The nature or complexity of the problem is arguably irrelevant, however. Most videogames train us to be better at the general concept of solving problems. They teach us to see possibilities and strategies that non-gamers wouldn’t even think of. People may argue that videogames are designed to let gamers have these ‘epic wins’, and that is indeed true. There are a lot of moments that are scripted and still feel as an achievement. However, many gamers also rebel against the system itself. A good example: this player plays Skyrim, a game in which the player is supposed to kill all adversaries on his path, but thinks outside the box: http://kotaku.com/5880870/i-guess-not-killing-in-videogames-is-rebellious. That is our strength: ‘thinking outside the box’. Videogames are one of the best methods I can think of that enhance this skill.

1.The question ‘will they like playing that game’ might thus even be irrelevant. I for one can take this skill with me outside of the videogame world and use it for real life problems. If a large number of ‘players’ is required for a problem, then it would certainly help, or even be necessary, to make the game more attractive.

2.In my opinion, it is possible to achieve the mentioned results, but only if the problem in the game sufficiently mirrors the real life problem. Strategies and solutions that only work in a secluded game system will be quite useless. In other words, the game has to act and react in the same way as the real world does. I have no idea if developers can create such a complex game. And even if they can, then I’m not sure whether it will be ‘playable’ enough due to its high complexity. Then again, I am often baffled by the huge steps this industry is making, so I will not call it ‘impossible’ just yet.

3.On the question whether it leaves time for gamers to tackle solutionary efforts: McConigal probably meant that gamers are supposed to hone their skills first before they turn to the real solutionary efforts. Complex games require complex strategies, which in turn require a lot of attention before they can be mastered. After gaining enough experience in normal games, they will probably be able to solve at least some issues. Of course there will be time for those efforts, just like we can lay down a videogame to go to work. (Well, at least most of us can).

4.I doubt that gamers will be as cheerful about changemaking work as they are about the next blockbuster gamerelease. Unless they make the game seem more professional or appealing in some way, then it could potentially draw the gamers’ interest. I personally think it would be a great move to sit down with the ‘big guys’ in the industry, like Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright and David Cage, to name only a few.

I have watched this speech about six months ago, and I was quite enthusiastic about the idea. I still am. This idea certainly does have potential, provided that it is sufficiently researched and well-designed. I can’t wait to see it happen.

A few years ago I could have called myself rightfully an Apple evangelist, I considered (and still consider) Mac and iPod software as superior. As of today, Apple represents for me the ultimate celebration of consumer culture.

How many electronic gadgets do we need to achieve happiness? How many twitter messaged do we have to read to discover the essence of human nature? How many hours do we have to spend on the computer to understand the wisdom of the elders and solve the riddle of life?

We exported our pollution to China, where cancer is now the leading cause of death, but if workers rights are further undermined and social security further dismantled there is a good chance that jobs will come back to the western countries (with eastern wages of course) and that we can again absorb our fair share of environmental pollution.

I will not buy Apple products for a long time and use the computers that I have till they break (and that could be many years, the Mac Mini machines are very reliable.)

Vital Signs, October 11, 2011:
 
“Global meat production increased by 2.6 percent in 2010 to 290.6 million tons, an increase from the 0.8 percent growth rate of 2009.

Per capita meat consumption has increased from 41.3 to 41.9 kilograms.Consumption varies greatly between countries, however. In the developing world, individuals eat about 32 kilograms of meat a year. But consumers in the industrial world eat about 80 kilograms per person each year.

Pork is the most widely produced meat in the world, followed by poultry, beef, and sheep.Total pig meat production increased by about 3 percent in 2010, to 109 million tons.China, which holds nearly half of the world’s pig market, has been affected by an elimination of sow subsidies (the government funds paid farmers to increase hog production) as well as by outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and swine blue ear disease. Reduced supplies in Asia are expected to translate into record exports by the United States to feed rising demand in traditional Asian markets such as South Korea, China, and Japan.

http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/meat-production-and-consumption-continue-grow-0

We have outsourced manufacturing and the by manufacturing processes generated pollution to China, where cancer is now the leading cause of death.

If I would be cynical, I would call to bring manufacturing home (seems possible if unions and workers rights are further undermined and wages further decline), so that Americans can contribute their fair share to the cancer statistics.

If I would be delusional, quixotic, unrealistic, I would suggest, that we stop buying gadgets.

It took some years till the consequence of this development was comprehended and it became clear to everybody, that humans would get extinct and that all scientific research around the world could not save mankind. There were cloning experiments and complicated drug treatments and surgical procedures but nothing was successful. Some men regained their fertility but all the born children had sicknesses and malformations and died after some years. It became clear that the human genetic code was damaged irreparably and there was no way to reconstruct it. The human genome project had cataloged all DNA but the functions of the DNA sequences were never fully understood and there was no way to construct an artificial human being from the code.

As the population grew older and fewer and the final days of humanity got nearer the nations of the world came together in several conferences and discussed in a sober atmosphere, how to close down the human operations in an orderly way and how to pave the way for another species to take over.

Visionary scientist all over the world had prepared their papers and a public discussion had been going on for some time about all related questions and it took not long to come to a conclusion.

The conclusion was, that elephants, the most intelligent land based animals, should be promoted and supported and humans should help the recovery of elephant populations and the establishment of colonies everywhere on the planet. The task was not too difficult, because at this time there were only four billion humans left and nature already began to recover by itself.

All over the world buildings were rededicated to elephant shelters and to warehouses where the elephants could store their food. Large areas of land were converted from farmland to grassland, bamboo plants, various kinds of bushes, and millions of trees were planted so that the elephants could easily find enough to eat. The elephants learned astonishing quick how to use the shelters to their advantage and they got familiar with the concept of storing reserves and as their population grew some elephant families were moved north to Europe where they spent their first winters. They were advised by their human friends, how to use the storage facilities and the shelters and it was astonishing to see, how intelligent this animals were and how well they could adapt.

After another twenty years the elephant population had soared. Humans had closed down all atomic power plants and sealed all nuclear waste and toxic waste storage areas. Factories all over the word reduced and finally stopped production and were sealed or dismantled, so that they did not pose a threat to nature. The elephants had in the meantime understood what was going on and they cooperated with the humans in an ingenious way and they also started helping the elderly and frail humans and were nursing them. It was a fruitful and harmonious cooperation and many humans were relieved and died peaceful with the comforting notion that the transformation from the human civilization to the elephant civilization would continue smoothly and that the crimes that humans had committed would be at least to a small part be forgiven by nature.

Thank you for this post!