Fix 9-10

            Fix 9-10 

McGonigal who is writer of Reality Is Broken alleged that:

In order to turn a group of strangers into a community, you have to follow two basic steps: first, cultivate a shared interest among strangers, and, second, give them the opportunity and means to interact with each other around that interest. (McGonigal, 2011, p. 172)

In the game The Settlers, I have experienced both of the steps the author mentions.  An example of my experiencing a sense of community is when I became too exhausted waiting to train the army and send an explorer to find a coin with a medium search.  I said in the help tab of the game that I am too tired waiting for everything.  I feel exhausted with everything in this game! Then, a player said this game does take a lot of patience and I have to be willing to wait for things.  The player also said with luck one gets a coin on the Explorer’s first twelve-hour run; others don’t get it for weeks and I just need to make sure he runs all the time. After getting this motivating answer from one of the players, I felt like I was in a community in which all its members experience the same difficulties.

Another example of my experiencing a sense of community is when I sent my army to an adventure island and I could not complete the adventure on time.  I did the only thing I could and canceled the adventure.  However, I was too scared that I would lose all my troops and my general, so I asked whether or not there is a possibility for losing my all troops there on the help tab of the game.  One of the players said if I also send the general on the adventure, it will take more time.  The player also said they are on their way and I can check how much time remains to get them back on the Star. Moreover, the player tried to motivate me by saying absolutely I will get all my troops back. After getting this reassuring answer, I felt I was in the game with other helpful people.  I have never felt alone since that conversation.  The writer of Reality Is Broken summed up this feeling very well: “We gain confidence that we can connect with others when we want to, and when we need to.  And with that confidence, there is no reason to ever feel alone in the world—virtual, real, or otherwise” (McGonigal, 2011, p. 182).

I have experienced common interests between me and other players in various interactions.  The first interaction was when I was trying to find wild animals to get more meat.  When I asked how to find wild animals on the help tab of the game, some players answered my question, and others offered a trade.  It was a win-win situation.  Other opportunities in which I interacted with other players were when I buffed other players’ buildings, added other players as friends, and sold some stones and water.  We cooperated because of common goals in the game.  As the author of Reality Is Broken said, the game “focuses the attention of a group of people on a common goal, even if they think they have nothing in common with each other” (McGonigal, 2011, p. 172).

I think all of these opportunities create a sense of community when I compare it to real life.  Actually, the author mentions about creating a sense of community through good games in her book by saying that “compared with games, reality is lonely and isolating.  Games help us band together and create powerful communities from scratch” (McGonigal, 2011, p.172).

When we think about how there is an interests gap between grandparents and grandchildren, this game is something that can really bring them together.  McGonigal mentions how good games work to get together all generations by writing: “What would it take to convince young people to call their grandparents more often?” (p. 177).

McGonigal mentioned that “alongside platforms for communicating the science of happiness, we need platforms for engaging people in scientifically proven happiness activities” (p. 187).  I believe The Settlers is one of these platforms engaging us in scientifically proven happiness activities because the game does not allow us to feel alone thanks to its features such as buffing other players’ buildings, asking questions on the help tab of the game, and being friends with other players.  In her book, McGonigal also stated that “according to most scientific findings, there are almost no good ways to be happy alone for long” (p. 186).

The Settlers allows me to be thankful and to be nice people in the activities I have mentioned.  This situation is a happy experience.  In her book McGonigal mentions about happy experiences by saying:

Researchers have shown that sharing the same space for even just a few minutes a day with kind and friendly strangers makes us more optimistic, improves our self-esteem, makes us feel safer and more connected to our environment, and generally helps us enjoy our lives more. And if we return the favor, we benefit as well: when we give to others, or act cooperatively, the reward centers of the brain light up. (p. 190)

I can say that I have experienced all the benefits described in this quote. Since I began to play this game, I feel more connected to other people and have more self-esteem because of giving to and receiving from others.  I feel good thanks to this game!

I would like to mention a video game called Top Secret Dance Off, which is on our class PB work page.  People can dance together on the Internet thanks to this game. Moreover, they can have real-life adventures with a soundtrack, throw their bodies around, make each other laugh, and convince each other to dance more than they thought possible, at home, in public, wherever! I found it to be possibly the best happiness hack!

 

References

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