Jane McGonigal
Jane McGonigal
Jane McGonigalis an American game designer and author who advocates the use of mobile and digital technology to channel positive attitudes and collaboration in a real world context...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDesigner
Date of Birth21 October 1977
CountryUnited States of America
ability bring care difficult engage favorite gamer games hour letting life notice people playing power relationships stop strengthen strengths time virtual worlds
For most people, an hour a day playing our favorite games will power up our ability to engage whole-heartedly with difficult challenges, strengthen our relationships with the people we care about most - while still letting us notice when it's time to stop playing in virtual worlds and bring our gamer strengths back to real life.
gamers games goal learning life likely might music relationship serving shown thousands
Surveys of thousands of gamers have shown that they're more likely to play real music if they play a music videogame. So it's an interesting relationship where the games aren't replacing something we do in real life, they're serving as a springboard to a goal we might have in real life, like learning to play an instrument.
games world lawyer
Every game designer should make one explicitly world-changing game. Lawyers do pro bono work, why can't we?
thinking games worry
I worry a lot about people using games just for marketing, to get people to buy more stuff, which I think would be the worst possible use.
games people economy
Games are work. There are economies popping up in games now because people value them.
reality games rewards
Games are providing rewards that reality is not.
games feel-good about-yourself
Games that make you feel good about yourself are good games to be playing.
civilization games play
We've been playing games since humanity had civilization - there is something primal about our desire and our ability to play games. It's so deep-seated that it can bypass latter-day cultural norms and biases.
games accepting escapists
We have to accept as a society that games are not escapist. They really do change us.
games differences goal
When you strip away the genre differences and the technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation.
thinking games play
Over time, the games we play can change how we think and what we're capable of. And it's easy to maximize the benefits so the changes are positive.
games waste wasting-time
The single biggest misconception about games is that they're an escapist waste of time.
stress breathing games
It seems like what happens when we play games is that we go into a psychological state called eustress, or positive stress. It's basically the same as negative stress in the sense that we get our adrenaline up, you know, our breathing rate quickens, our pulse quickens.
real games play
I'm not a fan of simulations. Where, 'Oh, we'll go play a simulation of world peace and figure out how to make peace' and then somehow magically that will get translated into the real world. No, that's not the kind of games that I make.