To Fix the Real World, Play Games Online...

[OneGrassRoot]

(We've had a few discussions here at ASAH about games and online virtual realities such as Second Life, Farmville at Facebook, etc. At first glance it may seem silly, but more and more people are trying to put the positives these games embody and encourage to good use in the real world. :) )


People today are addictively entertained by video games. Jane McGonigal says that's a good thing.

McGonigal, a game designer with the Institute for the Future, and a speaker at this year's TED Conference here in Long Beach, California, says people today spend a collective 3 billion hours per week playing online games. She wants us to play more. To solve all of the world's problems, she says, we must spend seven times that much time with games - a whopping 21 billion hours per week among us all.

And, no, she's not joking. By playing online games like World of Warcraft, gamers build up "superpowers" that will help them solve real world problems, McGonigal says.

"My goal for the next decade is to try to make it as easy to save the world in real life as it is to save the world in online games," she said in a presentation here.

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/12/to-fix-the-real-world-play-games-online/?hpt=C2

[rumpel]

1. not to fix the world...

but it is one of my plans to create a holistic game- on a much smaller scale...However, I would not advise such enormous amounts of game time as the lady suggests.

The World of Warcraft is an interesting concept. My daughter, unbeknown to all of us, had physical reactions to it. She was playing it for hours and days on end for a while. Our holistic practitioner corrected it with NAET.

[I Have A Dream]

2. I love that it's now starting to be in the news.

I had never read anything in the news about this until what you posted in response to my statement this past week.

As I mentioned before, I really think that there's a great deal of truth to this. Many people are being taught what it is to be a good citizen/neighbor/friend through these games. It's sad that this is no longer taught in real life any longer.

The thing that I really like about these games is that many people are being added as friends (at least in Facebook) just to have more neighbors to play these games. Through the interactions, real friendships are forged, and real compassion, love and caring goes out into the world at large.

[rosesaylavee]

3. Bet Sorority Life isn't on the good list

When I joined FB - spent way too much time on that app... skeered my husband and sister. For those not familiar with it, the goal appears to be to quicly accumulate as many physical possessions you can (multiple possesions of the same thing is highly encouraged), dress extravagantly, and get a gang of girls together to physically fight other girls. It had a certain fascination for me as I have never belonged to a sorority and have never gravitated towards 'in' groups. I think that was the fascination... exploring an unknown, bizzaro world. Took me far too many levels to figure out that that really was all it was about. :P

[I Have A Dream]

4. I completely agree, rosie.

There are certain games that I feel don't fall into the category described in the OP. Mafia World is another one. Anything that kills people or pits people against each other wouldn't either, in my opinion. (I'm not putting these games or the people who play them down. I just don't think that they are part of what's being described in the OP.)

I can't do the Sorority World, YoVille stuff for some reason. Must be the introvert in me... :)

I do think that there's more to games like FarmVille, Farm Town, etc. I've made real friends from playing them, and we honestly care about each other and the other people who play even though we don't know each other in person. We work towards a common goal, helping each other along the way.

I had a reading with someone who said that my guides told him that I was supposed to play more; that I was too serious. Right after that, I found these games.

[rosesaylavee]

5. I like that there is a greater reason for this

Recreation is a good thing and I think we Cappies don't tend to play enough... Farmville seems more like work to me than play and I am glad people are getting various levels of satisfaction from that. I did that Green patch thing for awhile and that seemed to be a lot of work too.

I just can't do Mafia Wars. Having grown up here in the Chicago area, I don't find the Syndicate or the Mafia to be a laughing or entertaining matter in the least. And I have a tendency to drift toward the political and serious stuff happening in the world on my FB page... imagine that!

[I Have A Dream]

6. Yes, it can be a lot of work. I was telling OGR that in another thread.

(Or was it this thread? I'm not sure.)

I also tend to be very serious and anything that can lighten me up has to be a good thing for the world. :silly:

I completely agree with you about the Mafia Wars thing, rosie. I just didn't want to insult anyone who was playing it. They may be finding a way to bring light into it. I hope so.

If anyone looked at my Facebook wall, they'd almost certainly think that I was an airhead since all I have are games and quizzes. I have issues with that, but then decided that my ego needed to just deal with it. I'm the boss -- it's not! :D

:hug:

[tanyev]

7. That makes me think of one of the Richard Bach books where he envisions

an alternate world where all warfare is done virtually, more like a game or a contest.

[I Have A Dream]

8. Wouldn't that be wonderful?!!

(Oh, and I love your sig line, Tanyev. It's so very true.)

[OneGrassRoot]

9. It seems there is a movie coming out to that effect...

though not with such a lofty intent as Mr. Bach probably had. I saw a trailer recently for a movie where people acted out all the crimes and immoral (?) activities via a virtual counterpart.

Interesting theme coming into our awareness more and more. :)

:hi:

[tanyev]

10. Found it! It was in his book One, copyright 1988

I was wrong about it being virtual as in computer. Civilian flying teams became such a popular world wide professional sport that the world's air forces were put out of business. No pilot wanted to actually kill people for a pittance when they could make a lot more money having fun. I think maybe he would have made it virtual if he'd written it a few years later.

Might be time to go back and reread my Richard Bach collection. :)

[conscious evolution]

11. wannabe online mobster or for real revolutionary?

I'll stick with reality.

[conscious evolution]

12. check out this vid

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DB37wW9CGWyY&h=1f3e80d79432c33a9d7bfcbf87d6450e&ref=nf

I am beginning to think that Fb is an MK-Ultra project.