Reality Is Broken

Fascinating view of why we play arbitrary, useless games. The second half of real world application examples got a bit repetitive.

Some really cool ideas and concepts. But so verbose and some chapters are just devoid of content.

My notes:

Reality is broken - Jane mcgonigal

Unnecessary obstacles
A goal
Voluntary participation

Happiness that is intrinsically motivated is much more resilient. External motivation is prone to hedonistic adaptation. Law of diminishing returns.

1. We crave satisfying work daily
2. Experience success
3. Social connection
4. Meaning


Reality is unproductive and unclear

Many of us do work that feels more surreal than real. Working in an office, you often find it difficult to see any tangible result from your efforts. What exactly have you accomplished at the end of any given day? Where the chain of cause and effect is opaque and responsibility diffuse, the experience of individual agency can be elusive.


The Case for Working With Your Hands - The New York Times
Failure is necessary to keep the fun going. It increases our sense of agency

Use it in real life. Alternate reality games help make mundane tasks fun: Chore Wars
Or helps recovery from chronic illness etc: SuperBetter

I like some of the ideas and suggestions but McGonigal, as much as she tries not to be, is heavily biased in favor of video games. The title idea, that reality is broken and people are seeking to escape it in the world of video games, is spot on. Her suggestions for what to do about it left me scratching my head.

Fascinating thesis of how games can change the world. Starting from video games, McGonigal goes on to AR games and even large scale social games. I like the grand idea that she proposes, and as a gamer, truly believe in the life-changing nature of games. However, I'm a bit skeptical on how the mainstream will accept this ideas. Still, if people can play Tombstone Hold'em in cemeteries to face death and find happiness, we can dream.