I started reading Reality is Broken by Jane Mcgonigal and just a few paragraphs in, one sentence gave me an amazing aha moment. The sentence read " But as they [gamers] devote more and more of their free time to game worlds, the real world increasingly feels like it's missing something." (Mcgonigal, 3) I'm not completely sure where Mcgonigal is going with this sentiment, but after reading that sentence I found myself nodding in vehement concurrence. Now to be sure, I am in no way addicted to video games. I'm enthusiastic about video games and find playing some of them to be a fruitful experience akin to that of reading a good book or watching a classic movie. But I am not controlled by them. I don't need video games to validate my life. However, even with all of this being said, I still agree that there are times in my life where I feel myself yearning for the fantasy world of my game more so than that of my actual life.
Hearing this might be unsettling to you. The thought that a fantasy world could match up to the tangible splendor of real life might seem to be an unhealthy point of view. Some of you reading this might be my friends and family and that statement might make you concerned for my own mental health. So I want to give one more reassurance. I love my life and I could eventually be content with never playing a video game ever again (I would be incredibly sad at first). So what I'm trying to say is that this yearning for another world that isn't our own isn't unhealthy. In fact, I argue it's sensible and it can potentially become an issue if the real world doesn't get with the gaming program. But before I explain all of that, I think it's important that I explain how I view the forces that make us feel incomplete in the real world compared to video games and how the real world and video games can come to be good compliments for each other. I am in no way a psych major or anyone incredibly read on this, so what I'm asserting is essentially my own musings. I'm putting this out there as a conversation starter, so people can confront a serious issue that's going to become more prevalent as we progress in the new millennium. Video games aren't going anywhere and as technology improves, so will games. However, how society and the real world deals with them is something that can become quickly outdated.
Two Types of affirmation
When I think of how actions are affirmed in life I usually see them affirmed in two manners, intrinsically and extrinsically. Intrinsic affirmation is when a person finds an activity or action gratifying for its own end. For example, you might find playing tennis gratifying because you enjoy physical activity or you find a video game gratifying because it has a high difficulty. These activities are things we attribute gratification to, therefore making us participate in them out of our own volition. I find that most people who come to me and say they don't see the "appeal" of video games tend to be people who find meaning in life through a lot of intrinsic affirmation.
The second type of affirmation, extrinsic affirmation, is the opposite in that affirmation comes from an outside entity or system. For example, if you ate all of your vegetables because your parents told you to as a kid, then you're doing so because of extrinsic affirmation. The action becomes meaningful because it's being backed up by an outside source. We can see this kind of affirmation in all aspects of our lives. Class rankings can be a form of extrinsic affirmation. Employee of the month can be another. And in video games we usually call this a leveling system. Doing well in the game allows you to have more privileges or higher prestige. Sometimes this will make you do things you simply don't want to (e.g. grind). The point is that people feel their actions have purpose because an outside force is rewarding them or affirming them for their effort.
A constantly affirming world
So what now? Since it's been established that both the real world and the video game world have these two types of affirmation, what makes the video game world so much more affirming than the real world? Well the answer to that comes in the ability to understand how to get extrinsic affirmation. In the real world, barring educational institutions and the work force, extrinsic affirmation is hard to come by. It's difficult to predict what actions will produce an extrinsic benefit for every single action one takes. Even if one attempted this, the organization of how much affirmation one is getting and how they are doing comparitivley to others is an impossible feat. Now you might be saying, "well duh, that's how the real world works". Yes, but the issue is that the gaming world is far superior when it comes to allowing people access to extrinsic affirmation.
In the gaming world, every single action a person does has clear consequences and benefits. Sure, there are times where there is obscurity and one does need to explore and figure out a system before these things become clear, but once that has been accomplished, a person could mine extrinsic affirmation from a game for hours and hours. And it's easy to know how much of it you're getting. The leveling system makes it so that you know exactly how much extrinsic gratification you've achieved and it creates a scale by which you and your friends can compare your in game lives. The video game world makes sense and encourages people in ways that the real world simply can't keep up with. Where you might be unexpectedly laid off of work or dumped, just a power screen and a 10 minute start up time later you can find yourself in a world where these unexpected consequences rarely ever occur (and if they do there is always a remedy to fix them). The video game world is all accepting and encourages people to live successful lives (in the game) and for the most part everyone is able obtain some of that success. What's the point of living in a world where you can potentially be disappointed, when there is another easily accessible world where you can live in a manner that is fully accepted.
Why video games can't substitute real life
I'm not suggesting that we should all become computer hermits and just do the bare minimum to gain access into this virtual world. There is still a lot of affirmation that the video game world can't dish out. For example, the video game world will always be limited in the amount of intrinsic affirmation it can garner. Unless you hit the nail on the head with your game in terms of gameplay, level design, etc; eventually players are going to find themselves shutting down the finite world of the video game and waking up to the massive possibilities of real life (of which virtual world creation is one of them). But as one immerses themselves back into the real world it becomes more and more clear that the lack of guaranteed affirmation can be unsettling. Gone are the quantifiable levels of effort needed to achieve certain success. Compound this with the real world greeting you with a large helping of disappointment and unmet goals and it's not wonder why gamers want to quickly retake refuge in their virtual world.
There is hope: What the real world could learn from video games
Do not despair when it comes to the increasingly apparent realization that the real world can't compete with the gaming world. The real world shouldn't be competing with the gaming world. Instead we need to follow the age old mantra "if you can't beat them, join them" and I believe that the gradual embrace of this philosophy is taking place right in front of our eyes. Slowly but surely, the world is being gamified. Real life actions are being rewarded with virtual stickers and achievements and badges. Think of the mayorship in foursquare that allows you to gain prestige and also a clear hierarchical oneupsmanship of your friends. The point is that when we gamify real life it makes it so that extrinsic affirmation can be accessed by people more easily. No longer do you feel your actions are devoid of meaning when comparing them to the questing life of World of Warcraft. Instead of having two worlds conflicting with how meaning is established, people are able to switch seamlessly between their virtual world and the life they live.
What Video games need to learn from the real world
Many of you might be thinking, "if gamification does occur does that mean that the number of people playing video games (or at least the amount of hours played) will dramatically drop?" To this concern I can't really give a hard answer. Some games I do believe will be hurt by gamification. I think games with low intrinsic affirmation will find themselves losing out to real life, the same way real life lost out to video games in a competition of extrinsic affirmation. This means games like Borderlands and to some extent World of Warcraft might see people reducing hours played because there is little intrinsic value in those games ( one could argue the difficulty and team coordination of WoW makes it have huge intrinsic value, I'd be inclined to agree with this line of reasoning, I just needed another example to make it look like I'm not hating on borderlands). I think gamification will only raise the standard for video games and I believe that there will be developers that will meet and exceed those standards.Gamification compels developers to make better games, not more addicting ones.
Embracing an unstoppable future
Society needs to start dealing with the growing virtual world. Many of the gamers affected are our youth (of which I'm included), who are now delving into a virtual world their parents simply didn't have and therefore have trouble comprehending. This causes many parents to immediately think there is something "wrong" with their child when in fact the reality is that the world in many ways is failing them, not the other way around. I know this might seem dramatic and exaggerated beyond belief, but it's certainly a growing reality. When you read examples like the one Mcgonigal brings up later in the book, where the currency of China was almost devalued due to massive purchasing of in game currency, you start to buy into the sheer power video games have to compel action.
In the next few years gamification will occur. So this issue may very well be in the process of being fixed, but it's important that we have this complimentary relationship developed. We shouldn't be making the real world into a place that's constantly affirming. That's not reflective how the world really works and creates an apathetic society where joy and pain are devalued. The charge is also placed upon video games to ask the tough questions and ask difficult choices of their gamers. Sometimes it's good for a player to feel disappointed in a game. I'm not saying we should make video games real life or that we should turn real life into a video game, what I'm asking for a complimentary bridge to be built between the two. That way one can traverse through various experiences without every feeling out of place.
Hearing this might be unsettling to you. The thought that a fantasy world could match up to the tangible splendor of real life might seem to be an unhealthy point of view. Some of you reading this might be my friends and family and that statement might make you concerned for my own mental health. So I want to give one more reassurance. I love my life and I could eventually be content with never playing a video game ever again (I would be incredibly sad at first). So what I'm trying to say is that this yearning for another world that isn't our own isn't unhealthy. In fact, I argue it's sensible and it can potentially become an issue if the real world doesn't get with the gaming program. But before I explain all of that, I think it's important that I explain how I view the forces that make us feel incomplete in the real world compared to video games and how the real world and video games can come to be good compliments for each other. I am in no way a psych major or anyone incredibly read on this, so what I'm asserting is essentially my own musings. I'm putting this out there as a conversation starter, so people can confront a serious issue that's going to become more prevalent as we progress in the new millennium. Video games aren't going anywhere and as technology improves, so will games. However, how society and the real world deals with them is something that can become quickly outdated.
Two Types of affirmation
When I think of how actions are affirmed in life I usually see them affirmed in two manners, intrinsically and extrinsically. Intrinsic affirmation is when a person finds an activity or action gratifying for its own end. For example, you might find playing tennis gratifying because you enjoy physical activity or you find a video game gratifying because it has a high difficulty. These activities are things we attribute gratification to, therefore making us participate in them out of our own volition. I find that most people who come to me and say they don't see the "appeal" of video games tend to be people who find meaning in life through a lot of intrinsic affirmation.
The second type of affirmation, extrinsic affirmation, is the opposite in that affirmation comes from an outside entity or system. For example, if you ate all of your vegetables because your parents told you to as a kid, then you're doing so because of extrinsic affirmation. The action becomes meaningful because it's being backed up by an outside source. We can see this kind of affirmation in all aspects of our lives. Class rankings can be a form of extrinsic affirmation. Employee of the month can be another. And in video games we usually call this a leveling system. Doing well in the game allows you to have more privileges or higher prestige. Sometimes this will make you do things you simply don't want to (e.g. grind). The point is that people feel their actions have purpose because an outside force is rewarding them or affirming them for their effort.
A constantly affirming world
So what now? Since it's been established that both the real world and the video game world have these two types of affirmation, what makes the video game world so much more affirming than the real world? Well the answer to that comes in the ability to understand how to get extrinsic affirmation. In the real world, barring educational institutions and the work force, extrinsic affirmation is hard to come by. It's difficult to predict what actions will produce an extrinsic benefit for every single action one takes. Even if one attempted this, the organization of how much affirmation one is getting and how they are doing comparitivley to others is an impossible feat. Now you might be saying, "well duh, that's how the real world works". Yes, but the issue is that the gaming world is far superior when it comes to allowing people access to extrinsic affirmation.
In the gaming world, every single action a person does has clear consequences and benefits. Sure, there are times where there is obscurity and one does need to explore and figure out a system before these things become clear, but once that has been accomplished, a person could mine extrinsic affirmation from a game for hours and hours. And it's easy to know how much of it you're getting. The leveling system makes it so that you know exactly how much extrinsic gratification you've achieved and it creates a scale by which you and your friends can compare your in game lives. The video game world makes sense and encourages people in ways that the real world simply can't keep up with. Where you might be unexpectedly laid off of work or dumped, just a power screen and a 10 minute start up time later you can find yourself in a world where these unexpected consequences rarely ever occur (and if they do there is always a remedy to fix them). The video game world is all accepting and encourages people to live successful lives (in the game) and for the most part everyone is able obtain some of that success. What's the point of living in a world where you can potentially be disappointed, when there is another easily accessible world where you can live in a manner that is fully accepted.
Why video games can't substitute real life
I'm not suggesting that we should all become computer hermits and just do the bare minimum to gain access into this virtual world. There is still a lot of affirmation that the video game world can't dish out. For example, the video game world will always be limited in the amount of intrinsic affirmation it can garner. Unless you hit the nail on the head with your game in terms of gameplay, level design, etc; eventually players are going to find themselves shutting down the finite world of the video game and waking up to the massive possibilities of real life (of which virtual world creation is one of them). But as one immerses themselves back into the real world it becomes more and more clear that the lack of guaranteed affirmation can be unsettling. Gone are the quantifiable levels of effort needed to achieve certain success. Compound this with the real world greeting you with a large helping of disappointment and unmet goals and it's not wonder why gamers want to quickly retake refuge in their virtual world.
There is hope: What the real world could learn from video games
Do not despair when it comes to the increasingly apparent realization that the real world can't compete with the gaming world. The real world shouldn't be competing with the gaming world. Instead we need to follow the age old mantra "if you can't beat them, join them" and I believe that the gradual embrace of this philosophy is taking place right in front of our eyes. Slowly but surely, the world is being gamified. Real life actions are being rewarded with virtual stickers and achievements and badges. Think of the mayorship in foursquare that allows you to gain prestige and also a clear hierarchical oneupsmanship of your friends. The point is that when we gamify real life it makes it so that extrinsic affirmation can be accessed by people more easily. No longer do you feel your actions are devoid of meaning when comparing them to the questing life of World of Warcraft. Instead of having two worlds conflicting with how meaning is established, people are able to switch seamlessly between their virtual world and the life they live.
What Video games need to learn from the real world
Many of you might be thinking, "if gamification does occur does that mean that the number of people playing video games (or at least the amount of hours played) will dramatically drop?" To this concern I can't really give a hard answer. Some games I do believe will be hurt by gamification. I think games with low intrinsic affirmation will find themselves losing out to real life, the same way real life lost out to video games in a competition of extrinsic affirmation. This means games like Borderlands and to some extent World of Warcraft might see people reducing hours played because there is little intrinsic value in those games ( one could argue the difficulty and team coordination of WoW makes it have huge intrinsic value, I'd be inclined to agree with this line of reasoning, I just needed another example to make it look like I'm not hating on borderlands). I think gamification will only raise the standard for video games and I believe that there will be developers that will meet and exceed those standards.Gamification compels developers to make better games, not more addicting ones.
Embracing an unstoppable future
Society needs to start dealing with the growing virtual world. Many of the gamers affected are our youth (of which I'm included), who are now delving into a virtual world their parents simply didn't have and therefore have trouble comprehending. This causes many parents to immediately think there is something "wrong" with their child when in fact the reality is that the world in many ways is failing them, not the other way around. I know this might seem dramatic and exaggerated beyond belief, but it's certainly a growing reality. When you read examples like the one Mcgonigal brings up later in the book, where the currency of China was almost devalued due to massive purchasing of in game currency, you start to buy into the sheer power video games have to compel action.
In the next few years gamification will occur. So this issue may very well be in the process of being fixed, but it's important that we have this complimentary relationship developed. We shouldn't be making the real world into a place that's constantly affirming. That's not reflective how the world really works and creates an apathetic society where joy and pain are devalued. The charge is also placed upon video games to ask the tough questions and ask difficult choices of their gamers. Sometimes it's good for a player to feel disappointed in a game. I'm not saying we should make video games real life or that we should turn real life into a video game, what I'm asking for a complimentary bridge to be built between the two. That way one can traverse through various experiences without every feeling out of place.
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