Almond Walkway

I love this speaker.  She has so many great ideas and insights into what life skills games can teach us, which I have had this feeling, or excuse for playing more, for years but have never been able to convey it this way.  She makes so many great points in this video and I want to talk about a few, more or less, of my favorites.

First off when we play games we are focused, some times too much to the point of total escapism, speaking from experience.  I can't tell you how many times I have started a game and somewhere around 3 hours later reality smacks me in the face, usually with a pain in my bladder from the Dr. Pepper I had. I am still learning but harnessing this type of focus in the real world can be powerful. And it is possible, McGonigal believes this,  we just need to use games to tap into it.

I have become a better problem solver because of games.  I bold statement but true.  In the Legend of Zelda, famous for their dungeon puzzles,  I have found myself solving problems using deduction and reasoning.  These skills have translated well into the real world and McGonigal would definitely credit that to my gaming, even if family or teachers choose to believe otherwise.   I, like her, believe that if you teach problem solving in this manner and show students how to use these skills in real life then they will do so much better for themselves.

She said in this video that in games it is impossible to feel like you can achieve your goal/mission.  I have never really thought about it that way but she is right.  When I go on a quest in game, I have guides telling me where to go, and games are set up to go along with how you play and your level of experience.  Sure you may have to grind, set in one spot to level up, but it isnt impossible.  Life feels impossible sometimes and we just need those moments where we feel like we can do it.  Utilizing this part of gaming in education would be amazing and we would see so much progress.

In life when I get bored, I play a video game.  Why?  Like McGonigal points out there is always something to do. In games like World of Warcraft there will always be something to do, and if there isn't currently, you should probably stop playing for one, and secondly they are working on more to add to the game.

In games once you level a skill up you get instant feed back.  McGonigal uses the example that she doesn't get +1 speech skills after she is done doing a presentation.  It is satisfying to know that what you did has not only purpose but something it give you in return.  Students may receive an A but that may not mean anything to them until later or at all.  We need to show them that there work is worth something and that all this practice isn't for nothing at all.

Gaming helps us evolve in McGonigals point of view.  I can see this to be true, though I would use the word adapt rather than evolve.  We play these game cooperatively in order to solve in game problems.  This can then be translated into the real world.  I know that once I have work with someone online and it turned out well then I am more likely to work well outside of the digital realm.

I love that she says games make people more optimistic, because I too believe that this is true.  She calls this Urgent Optimism and it gives you that drive to tackle an obstacle because you have the belief that you will be successful.  I have had this personally in my gaming and real life experience.  If I have done something in a game that seems difficult or if I beat a difficult game, I feel fantastic.  That comes out in my personal life as well, even though it's two different realities.  I feel that since I accomplished something of that magnitude in the gaming world then this problem in life can be conquered as well.

Most people would view gamers as shut ins, which might be the case in some instances but games build up social interactions.  If I play a game with you then I trust you, and McGonigal points this out, and I will most likely have more to do with you.  My deepest friendships, now that I think about it, have all started because of video games and have been strengthened further because of video games.  Games build up trust because you expect for the person to play by the rules and once they do you can trust them further.

Her biggest point near then end is great. McGonigal says that yes gamers are extremely optimistic but only when it comes to virtual reality.  She believes that if we harness this ability to game and transfer it into everyday life then we can change the real world.  I believe that this could work but the way to harness it isn't really here.  I would say that we may be seeing a lot more games in the classroom very soon and an increase in student work.  Her ideas are great and I am definitely going to try her approach in teaching with games.