Can Gaming Save The World? [Video]

What you will see below is a recently released TED talk by game designer Jane McGonigal, who spoke at this year’s TED Conference in Long Beach.  According to her theory, we are currently playing games for 3 billion hours each week.  But her research shows 3 billion hours can barely save the world.  Instead, 21 billion hours per week will do the work.  In her own words, game play can solve world problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflicts, obesity, etc.  I really wanted to believe what she is saying, but unfortunately doing a little reality check will help you discover that her statement is a little “counterintuitive,” (quoting her own word).  Here is why.

 

1.  No matter how real you make it, game play still occurs in a virtual world.  It won’t help you solve any real world issues like paying rent, or supporting your children.

2. 21 billion hours per week are too much time wasted that could have been used to find a better job or start a new start-up venture.  The problem is we only have a finite amount of time available for us to do certain things everyday.

3. It’s easy to get addictive to games.  I know too many people who play hundreds of hours of games each week that they can’t even find time to sleep and eat.  Moderation is the key word we should emphasize in everything.

On a flip side, here is how we can integrate games with real world elements to change the world:

1. Add more game elements to social media sites to make it fun to play.  Location based sites like Foursquare and Gawalla have already done this.

2. Develop more games for kids in their early development stage to better their critical thinking abilities.

I really liked her talk.  Perhaps my perception about game play is a little skewed.  Hopefully it will evolve over the next few years.  Until then, I’m sure I will still hustle and grow by facing and solving real world problems.  Enjoy the video!

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