Many of you, that read this post, probably know who Jane McGonigal is.If not, heres the video of her talking on TED about how gaming can save the world
which is exactly the video, which brought me here.
I have a huge passion for games, especially the ones, where you get to do something live. Yes, that mainly means LARP. I am a fan of larps and for 4 years now I have been kind-of self tought game designer for a few larp projects we did with my friends. Making games is my passion and my aim is to produce better games with better story and clearer message.
That is why I chose Jane as the hero I want to shadow. I have downloaded her dissertation, which I am going to plunge myslef into, right after my bachelor thesis and state exams are complete :) I also sent her a friend request on Facebook, though she didnt answer it (yet :P).
In the future I want to make games, that help the world get better. I want to make games that change the view of the people who play them. And I want to make games, that blow their players minds in the process.
And today I finally understood, why is it possible, that the games truly can save the world. So let me tell you about my revelation :) Today we were visiting my grandma. And as it always is, somwhere near the end of the visit we started talking about how things are and how they should be. My grandparents and I love these debates (or arguments sometimes). We always end up almost fighting each other, because I think that we have to look for solutions and strive to achieve our own ideals. My grandparents, having been raised in a totalitarian regime, arent able to leave behind the mindset, that no matter how hard you try, you cant change anything and you can only get hurt. It doesnt matter what were arguing about, the basic conflict hase always been based on these viewpoints.
After todays little debate, I realized, that Jane was right, when she said, that we need to spend more time playing games. In games, we can find an easy escape from our daily problems, by working to solve different problems, which provide challenge, but can be solved in the end. So we can forget about the real life troubles by playing games. That means we not only get rid of the frustrations caused by the sheer amount of seemingly unsolvable problems, but also we learn to have a positive mindset, which is needed to find solutions, rather than excuses.
I realized all of this thanks to Jane and that is why I chose her to be the hero I will shadow. Let the games begin!
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