Reality Is Broken

“Just One More Game” by Sam Anderson is an article about the history of gaming and how it relates to reality. Throughout the text, Anderson argues how destructive, yet self-improving gaming can be to us. He supports his analysis on games by going to show how heavy video game usage can lead to obesity and shorter attention spans in children because they get so distracted by the games. Anderson is trying to make us aware of what videogames can do to our brains. He also wants us to understand that while video games can be a great experience for the brain, we need to learn how to play video games at a reasonable time and not just to distract us from our everyday life.

This image displays a direct correlation to McGonigal’s overall message in the article “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves”. McGonigal’s whole tenant is that virtual gaming has the ability to traverse cultural boundaries and bring people from all walks of life together in one collaborative

While video games these days can involve team members, you can’t beat the shared experience of physical exertion on a sunny day with a group of your closest friends. Altogether, while video games certainly have a place as a fun hobby, let’s not make the mistake of confusing them with sports.” This highlights how Coates regards video games as a mere form of entertainment, whereas Mullenioux argues that video gaming has the potential to foster social connections as well as teach valuable life lessons. In conclusion, the authors of both selections have very different viewpoints when it comes to whether video gaming should be classified as a

Our lives have become busier and therefore there is less time for complex gaming. Casual game use is on the rise as such games are simple and can be played quickly (“The Rise and Rise of Casual Gaming,” 2008). Jesse Schell (2010) observes games are becoming an extension of our real life, for example, fitness trackers and Wii fit, ‘brain exercising’ apps to ward off dementia, good driver apps that are provided by car insurance companies, point systems for shopping rewards and weight watchers. We can even compete with others in these games using leader boards. In the future there may be reward systems for brushing your teeth or using public transport (Schell,

He shows how video games enhance creativity, community, problem-solving skills, and self-expression. By engaging players in simulated worlds, video games expand their minds and their imagination. Rather than using the linear approach, players learn to play a video game and master the various levels through a creative problem-solving approach based on the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment and analysis. Video games entertain and educate on a level beyond any other medium by allowing the player to be actively engaged and interact with various aspects of the game environment. Through amplifying the power of human imagination rather than denigrate society, video games benefit and enhance

According to the study done by Pierce College, gaming is no longer a solitary activity; instead it is becoming increasingly social with 80% reporting being part of a gaming community (Fredrickson). This study states that online games provide a communication tool to people since social relationships have become a significant role in the game industry. Jane McGonigal’s book Reality Is Broken, published in 2011 by the Penguin Group, discusses why games make people better and how they can change the world. Among the chapters, chapter 5, “Stronger Social Connectivity,” specifically describes how games build social relationships. McGonigal explains prosocial emotions, a subset of positive emotions, by organizing her arguments clearly and providing

Video games were created to provide a unique, interactive experience for the user. This “experience” is something we can define as being fun, engaging, and interesting. This was the mindset of Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; he was extremely engaged and interested in his work regarding the monster. However, MMORPG’s represent the bad side to video games; in the same way that Frankenstein’s monster was the hellish subject that interested him, MMORPG’s still interest some users despite their lack of true video game “experience”. In fact, MMORPG’s cause addiction, separate families, lead to depression, and separate the user from real life, indicating that they are virtual “animals” that need to be tamed.

According to the article “Be a Gamer, save the world” by Jane McGonigal, in the world, we are living in, games are able to be the main element in answering to the challenges of the real world. Although, there are some people who think that playing a game is the waste of time and make mind to not work normally. There are quite a lot of people in the world that they are spending a lot of money and time for playing video games. It doesn’t mean those people who are playing games don’t care about real life and they don’t have any work to do, but they have jobs, children, parents and they are students in schools. Also, they have other life responsibilities to care about. There are some great points in the games that are beneficial for players.

The author argues elderly and non-gamers have a pessimistic vision of technology and video games, assuming they are addictive and insignificant. Wright emphasize video games are vigorous and can set a creative imagination and boost self-assurance. Wright points out the difference between observing a video game and having an actual participation, there is possession of owning an actual experience. Wright continues to persuade that gamers have “possibility space” meaning there are multi opportunities to create, maneuver and succeed personal effect appropriate to each individual gamer.

The New York Times Sunday Magazine published an article “Just One More Game …: Angry birds, Farmville, and Other Hyperaddictive Stupid Games” written by Sam Anderson, a critic and prolific journalist, which shows a real fear from gamifying our society. As an illustration, he uses Nintendo’s game Tetris to relate a paradigm shift that which creates an infinite loop of competition, creating the “gaming addiction.” In addition, he draws a close relationship between simple games, convenience, user-friendliness and instant gratification and, then points out, corporations take advantage of this gaming addiction by inconspicuously trying to control free will by gamification. The author explicitly asserts his fear of gamification but, ultimately, shows evidence of how it could potentially make users more conscious of their cognition. I agree with the author on his viewpoint but disagree at the same time. For instance, gamification does have the power to increase cognition and promote personal growth in areas such as health and education. However, gamification must

The film Second Skin provided a large coverage of the effects of massive multiplayer online games on the players and the people around them. This film was used to shed light on what actually occurs in a gamers’ life and their perspective on their “hobby”. The point that jumped out the most would be the fact that excessive gaming can be as addictive as drugs and as a result can have mental and social repercussions. The fact is that online gamers find it difficult to draw the fine line when a game is for passing time and when it officially becomes a problem.

Second Skin is a documentary about the world of MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online role playing games, and it focuses on those who have given everything they have to the game. The director examines the pros and cons of MMORPGs, why the games are so popular, and how they can effect the players lives. The psychologists and sociologist they interviewed in the film speculate the long-term effects of spending extended periods of time in a fantasy world, secluded from reality and basic human interaction. These obsessive gamers become addicted to online computer games and will do anything to keep playing the game. Some become so consumed in the game that it eventually starts to negatively effect their lives.

Video Games cause social isolation, for example a 15 year old boy in Sweden pass out after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight, he passed out because he started experiencing social withdrawal, the kid was lacking contact with other humans, and his body’s response to the problem was to pass out. On an extreme level, Ruya Cunningham, a college student spent twenty hours a week playing video games, she eventually “dropped out of school, stopped exercising, and even stopped bathing” (Marcovitz 70). Later on, Ruya Cunningham developed depression, but she kept playing video games because she was addicted to the game. When people are addicted to a game, there is a spiraling vortex sucking the gamer away from society and from sanity. As a consequence of playing violent video games, many teen gamers struggle with real world relationships, this is because they form close virtual relationships with people they meet online. A man in Wisconsin has formed a tremendously close relationship with a group of guys he plays online with, he discusses politics with them and they send each other Christmas gifts even though they do not know each other (Marcovitz 70-72). Video games can also affect the players mental and their physiological state.

Many young children and teenagers have heard their mother’s incessant plead to get away from the screen and to go outside or pick up a book for once instead. The urge to play “just one more level” before starting that homework or doing those chores can be quite distracting. But are video games really as awful as Mom exclaims or as brutal as those TV ads depict? It turns out that video games can have a strong impact on participants’ lives in both positive as well as negative ways.

Gaming has been such a huge part of nearly everyone’s life growing up as a kid and it’s only getting bigger and bigger every day. Growing up as a kid, online gaming wasn’t as popular as it is today. I started off with a Gameboy and Dreamcast console that later shifted to better consoles like the PlayStation, Xbox, Wii, and Nintendo. Nowadays, almost everyone, including myself, have shifted to the more popular gaming platforms in mobile games and online PC games. More specifically, certain types of online gaming styles like FPS, MOBA, and MMO are distinctly more popular than many others. Not only has the popularity for online gaming platforms evolved but the importance and relevance of