Books: Reality is Broken
I haven't done a book post in a while.
It's not that I've not been reading. Elise loaned me the latest Delint, I re-read Going Postal, stole & devoured TH's copy of Metatropolis, plodded through Me Talk Pretty One Day, and who knows how many items on the iPhone. I just haven't been reviewing.
Wow. I have eclectic tastes.
I did, however, borrow ajaytea's copy of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World, by Jane McGonigal, after the author was a speaker at a Science Pub. It's funny, I'm a True Believer in this stuff, but yet, video games bore me to tears. Well, the old ones, when it was you vs the computer. I haven't actually tried many, or any, of the MMORPG or face it, any video game in the last ...15 years.
Apparently I'd rather read about them.
McGonigal is a wonderful speaker - here's the TEDtalk to prove it
The book is intriguing without being a page turner. She's got 14 "fixes" that describe not only how to design a game that is going to engage the audience, but also help them interconnect, grow, and work towards world good.
Oddly enough, I picked up this book right after Metatropolis, and the last story in there was one where the game-overlay was creating a whole separate world for the people who choose to immerse themselves in it. I highly recommend reading these two completely unrelated books together, they definately give insights into each other.
McGonigal also gives insight into project management. No, really. A good chunk of the projects I lead are volunteer based. The ones involving pulaskis and moving dirt are pretty obvious - people know they are volunteering when they show up. But also most of my business projects involve folks from other departments, often above my pay grade, and I need them to volunteer to make time for my project. In order to keep a volunteer coming back, they have to see the project has worth, and they have to not hate working on the project. It's got to be fun. We need to treat the project like a game:
Have a clear, actionable goal that is attainable (fix 1, 3, & 4)
Get people to work together (fix 5)
Demonstrate how the goal matters (fix 6)
Provide meaningful rewards for milestones (fix 8)
No wonder I read so much. I can grab an idea and go to work or to the distant future or just enjoy it now.
It's not that I've not been reading. Elise loaned me the latest Delint, I re-read Going Postal, stole & devoured TH's copy of Metatropolis, plodded through Me Talk Pretty One Day, and who knows how many items on the iPhone. I just haven't been reviewing.
Wow. I have eclectic tastes.
I did, however, borrow ajaytea's copy of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World, by Jane McGonigal, after the author was a speaker at a Science Pub. It's funny, I'm a True Believer in this stuff, but yet, video games bore me to tears. Well, the old ones, when it was you vs the computer. I haven't actually tried many, or any, of the MMORPG or face it, any video game in the last ...15 years.
Apparently I'd rather read about them.
McGonigal is a wonderful speaker - here's the TEDtalk to prove it
The book is intriguing without being a page turner. She's got 14 "fixes" that describe not only how to design a game that is going to engage the audience, but also help them interconnect, grow, and work towards world good.
Oddly enough, I picked up this book right after Metatropolis, and the last story in there was one where the game-overlay was creating a whole separate world for the people who choose to immerse themselves in it. I highly recommend reading these two completely unrelated books together, they definately give insights into each other.
McGonigal also gives insight into project management. No, really. A good chunk of the projects I lead are volunteer based. The ones involving pulaskis and moving dirt are pretty obvious - people know they are volunteering when they show up. But also most of my business projects involve folks from other departments, often above my pay grade, and I need them to volunteer to make time for my project. In order to keep a volunteer coming back, they have to see the project has worth, and they have to not hate working on the project. It's got to be fun. We need to treat the project like a game:
No wonder I read so much. I can grab an idea and go to work or to the distant future or just enjoy it now.