Jane McGonigal

We are living in a world full of games.More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers. The average young person will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. The future belongs to those who play games.In this ground-breaking book, visionary game designer Jane McGonigaI challenges conventional thinking and shows that games - far from being simply escapist entertainment - have the potential not only to radically improve our own lives but to change the world.

Why Games Make Us Better and how They Can Change the World

Reality is Broken

A dynamic, optimistic, science-driven work by a futurist and renowned gamer that trains us to see the future as a futurist does--and prepares us to thrive in that future when it arrives (sooner than we think), by the New York Times bestselling writer and designer of alternate reality games. After living through the massive global shock and trauma of Covid-19, one of the most disruptive events in human history, we need to find a way to face the future with optimism. But how can we plan for a better future when it feels impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or in the next decade? What we need are new tools to help us recover our confidence, creativity, and hope in the face of an uncertain future. In Imaginable, world-renowned future forecaster and game designer Jane McGonigal draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our brains to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. Using gaming strategies and fun, thought-provoking challenges that she designed specifically for this book, she helps us build our collective imagination to dive into the future before we live it and envision, in surprising detail, what our lives will look like ten years out. She is the perfect person to lead the way: In 2008 and 2010, with teams at the Institute for the Future and the World Bank, she designed two future simulations with nearly 30,000 participants that predicted a devastating respiratory pandemic in 2020 and the surprising human responses to it: · When social distancing would work and when it would fail · Where super-spreader events would most likely occur · The rise of pods and bubbles · The resistance to mask wearing · The outbreak of misinformation and conspiracy theories · And the complicating effects of climate-change weather events. Not only were these future forecasts shockingly accurate, those who took part in her exercises felt better prepared for Covid-19 when it did arrive. In Imaginable, McGonigal teaches us to identify the challenges that lie ahead in the next decade--big and small, personal and global; shape a better future that solves for those challenges; and access "urgent optimism," an unstoppable motivational force that inspires us to be fearless, resilient, and bold in realizing a world we can only imagine.

How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything--Even Things That Seem Impossible Today

Imaginable

An innovative guide to living gamefully, based on the program that has already helped nearly half a million people achieve remarkable personal growth In 2009, internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed, she became anxious and depressed, even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further, she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for “post-traumatic growth” that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today nearly half a million people have played SuperBetter to get stronger, happier, and healthier. But the life-changing ideas behind SuperBetter are much bigger than just one game. In this book, McGonigal reveals a decade’s worth of scientific research into the ways all games—including videogames, sports, and puzzles—change how we respond to stress, challenge, and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a more “gameful” mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play games—such as optimism, creativity, courage, and determination—to real-world goals. Drawing on hundreds of studies, McGonigal shows that getting superbetter is as simple as tapping into the three core psychological strengths that games help you build: • Your ability to control your attention, and therefore your thoughts and feelings • Your power to turn anyone into a potential ally, and to strengthen your existing relationships • Your natural capacity to motivate yourself and super-charge your heroic qualities, like willpower, compassion, and determination SuperBetter contains nearly 100 playful challenges anyone can undertake in order to build these gameful strengths. It includes stories and data from people who have used the SuperBetter method to get stronger in the face of illness, injury, and other major setbacks, as well as to achieve goals like losing weight, running a marathon, and finding a new job. As inspiring as it is down to earth, and grounded in rigorous research, SuperBetter is a proven game plan for a better life. You’ll never say that something is “just a game” again.

The Power of Living Gamefully

SuperBetter

A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient -Powered by the Science of Games

World-renowned future forecaster, game designer and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jane McGonigal gives us the tools to imagine the future without fear."Reading this book is like sitting down with a creative, optimistic friend--and getting up as a new version of yourself." - Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of WhenWar in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly frequent climate disasters--events we might have called "unimaginable" or "unthinkable" in the past are now reality. Today it feels more challenging than ever to feel unafraid, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it seems impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures.In Imaginable, Jane McGonigal draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. She invites us to play with the provocative thought experiments and future simulations she's designed exclusively for this book, with the goal to: Build our collective imagination so that we can dive into the future and envision, in surprising detail, what our lives will look like ten years from nowDevelop the courage and vision to solve problems creativelyTake actions and make decisions that will help shape the future we desireAccess "urgent optimism," an unstoppable force within each of us that activates our sense of agencyImaginable teaches us to be fearless, resilient, and bold in realizing a world with possibilities we cannot yet imagine--until reading this transformative, inspiring, and necessary book

How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything--even Things that Seem Impossible Today

A Practical Guide to an Optimistic Future

A renowned game designer describes how she recovered from a debilitating concussion by turning her therapeutic process into a digital game that became the subject of a major NIH research study.

Superbetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient--Powered by the Science of Games

Nesse fascinante estudo sobre jogos de videogame e comportamento humano, Jane McGonigal defende uma controversa teoria: a de que os games atraem cada vez mais pessoas porque fazem um trabalho melhor do que a realidade para atender aos verdadeiros desejos da humanidade. Escrito tanto para jogadores quanto para não jogadores, A realidade em jogo mostra que o uso desses jogos não precisa ser voltado apenas para o entretenimento solitário e que o futuro pertence àqueles que conseguem entender, criar e jogar videogames.

Por que os games nos tornam melhor e como eles podem mudar o mundo

A realidade em jogo

Реальность под вопросом. Почему игры делают нас лучше и как они могут изменить мир

La realtà in gioco. Perché i giochi ci rendono migliori e come possono cambiare il mondo

Hoy en el mundo se juegan alrededor de 3000 millones de horas de videojuegos por semana. El interés y los afectos de jóvenes y también de adultos migraron hacia el mundo virtual. ¿Qué hacer con un hijo que se pasa horas frente a la pantalla construyendo aldeas y personajes o embarcándose en aventuras fantásticas junto con desconocidos? ¿Hay que resignarse a la idea de que los videojuegos son sólo formas de escapismo que condenan a la alienación y la pasividad, y que el tiempo de jugar no sirve para nada? Jane McGonigal, una de las más reconocidas especialistas en diseño y desarrollo de juegos, prueba que los gritos de alarma no tienen ningún sentido. Este libro ofrece una perspectiva revolucionaria: los jugadores son expertos en buscar soluciones, esforzarse por una meta y alimentar un sentido de comunidad, y todas estas habilidades contribuyen a "remendar" una realidad repleta de dificultades, en la que faltan las motivaciones y sobran los problemas. Juegos de realidad alternativa, sistemas de creación colectiva, juegos de pronóstico, para computadoras, consolas, teléfonos: todo lo que se aprende entre pantallas y teclas sirve para hacernos más flexibles, más creativos, más capaces de trazarnos objetivos y mejor dispuestos a colaborar para alcanzarlos. Contra todos los prejuicios, McGonigal nos convence de que es posible aprovechar el poder de los juegos para reinventarlo todo, desde el gobierno, el cuidado de la salud, la educación, hasta los medios de comunicación tradicionales, el marketing e incluso la paz mundial. Este libro provocador y genial, pensado para jugadores empedernidos, para los recién iniciados, para los padres y maestros más escépticos, demuestra que los videojuegos pueden mejorar nuestras vidas y cambiar el mundo, además de prepararnos para las formas de liderazgo propias del siglo XXI.

Un encuentro entre el mundo virtual y el real en el que las personas salen favorecidas

¿Por qué los videojuegos pueden mejorar tu vida y cambiar el mundo?

How can we be confident about making plans? How might we feel secure despite the future being unknown? How do we learn to feel at peace with the unexpected? When we think about the future it can be difficult to feel that we have any control. We aren't confident that we can take actions and make decisions that help determine what happens next. We want to feel prepared, hopeful and equipped, and to face the future with optimism. Or, better yet, change the future. But how do we map out our lives when it feels impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year? Jane McGonigal, a renowned future forecaster, reveals that 'unimaginable' events aren't unimaginable before they happen. It is possible to see them coming and it's a mindset that can be learned by engaging with tools, games and ideas that will allow you to dive into the future before you live it. By learning to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable you can better plan for a future you'd like to see. And by seeing what's coming faster, you can adapt to new challenges, reduce anxiety, and build hope and resilience. __________ 'Top 10 innovators to watch' Business Week 10 most powerful women to watch' Forbes 'Top 100 creative people in business' Fast Company

How to see the future coming and be ready for anything

Nach einem schweren Unfall hatte die Spieledesignerin Jane McGonigal bereits mit dem Leben abgeschlossen. Doch durch ihren starken Willen befreite sie sich von Depressionen und Suizidgedanken und entwickelte aus ihren Erfahrungen ein Spiel. Ihr selbst hat es geholfen und auch viele andere haben sich bereits glücklich gespielt. Dieses Buch zeigt, wie Spiele helfen können, extreme Stresssituationen zu bewältigen, persönliche Herausforderungen zu meistern und mit Traumata umzugehen.

Durch Gamification glücklicher, gesünder und resilienter leben

Gamify your Life

Warum Computerspiele nicht blöd, sondern schlau machen Die Menschheit spielt. Immerzu. Überall. Ununterbrochen. Über 3 Milliarden Stunden werden jede Woche weltweit mit Spielen verbracht. Und die Zahl wächst, denn immer mehr Menschen erliegen der Faszination von Computerspielen. Aber muss man deshalb klagen über Isolation und Kulturverfall? – Jane McGonigal, laut »BusinessWeek« eine der zehn wichtigsten und innovativsten Spieleentwicklerinnen der Welt, kehrt die Perspektive um und stellt die spannende Frage: Was, wenn wir die immense Kreativität, die Leidenschaft und das Engagement, das wir ins Spielen investieren, für die reale Welt nutzbar machen? Computerspiele bieten Belohnungen, Herausforderungen und Siege, die uns die reale Welt nur allzu oft vorenthält. Aber wer sagt, dass wir das Potenzial von Spielen allein zur Wirklichkeitsflucht und zu Unterhaltungszwecken nutzen müssen? Für Jane McGonigal sind Gamer hoch kompetente Problemlöser und passionierte Teamplayer. Ihre bestechende These: Nutzen wir diese enormen Ressourcen doch, um unsere sozialen, wirtschaftlichen oder medizinischen Probleme zu lösen! Ein überwältigend neuer und überzeugender Blick auf die positive Wirkung, die im Spielen steckt – eine bahnbrechende Analyse, mit der Jane McGonigal eindrucksvoll bestätigt, dass sie von der Zeitschrift »Fast Company« zu Recht unter die »100 kreativsten Menschen der Wirtschaft« gewählt wurde!

Jane McGonigal

About

Books

Join the club