An insightful look at video game culture
I just got done listening to an On The Media show about the effects video games are having on our culture. I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes already, because media stories about this topic tend to focus on images of antisocial losers hammering away in dark basements. But this was really something else. Two quotes that really struck me:I think that outsiders underestimate the importance of learning how to fail at something very complicated over and over again and then finally make it. -- Nicholson Baker
When we're in game worlds, I believe that many of us become the best version of ourselves, the most likely to stick with a problem as long as it takes, to get up after failure and try again. In real life, when we face failure, when we confront obstacles, we often don't feel that way. We feel anxious, maybe depressed, frustrated or cynical. We never have those feelings when we're playing games. -- Jane McGonigal
The whole hour is thought provoking and well worth a listen.
EDIT: I should add that the first segment is the weakest one - this is a general audience show, so there's a lot of concepts and historical context being related that will be elementary to most of you. The meat of the show is in the third and fourth segments - "The Culture of Gaming" and "The Future of Gaming."
When we're in game worlds, I believe that many of us become the best version of ourselves, the most likely to stick with a problem as long as it takes, to get up after failure and try again. In real life, when we face failure, when we confront obstacles, we often don't feel that way. We feel anxious, maybe depressed, frustrated or cynical. We never have those feelings when we're playing games. -- Jane McGonigal
The whole hour is thought provoking and well worth a listen.
EDIT: I should add that the first segment is the weakest one - this is a general audience show, so there's a lot of concepts and historical context being related that will be elementary to most of you. The meat of the show is in the third and fourth segments - "The Culture of Gaming" and "The Future of Gaming."