Who Cares if Gaming Makes The World Better

Jane McGonigal in her TED talk, “Gaming can make a better world,” relates to the topics discussed in “They Say / I Say,” by Birkenstein and Graff. McGonigal explores the idea of harnessing “gamer power to solve real-world problems” throughout her talk. She explains that she believes gaming brings out the best in people and causes people to become a better version of themselves. The common feelings in everyday life such as, overwhelm, anxiousness, frustration all disappear in the gaming world. She believes that “by spending all this time playing games, we’re actually changing what we are capable of as human beings.” The four ideas McGonigal discusses in regard to games changes humans are; intense optimism, it creates better social connections, belief that the task has a meaningful outcome or “blissful productivity”, and “epic meaning.”

McGonigal is able to answer the questions “They Say / I Say” discusses, so what and who cares? She identifies a large population, gamers, and makes the claim that gaming can change the world. She discusses the very large group of gamers who should care about her claims. It is a common belief that gamers are lazy and live unfulfilled life. She offers a new view that they are actually blossoming as humans through the games. She links the ideas to the concerns and problems like poverty, obesity and climate change. She makes it relevant to the masses so that people care. She uses techniques that cause people to take interest in what she is discussing.