"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" Really?

Conforming to Rules, following a path leading to a goal, that goal giving you a sense of accomplishment under our own authority. Is this not a game?

Jane McGonigal states that "all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation" (McGonigal 2011, p.21). This being said then is life not a game? Games are set out to have one of two paths, finite games and infinite games. Finite games with a beginning and ending with a chance of "winning" and Infinite games a never ending cycle of gaming. We crave satisfaction, a positivity through challenges. These satisfactions pull upon the four attributes of a game. 

We follow rules everyday why don't we believe its a game? Our need to follow rules and work hard at life crosses platforms with digital video games or gaming industry.McGonigal tells use to forget the old saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" (Mcgonigal 2011, p.29). According to McGonigal the game industry use our need to work hard, our fear of failure allows us to test real world problem without any consequences expect our time. We think its fun to play GTA and kills people, steal cars, have loads of money. The satisfactory element is when the basic rules of reality spill over onto imaginary plains but the system allows you beat reality without reality affected.

Nothing can be classified as a game without those there to create the rules, the feedback systems and aesthetics, the goal. Henry Jenkins suggests that "media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence" (Jenkins 2006 p.2) is new media, can that be said for all games? The feedback system, goal and rules designed by collective intelligence, the participatory culture falling between the category of voluntary participation and the media convergence of platforms and reality games.

Realities lines between games are blurred when you break them down into the four categories, it suggest that life is a game, and we are willing to play. 






Bibliography

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

Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press, 2006,

Who needs instructions!

Jane McGonigal states to us what that "all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation." (McGonigal, 2011, p.21) 

Without rules it would make the goal very easy to achieve as it would be basic, as in the example McGonigal talks about golf, as it is very easy to simply put the ball in the hole with your hand when your standing beside it but when you add the rules that you must hit the ball with a golf club and that you have to be at a certain distance from the hole this is what makes the game hard. It is the hardness that we thrive for as "in a good computer or video game you’re 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." (McGonigal, 2011, p.24) So basically a game isn't a good game unless we are always pushing ourselves. Feedback is also what keeps the addiction for us as throughout the game we are always able to see the goal and see how far we are to the goal this makes us want to achieve the goal and not let the game win.

"Games today come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history." (McGonigal, 2011, p.20) Gaming has evolved so fast from the beginning of gaming. It has evolved that quickly that we don't even play games in the same way in which we first begun. In games such as portal as Jane McGonigal puts the point forward that "Traditionally, we have needed instructions in order to play a game. But now we’re often invited to learn as we go."(McGonigal, 2011, p.26) This just proves that we as a culture and society have become more advanced and more creative in the fact that we no longer want to know how things work or how to do it but that we like the challenge and self satisfaction from working it out yourself and just basically trying to achieve the goal before you no the goal. 


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

 

The Game of Life

Millions of people prefer spending time in the virtual gaming world instead of in reality, leading to a great deal of moral debates on the value of games. However, the consequences of games should not be questioned, but rather reality itself. According to McGonigal (2011, p.20), there is something wrong with reality and games should be used to fix it.

In order to do this, there should be a clear understanding of what a game exactly is. Jane McGonigal proposes a definition that does not connect games to a certain medium. Rather, she argues that all games structure experience in a unique way (McGonigal, 2011, p.21). According to McGonigal (2011, p.21), “what defines a game are the goal, the rules, the feedback system, and voluntary participation. Everything else is an effort to reinforce and enhance these four core elements”. In this respect, gaming can be understood as accomplishing unnecessary hard work voluntarily. Doing nothing does not make people happy. Individuals need challenges or diverse kinds of hard work at the right time for the right person (McGonigal, 2011, p.29). This is something that reality cannot offer, but games can. Gaming makes a player experience positive stress and pride and this results in happiness.

To fix reality, parts of games should be included into our daily lives to make it more challenging. This phenomenon is called gamification and relies on the intrinsic motivation of an individual. An example of this is Foursquare, where people can check into locations. The goal is to become major of a certain place, while feedback is received through badges which function as rewards for users. In this way, gamification could also be used to create more engagement in education and organizations.

Nevertheless, this is a too idealistic prospect since problems can arise with the voluntarily aspect. Moreover, the main problem remains the ambiguity of the definition of games. There is disagreement on the term, resulting in the adoption of diverse strategies for solving cultural problems.

Bibliography

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

Reality is Broken four defining traits

In culture it is associated that games are a form of pastime entertainment, although society is against them. The indications of games are often connected with players how are immovable form the playing screen until they get to the next level, highest score or complete the mission, therefore manufacturing the player to become a competitive person, doing the best of their ability on achieving whatever it requires on prevailing goals.

"the stereotype that gamers are highly competitive people who care more about winning than anything else."( McGonigal, 2011, p.24)

 McGonigal's four traits of the definition of a game are a goal, a rule, the feedback system and the voluntary participation. Here the author's first trait is a goal, which gives the plaer a sense of purpose. The goal provides motivation for the player to achieve specific missions within the game. This indication creates the sense to players sending more time on games that in real life.

She continues with rules which are set of instructions that player most obeyed by to succeed goal. Challenging the player to reflect their options on overcoming the hurdles of the contest, illustrating as a player accepting the way in which the game should be played fairly. However players will try finding ways of breaking the rules.

"They unleash creativity and foster strategic thinking" (McGonigal, 2011, p.21)

Fallow by feedback system which encourage players to keep on playing, this is attained by rewarding the players with passage to the next levels, points or a scores. In turn keep the player inspired on succeeding completion. These possess motivation for players on striving for accomplishment, although inhabiting personal strengths and weaknesses not knowing when to stop.

These in concludes voluntary participation that all players accept that the game will contain challenges to overcome, along with independence consent of staying or leaving the game at any time.

As many features that are related with games complement the four defining traits are the mean selection found in every game.

"Everything else is an effort to reinforce and enhance these four core elements "(McGonigal, 2011, p.21)

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

Reality May Be Broken, But 'Other Reality' Is Coming To An End

Jane McGonigal opens the first chapter of her 'Reality is Broken' book with a quote from Bernard Suits about the definition of a game.

Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles

(Suits, B. 2005: 54-55)

In his book, entitled 'The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia' Suits offers up the concept of the Lusory Attitude, which is a psychological mindset where the player will be willing to accept the rules of the game, in order the reach the goal.

"To play a game is to attempt to achieve a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit use of more efficient in favour of less efficient means, and where the rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity" (Suits, B. 2005: 54-55)

McGonigal sets out the four main aspects of a game; goal, rules, feedback and voluntary participation. The rules make the goal hard to reach, this is what challenges the player and ultimately sets out the game as a whole. Without rules, the goal would be a one move completion. Feedback is a way for a player to know how far they are through the game. 

However, feedback, in certain instances is not necessarily important, especially for the "infinite" games which James P. Carse talks about in 'Finite and Infinite Games' (1986). These games are ones which the player does not want to finish. A loose example of this is Rockstar's 'GTA V' The player wants the story to continue and want it to be very long, because once its over, their 'other reality' is gone.

Games are being seen to form the same structure, but what has been so successful about the industry is how differently this structure can be interpreted. 

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.
Carse, J.P. (1986), Finite and Infinite Games. New York: Ballantine Books.