work because i loved going around and helping people all the time in World of Warcraft, and i had more fun interacting and meeting others in virtual worlds, im now studying Youth Work and strive to work with schools in early intervention to educate kids, parents, teachers and even communities about screen culture, both the good and the bad, to show people that video games are bad in one context but extraordinary in the context of the video above (as well as social media etc..)
Listening to this honestly has changed my thoughts on what we can do with the future of videogames. Though the idea as of now is a bit radical, I think that we could create a better thinking person through videogames.
I believe the real problem is that we've been forever dismissing optimism for naivete; that we choose cynicism under the guise of pragmatism/realism. This speaker in the video brought forth an idea that creates hope, which I feel is a far more precious resource than anything tangible we may cling to. Then again, maybe I'm being naive as well. However, I'd rather dream about the future than dread it.
fascinating! one question - at what point is actually someone, who has power/influence/reach in the real world will start to collaborate with these simulation projects?
She makes perfect sense. I really don't understand why most of you aren't getting the message. Don't focus on her voice, her looks, her use of the word "epic", just shut up and listen. She's trying to tell people that we can change the world if we work together. By turning your life into a video game with objectives and rewards, you'll feel more inspired to get up and do something. Instead of spending time projecting negativity, take that time to think about your life.
It´s very intriguing how nowadays, many thousand players around the world are learning to manage weapons, just for fun. Meanwhile, most of indie and low budget games encourage us to share our social perceptions, making some non violent behaviours, and many other factors. I admire those developers, not the mainstream cliches
They're laughing at her purposeful contrast between pre-conceived conceptions about gamers and her argued usefulness of the skill set people obtain from gaming. Tragedy and confusion are fundamental components of humour. Ergo people are laughing at the sad misunderstandings about gamers, as well as being slightly astonished at her fairly polished theory of applying said skill-sets to real world issues.
What a fascinating and optimistic view of online gaming. It makes sense that the evolution of our species will be determined by our actions. Even if we just have micro-evolution, we should see an increased ability to process information.
Some of the benefits of gaming include, increased concentration, a reason to live, raising metabolism, fun and play (essential for good health), a sense of adventure, increasing will power, developing patience, increasing imagination, increasing creativity, and aiding in the truly spiritual life...
There was one thing that I kept thinking about and that is that games are designed in a certain way so that you can always solve the problem, in real life that isn't always the case. In games you can also keep trying over and over but in certain situations in life you only got one shot. Other than that I thought it was a good speech and I do believe that games can help solve problems and that the gaming mind-set can help people in their lives.
thats what she wanted to say. she wanted to say that as gamers think in games (*that we can deffinately beat the game) we need to think in the real world that the best possible outcome is achievable and we need to fight for it
People need to understand that we gamers are not playing games for additicion,we are not either playing it for shooting people,we are enjoying diversity and full details,story and idea of the developers,devs wanted to show us something,not addict us and make from us killing machines I'm player and beggining developer of games myself,and i can clearly say that what older generation says about videogames is clear untouched bullshit,we dont reallly ignore reality as it is,that's a lie of media Dont do analyzes,dont read about games Buy a PC,buy game you seem to like its plot and enviroment and play it each game can bring on scene different stuff,not because we can be everything we want,we dont really care about that,Arma 3 is an military simulator,you see what i mean there? Military simulator,Rayman as example is an arcade,and has a story Its exactly same as with movies,not because its better then real life we dont care about that,but because we're just enjoying games as people are enjoying movies Never hate what you dont understand,i'm finding some stuff offensive,and when i have PC in my house,i'm automatically and murderer,violent person that doesnt have a life,this is not how it is...
"Never hate what you don't understand." - SmoothGuy The world buzzing with "if only's" and "what if''s" that people view things in a linear way. I hope what you are reaching to may reach a thousands or millions of ears. Being narrow isn't the option to expect what should be. there may be draw backs but there are solutions to them. Until then some people just view gamers like us as bad culture. and some are narrow enough to tag us repulsive.
This what I've been working towards. An interactive mythological alternative reality with permaculture goals. Yeah Jane!!! So glad I came upon you the other day.
