I agree with the world not adopting this kind of thinking anytime soon.
This is a really loose argument that I won't want to type out right now, but I think it's the corporations' fault that games will never be used for good (or at least, mainstreamed as good).
Your argument isn't really that loose. There's way more money to be made by making a new Call of Duty than a game about world hunger. There's also less energy (physically) required from the player to play mainstream games. If they could figure out a way to combine the sit-down play style of the mainstream with the live-your-life-differently style of McGonigal's games then maybe her hopes could become reality
(from your topic) : I can see where she's coming from with alot of her points and can actually relate to them. Although some may seem a little extreme the do seem to have some kind of relevance. I've noticed that through playing games I have become more tolerable of others, and there alot of things in games that I would set my mind to complete that there is no way I would even considering doing in real life. Until realizing that there are similar things at a realistic level that I could complete.
Here, fwylo, have a inbox message =)
I think games becoming more social (or I should say, more games coming out which are social) is really helping develop our social skills in a more meaningful way. For games like WoW, though, those people skills are enforced heavily in the game (with the fun factor), and totally discouraged outside of it (by ridicule and beratement).
" Your argument isn't really that loose. There's way more money to be made by making a new Call of Duty than a game about world hunger. There's also less energy (physically) required from the player to play mainstream games. If they could figure out a way to combine the sit-down play style of the mainstream with the live-your-life-differently style of McGonigal's games then maybe her hopes could become reality "
Good point. I'm reminded of how the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchise boom that happened these last few years brought tons of newcomers to music shops to learn instruments for the first time. I'd bet that if it's executed well, some really great lessons/concepts could be taught (or encouraged would be a softer word) through video games.
" Rofl she makes games for a living and is telling people to play games more. Riiiiiight. Turned it off after a minute and a half. "
Yeah, I was about to turn it off because of that, but she's got a point to make. People don't get invited to talk at TED if they don't have something good to say.
" Your argument isn't really that loose. There's way more money to be made by making a new Call of Duty than a game about world hunger. There's also less energy (physically) required from the player to play mainstream games. If they could figure out a way to combine the sit-down play style of the mainstream with the live-your-life-differently style of McGonigal's games then maybe her hopes could become reality "
Good point. I'm reminded of how the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchise boom that happened these last few years brought tons of newcomers to music shops to learn instruments for the first time. I'd bet that if it's executed well, some really great lessons/concepts could be taught (or encouraged would be a softer word) through video games. "
Definitely. Just not in the way she was presenting it, because no game that boasts "Solve World Hunger!" on the cover will ever sell. A game that boast that more subtly, however, might.
" I definitely don't think gaming is the scourge of society, but it's not a catalyst for world peace, either. "
True, but like Icil said, Guitar Hero/Rock Band got people to pick up real guitars, and Forza made me start to follow auto racing (ALMS and F1 NOT Nascar) religiously.
Couldn't companies like the one that made Heavy Rain do something cool? I mean, that game was accepted well enough, and it would be really easy to do something like, say, expose a serious problem from a cool perspective (through a video game) but while keeping the emphasis on something important. Did that make sense? Companies could make a Heavy Rain style game but instead of the story of heavy rain, have something like hunting down rain forest poachers because they're not just hurting the environment, they're hurting people. And put in facts about the forests or whatever in a cool, non-game breaking way. Oh, and the game can't be made by Al Gore. I don't want to see pictures of the world before you beat the game, and after you beat the game.
15 mins later I'm still waiting for her to get to her point, or an example... or SOMETHING!
Edit: Okay I get it. She should take it to the next level though. I always wanted a survival game to come out. Usually I want it to be something like cave man trying to hunt etc to live. But it could also be something like what she described. She'd have to mask it as a real game though. The best game you could come up with though would be a management sim. One of those PC games where you manage a skyscraper or a hospital or something.
Log in to comment