Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
416 pages Hardcover (Non-Fiction)
I saw a Ted Talk by McGonigal a couple years ago and when I heard that she had written a book I wanted to give it a read. I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas gift so here we are.
McGonigal puts forth the idea that games can be put to work changing the world for the better. Each week millions of man hours are used accomplishing goals in video games. She asserts that these hours could be used in games to make the world a better place. The book focuses a lot on various gaming accomplishments that don't affect the "real" world, but have effects on the the people involved in positive ways. Gamers are more likely to come back from set backs, are more satisfied because they have a place to achieve recognizable goals, and know how to attain those goals. Right now that that might not have much significance, but it sets them up to be successful in the future.
The last half of the book focuses on games that have had a positive effect on the world. She took part in developing a game that put the players in an oil shortage. The players then advanced in the game using real life oil saving strategies. Cruel 2 B Kind has people spread kindness in crowded areas encouraging happiness to those participating but also those that weren't playing the game. Another game had people interacting with elderly in nursing homes and giving them chances to connect with life outside their living areas. One game made a contest out of cleaning the house. All of these games had a positive effect on the world even if it was just a clean bathroom.
McGonigal does a good job of demonstrating how games can make the world a better place. The ideas in the book were fantastic and just reading it made me want to get involved in some way. A couple things did bother me about the book: She comes across as a amateur writer. She continually used the same turns of phrase such as "this is just the back of an envelope figure" and that stuck out as weak to me. As the book went on it began to come off as a list of games she has developed and didn't focus much on what other people have done. The last thing was the book focused almost exclusively on the positive aspects of gaming. She spent about one page addressing some of the negative things involved in gaming, but I felt as a gamer myself glossed over a lot of the problems that comes about because of and within games.
That said I really enjoyed the book. If she did focus a lot on her achievements it could be because her ideas are on the the edge of what is happening and right now there aren't a lot of other examples.
5 Intellectual/Emotional - Harnessing the time put into games and funneling toward positive things is a good goal and I found it extremely interesting.
2 Style/Readability - McGonigal has some room to grow as a writer. Thankfully the content makes up for that.
4 Long term impact - It seems as if she is promoting something that is certain to catch on. As the world continues to become more connected the ideas presented in this book will become more popular and then they can have the impact the are designed to have.
11 out of 13. I think if you have any interests in games, not just video games, then this book is a good read. Even those that aren't into games can see how they can have a positive influence.
Keep turning pages.
