Perpare to Die

Jane McGonigal observes the 'realms' (our worlds societies) grasp of gaming and forms it into a whole new level through her understanding of the 'working' and 'hardening' level structure, found in her book, Reality is Broken: why games make us better and how they can change the world. 

Reality is hard no doubt about that, but games have a different form of difficulty setting then reality, that helps the player rather then hindering them. Games use volunteering work that provides a process in which the "unnecessary hard work" gives the 'gamer' a reason to "care about the outcome of their effort" (McGonigal, 2011, p.27). It also give the player a reason to become better through emotion not normally associated success or accomplishment. Anger.

In the PBS show, they look at anger to encourage the player to overcome problems and puzzles and a enlightenment factor that makes them what to win more. This is exactly want McGonigal states when she looks at the hard work which is special picked out to entitle the player. We are "always playing on the very edge of your skill level, always on the brink of falling off. When you do fall off, you feel the urge to climb back on. That’s because there is virtually nothing as engaging as this state of working at the very limits of your ability"  (McGonigal, 2011, p.24)

What game out of all games drives the gamer into pure insanity? Dark Souls. The tagline is just  'Prepare to Die'. Nothing more nothing less, and rightly so. Dark Souls is a Role Playing Game (RPG) in which you take the form of an undead and your quest is to bring light to the world. This game is known for its traffic yet deadly game mechanics, seen through its unique bosses or the smaller characters that come at you in hordes. The game changes its difficult level not only as you move along but through its online factor where higher level players can just walk into your world and kill you. 
 

As you can see from the video that deaths happen on a regular bases and the emotional rift seen in some players, drives them even more to complete the game or even just one boss. This factor alone can not show a change in the individual players true reality but what it does show that we look upon the world with new eyes. That every obstacle we see is like a boss in Dark Souls in which we have to over come no matter the cost.



Bibliography
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin Press HC.

YouTube Videos 
PBS game/show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJJdNS79PC8list=WLhg_SjL14f00j468dr8nuJQmCL8Pewey5
Dark Souls Montage:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrPYCP7s3K4