Fix: 11–12

Sustainable Engagement Economy

Good Game World

In her book Reality is Broken, McGonigal (2011) states that “participants should be able to explore and impact a ‘world,’ or shared social space that features both content and interactive opportunities” (p. 245). I think that the game The Settlers Online creates an entertaining and challenging world by McGonigal’s standards. She mentions that, in this game, players function in an environment that encourages them to interact with different elements. These interactions satisfy gamers mentally and emotionally. McGonigal (2011) also states, “In the economy of engagement, it is less important to compete for attention and more and more important to compete for things like brain cycles and interactive bandwidth” (p. 228). The Settlers Online provides these opportunities for interaction. It is necessary during the game, for example, that players make decisions about whether or not they should build buildings or have a guild. The decisions are optional. These different levels of complexity within the game cause players to think strategically.

Good Game Mechanics

The author continues on to define what constitutes a good game: “Wikipedia has good game mechanics. Player action has direct and clear results: edits appear instantly on the site, giving users a powerful sense of control over the environment” (McGonigal, 2011, p. 229). Likewise, because The Settlers Online offers clear quests and clear results, the game has good game mechanics. To give an example, when a player needs to fight bandits, the game allows him or her to choose how many fighters are within the bandit camp and who rules the bandits before engaging in combat. Gamers thus can defeat a well-defined enemy. Such mechanics empower gamers and motivate them to continue playing.

Good Game Community

McGonigal (2011) states that a “good game community requires two things: plenty of positive social interaction and meaningful context for collective effort” (p. 230). The Settlers Online provides exactly those two things she mentions. Some of the requirements for leveling up in the game relate to one’s connection with other players. These requirements include buffing other players’ buildings and trading resources with other players. To give another example, gamers sometimes need to ask questions using the Help Tab; during these times, other players are often very friendly and willing to assist others in a social forum.

More Epic Wins

1. Has this game made you curious about what more you can do? If so, in what way?

My answer is: yes. This game did make me curious about what more I could do within the context of the game. I at least wanted to construct many different types of buildings and defeat every bandit camp. However, I had to give up the game because of having severe neck pain.

 

2. How does this game harness the social participation of the masses?

The game harnesses the social participation of the masses in several ways. This game encourages players to assist each other, for instance, through the Help Tab function or through guilds. It also offers many appealing challenges. In McGonigal’s words, “Gamers are creative, persistent, and always up for a good challenge. Their strong cognitive resources, combined with their proven engageability, are a valuable resource just waiting to be tapped” (p. 240). Through its rewarding and challenging quests, The Settlers Online provides the engagement that McGonigal recommends.

Crowdsourcing

I examined AT&T’s quarter-billion-dollar campaign named AT&T Announces Quarter-Billion-Dollar Expansion of Education Commitment which is designed to help more students graduate from high school, prepared for both college and a career. It is obvious that this campaign has improved high school success and college/career readiness, especially for the students most likely to drop out of high school. The campaign was started on March 19, 2012. I believe this campaign has created an important opportunity for these students. McGonigal’s take on crowdsourcing was that “it is not for a lack of time spent on the Internet. It is just incredibly difficult to achieve the necessary critical mass of participation on any given serious project” (p. 226).

 

Reference

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken. New York, NY: The Penguin Press.