Posted by Calixte Pictet | 2 comments
Games to solve the world’s problems
I’m a big fan of everything that’s unconventional, but what I like even more is not agreeing with people. Often, I go into debates with people just for the sake of it. Most people don’t realize it, but I don’t agree with what I’m saying in half of the most intense debates I have with my friends. But how satisfying it can be to demonstrate that some uncommon idea actually holds the truth! The opposite, however, is even more enthralling. It is strangely fulfilling to discover a new perspective on things that goes against all you thought you knew. From time to time I read some article, see a video, or meet some person who does just that: convince me to diverge from the commonly accepted ideas.
I was brought up with the idea that video games are bad. I, as well as most rational people from my generation, have to agree. Video games are a terrible waste of time, and they waste your brain’s abilities. After all, our species has gone to the Moon with little else than that brain! Think of all that time wasted, a whole generation spending half of their time consumming a useless, and what’s more, costly product.
But is that really what video games are? Are they the greatest flaw of the world, like a prelude to the Apocalypse, or can we find a actual use to them? Should we, like Jane McGonigal proposes, play more? Be ready to discover a whole new perspective on gaming:
I wasn’t convinced a first, but I now think McGonigal has an undeniable point. Life is boring, games are epic. If real-life problems are to get that epic and attainable feeling, she may have created a channel to work on and resolve our World’s greatest problems. So, what are you waiting for? Play!
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