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Can Games Create A Better World?
Post by Steve Farrelly @ 11:22am 18/03/10 | 26 Comments
At the global TED conference, game designer Jane McGonigal broached an interesting topic: Gaming Can Make A Better World, and actively supports longer gaming time because players learn the habits of heroes, and can eventually apply these to real-life.

She talks enthusiastically about the World of WarCraft environment, and how it fosters a community of people capable and willing to help you solve problems and work together as a positive team.

It's very interesting listening and watching, and while it does come in at a solid 20+ minutes, gamers would do well to arm themselves with these kinds of thoughts and statistics.

Check out the embed below, or stream directly from TED.com.



world of warcraftjane mcgonigalted





Latest Comments
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hardware
Posted 11:23am 18/3/10
awesome thread title
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Steve Farrelly
Posted 11:29am 18/3/10
shut up!

Fixed now ;)
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greazy
Posted 11:37am 18/3/10
When do you actually solve problems in WoW (apart from guild drama)? A text, turn based mmo provides more problem solving situations than wow.
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Jim
Posted 11:39am 18/3/10
sometimes there are quests where you have to stop and read the quest log to realise what you have to do. I find that a pretty big problem
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konstie
Posted 11:43am 18/3/10
sometimes there are quests where you have to stop and read the quest log to realise what you have to do. I find that a pretty big problem


i thought wow was the problem, not a solution? that s*** is like crack, f00! will definitely checkout the video this evening!
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blahnana
Posted 11:50am 18/3/10
I think the way people act in forums pretty much shoots down that argument. People act one way in the real world, and act another way online.

That won't change until the two are much closer intertwined, and even then...

I guess the amount of people "meeting in wow" and then having real world relationships shows that there is some crossover there, but realistically how many people have you seen that are confident online, and completely the opposite in real life? They have learned to deal with strangers online, but can't do the same in real life.

Probably need a sociologist to weigh in on such a topic, not a game designer in my opinion.

If you want to "teach" or be taught morals and teamwork and so on, get into real-life clubs, be active in your community where you interact with real-life people and compromise with your real-life personality. Because of the difference in online and real-world persona, I don't see the benefit in pushing games as a solution.

I must admit that I haven't listened to the video yet. If she addresses the issue of crossover somehow, maybe she'll have some kind of point.
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trog
Posted 11:55am 18/3/10
I think the way people act in forums pretty much shoots down that argument. People act one way in the real world, and act another way online.
Totally agree, though I'd change it to "people act one way in the real world, and another way when they don't think there will be real-world accountability for their actions". Even 'in the real world' people act like asshats when they think noone is looking or they'll get away with it or whatever.
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Nerfbringer
Posted 01:43pm 18/3/10
I learned I enjoyed helping lost noobs find their way in WoW, and yesterday I met a lost guy from singapore and helped him find a train station, and just maybe I learned that from WoW.

Though I also learned how to fail an exam because I was playing WoW which does not make for a better world. :P
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Reverend Evil™
Posted 12:31pm 18/3/10
WoW can scale in helpfulness. Normally if you're a noob or you're helping a noob things seem to be friendly. Fast forward to running heroics and one small stuff up can lead to a bunch of f*****s screaming abuse because they couldn't faceroll the dungeon.
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konstie
Posted 12:36pm 18/3/10
what's faceroll?
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Jim
Posted 12:37pm 18/3/10
how people play wow, generally speaking
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ravn0s
Posted 12:49pm 18/3/10
i thought ted talks had to be less than 15mins, or have they got rid of that rule?
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Viper
Posted 01:45pm 18/3/10
So we should learn from heroes like Gordan Freeman and take a crowbar to peoples faces?
Or learn from heroes like Solid Snake and hold a gun to peoples faces then feel them up?

btw inb4 teh "I'm no hero, never was, never will be."
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TiT
Posted 01:49pm 18/3/10
we have few hero on qgl dont we?? Well there a few here that think that..
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Hogfather
Posted 01:55pm 18/3/10
She talks enthusiastically about the World of WarCraft environment, and how it fosters a community of people capable and willing to help you solve problems and work together as a positive team.


MORE DOTS MORE DOTS MANY WHELPS!!
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Pinky
Posted 01:56pm 18/3/10
Obviously this bird has never tried to Google 'world of warcraft' and 'addiction' at the same time

I think WoW creates a LOT more problems than it does solutions.
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weedy
Posted 01:57pm 18/3/10
"She talks enthusiastically about the World of WarCraft environment, and how it fosters a community of people capable and willing to help you solve problems and work together as a positive team."

I wonder did she talk about how its also ruined families and how half my mates have fallen off the face of the planet since i stopped joining then in WoW?

WoW might foster an online WoW community but its detriemental to the "real life community"
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konstie
Posted 02:07pm 18/3/10
f*** wow.
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Eorl
Posted 03:12pm 18/3/10
She has points, but as everyone has stated, when you get into the online world, you adopt a second face. Granted some people keep their normal "real life" face even in games (i.e asshats), a majority don't act the way you see them in WoW, in real life. I remember meeting up with some guild mates, and they acted completely different to what I had adjusted to in AoC.

Sure there are the brain trust that solve all the complicated formulas for each talent tree and spells. But the majority aren't going to put their hand up to help solve a nasa problem.
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Lithium
Posted 08:48pm 18/3/10
She's on crack, plus I bet she's employed by Blizzard.

Which in fact makes her a crack dealer.
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skythra
Posted 08:56pm 18/3/10
Spending more than a few days played in world of warcraft and you'd disbelieve everything she says.

Everyone who you don't know personally act like a bunch of 4chan f***tards. It's pretty much exactly the internet chatroom in a game. I'd f*****g hate the world if it was even a little more like how people treat each other in wow.
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Tetsuo
Posted 12:20am 19/3/10
TBH given the populatiry of things like facebook and myspace is it really justified sledging WoW so heavily when many MORE people are starting to shun real life and there social circles in favour of a more easier to administer online aspect instead?

TL;DR Myspace and facebook are just as bad yet most people happily use them isntead of sledging?

P.S In before the odvious "freakin wow addict!", Yes i quit over a year ago so choke on it.
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Viper
Posted 11:33am 19/3/10
I was lucky, the graphics whore in me put me off WOW from the start, and have never touched it.
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Scooter
Posted 11:43am 19/3/10
Won't people running around saying "You pick up good behaviour from games" Just add more ammo for the "You pick up bad behaviour from games" people?

It's basically the exact same argument isn't it?

Gamers are so quick to shut down "GTA made him/taught him do do it!" when it's bad yet everyone seems to willing accept "Helping people in WoW made him help people in 'real' life"

Hypocritical much?
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Hogfather
Posted 11:53am 19/3/10
Scooter: I think that the idea is that (normal) people dissociate from the fantasy and more extreme violence aspects and can still take on board more abstract lessons about problem solving and team building. Organisations use events like paintball for team building without the hysteria over learned homicidal behaviour.

I don't think that its an inherently hypocritcal notion - what we're talking about is a modern-day interactive parable or fable.
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lewd
Posted 07:30pm 19/3/10
like this game
tiger woods pga tour 2011
what bulls***.
stay at home play games anti-socially so that you can act better socially.
like a hero...............
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