“Gaming can make a better world” Jane Mcgonigal, a game designer for 10 years, believes gamers can help save the world in real life, just like they would in the video games they play. Jane believes more hours need to be put into online games for the benefit of the real world. More problems can be solved if more hours are put into playing online games, were social interaction and cooperation is key.

Emotions A gamer is expected to be emotionally connected to their game, according to Jane. An “epic win” is ‘an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive you had no idea it was possible until you achieved it’ and Jane believes this face is the face millions of problem solvers need as real world obstacles are tackled over the next century

The “I’m not good at life” face This is the face we need to see less of. The face of ‘someone who, against all odds is on the verge of an epic win’ is what the future needs. ‘We feel we are not as good in reality as we are in games’

Reality In reality, we feel anxious, depressed or frustrated when we are faced with failure, but when in a game, we feel the need to pick the controller back up and try again, with the motivation to succeed. World of Warcraft features characters trusting you with “world saving” missions perfectly matched with your current level in the game. This makes sure you can actually achieve victory, being fair. Everywhere in the game features people willing to work with you to succeed in your epic mission.

Not common in reality In reality, that level of collaboration is really uncommon. The story of WoW is epic, telling us why we are there and our purpose. Leveling up is a form of positive feedback, and encourages gamers to continue playing, striving for more victories. This form of feedback is not featured in reality. No one earns +1 to strength for going to the gym, or +1 to speech for doing a public speech. That sort of feedback is not in real life.

Better than reality A lot of gamers expect epic wins around every corner in video games. They think its better than reality. Jane done some research and discovered, collectively all WoW gamers have spent 5.93 million years solving virtual problems in Azeroth. ‘By spending all this time playing games, we’re actually changing what we are capable of as human beings. We are evolving to be a more collaborative and hearty species’

What are gamers so good at? Jane believes 500 million gamers, who play at least an hour a day, are good at something that could benefit real life situations. Games are making us feel urgent optimism, were there is a ‘desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, with reasonable hope of success’. Gamers believe they can change the virtual world they play in, and Jane wishes these same people can become super empowered, hopeful individuals in the real world, with the task to change the world.

Solving real world problems We do not need to try to predict the future, but instead; make the future. Jane helped make an online game were you have to try to survive an oil shortage. Jane tracked the players for 3 years and found out the game was a ‘transformative experience’ were most players keep up habits they learned in the game, that pass on to real life.

My Idea I agree with Jane, her speech is inspiring. If more games can be developed to simulate what a fictional future could be, then our ideas of the future will change, making us more prepared for success. The idea of simulating an oil shortage is clever, but I would also want to simulate other serious situations. One idea would be to simulate a global pandemic, or to see what its like to live in a world with limited electricity. Video games have already tried to simulate these, but not really to a realistic degree. To simulate a realistic world were your life is always in danger, and everything you do matters will certainly change how I see things in reality. I researched into other games that follow a familiar theme, and found a few flash games people have independently made. There are a number of other games that simulate a different world. The Fallout franchise tries to simulate an empty, apocalyptic wasteland were resources are scarce and positive social interaction rare, to the point it tests your trust. The game, Wasteland does this too. There are also a number of other survival games out there, like The Forest that try to simulate survival in a forest, were survival skills are key, and resources gathered must be used carefully.

The first poster design was meant to be informative, but still eye catching. Through feedback, I was told to reduce the amount of text and make it simpler to view. I was also told the title didn’t stand out enough, instead a more creative design for the title was chosen. I am trying to communicate the message of a problematic world that can be changed for the better, according to Jane. The idea of adding a WoW character alongside her was to denote her relationship with the game and online games in general, since she believes these games hold the key for future problem solving. The idea of a WoW related title was chosen to catch the eyes of gamers. The new poster highlights 2 important quotes from Jane that sum up her idea overall. The picture of Jane was chosen because she looks concerned and like she has a point to make. Her pink jacket stands out too, which attracts the eye.

The purpose of the poster is to raise awareness of Jane’s idea. The 2 quotes, from her speech, were chosen because they are important to her idea. The font for the quotes was chosen to look simple, and professional. The white text stands out from the black background, so people can easily read it. The title font was chosen to look like the WoW logo as much as possible, so gamers could relate and feel more interested in viewing the poster and looking further into it. The target audience would be mainly gamers who are between the ages of 16 and 40, at the most, who are interested in helping change the world. Not to mention, followers of TED will be interested to look further into this poster. However, the area this poster would be advertised would most likely be in high schools, colleges, universities, video game shops, entertainment shops, online advertisements and libraries. I believe these places will be the biggest impact on advertisement, where there will be more of an audience interested in viewing the poster, and reading further into it The black background was chosen to make the pictures and text stand out. The pictures stand out more when they are independently placed in the foreground.

I wouldn’t imagine this poster on a billboard, it is meant to be read up close, made to inform people interested in video games. In the locations mentioned earlier, on the other slide, is were the poster will make the most impact. The reaction I am trying to provoke is to surprise people, make them consider reading further into what Jane has to say, through TED. People don’t think highly of gamers, but Jane thinks otherwise, and goes against stereotypes, making gamers feel important.