Using Games To Our Advantage

McGonigal sets out that all games, no matter which medium they exist in or how complex or simple they are, consist of four traits that define them. These are “a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation.” (McGonigal, 2011, p.21) The goal is the end target the player wants to reach, the rules restrict how the player can go about completing these targets, making them harder than they would otherwise be. The feedback system is a way of showing how the player is doing or if they’re doing something correctly, from a point tally or rewards. The voluntary participation might be the most important aspect of games in that the player has no need to play if they don’t want to, this is what sets it apart from work that must be done and is a chore because of it.

This simple definition of what a game actually is makes it easier for us to understand them and how they do so well at making us complete tasks. “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” (Suits, B. 2005: 54-55)

If every day work that has real world value, compared to todays games, can be altered to meet these four key traits to make them fun and effectively turn them into games, people would be happier and more productive at the same time. As a well known line from Mary Poppins says “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!” (Mary Poppins, 1964). This is gamification and it’s frequently something parents do to get their children to do chores. This would give us voluntary hard work that has real value to the world, but that people would actually like to complete rather than dreading and putting off for as long as possible “it turns out that almost nothing makes us happier than good, hard work.” (McGonigal, 2011, p.28) If this work also challenges us instead of always being the same, we enjoy it far more. Games challenge us in ways real life doesn’t and the challenge is something we enjoy the most which is why we enjoy games so much.

Bibliography
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, Penguin Press HC.
Suits, B. (2005) The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, Broadview Press.

Filmography
Mary Poppins (1964) Directed by Robert Stevenson [DVD] Walt Disney Productions, USA