Reality is broken : why games make us better and how they can change the world / Jane McGonigal.
Material type:
TextPublication details: London : Jonathan Cape, 2011.Description: 388 p. : ill. ; 22 cmISBN: - 9780224089258 (pbk.)
- 0224089250 (pbk.)
| Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Loan | Thurles Library Main Collection | 306.487 MCG (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | R19433YKRC |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers.
The average young person in the UK will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one.
What's causing this mass exodus?
According to world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal the answer is simple: videogames are fulfilling genuine human needs.
Drawing on positive psychology, cognitive science and sociology, Reality is Broken shows how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy, and utilized these discoveries to astonishing effect in virtual environments. But why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of gaming, she reveals how gamers have become expert problem solvers and collaborators, and shows how we can use the lessons of game design to socially positive ends, be it in our own lives, our communities or our businesses.
Written for gamers and non-gamers alike, Reality is Broken sends a clear and provocative message: the future will belong to those who can understand, design and play games.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Introduction: Reality Is Broken (p. 1)
- Part 1 Why Games Make Us Happy
- 1 What Exactly Is a Game? (p. 19)
- 2 The Rise of the Happiness Engineers (p. 35)
- 3 More Satisfying Work (p. 52)
- 4 Fun Failure and Better Odds of Success (p. 64)
- 5 Stronger Social Connectivity (p. 77)
- 6 Becoming a Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves (p. 95)
- Part 2 Reinventing Reality
- 7 The Benefits of Alternate Realities (p. 119)
- 8 Leveling Up in Life (p. 146)
- 9 Fun with Strangers (p. 168)
- 10 Happiness Hacking (p. 183)
- Part 3 How Very Big Games Can Change the World
- 11 The Engagement Economy (p. 219)
- 12 Missions Impossible (p. 247)
- 13 Collaboration Superpowers (p. 266)
- 14 Saving the Real World Together (p. 296)
- Conclusion: Reality Is Better (p. 345)
- Acknowledgments (p. 355)
- Appendix: How to Play (p. 358)
- Notes (p. 364)
- Index (p. 379)
Author notes provided by Syndetics
Jane McGonigal was born in 1977. She is a graduate of Fordham University and the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently the Director of Game Research and Development at the Institute for the Future. She is the author of Reality Is Broken and SuperBetter.(Bowker Author Biography)