"Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World"
I had to roll my eyes. Video games don't make us better, I thought. They make us lazy and boring and dull. They detract from the quality of life. They are a threat to the individual and community.
In some ways, my personal theories regarding video games have not changed from this initial reaction to McGonigal's text. Granted, my theories are now a little less dramatic. I no longer believe that video games make people lazy or boring. And I do not believe that they are an inherent threat - although I still do believe that they still have that potential. (But I would argue that a great many of things have that potential.)
I agree with many of McGonigal's observations about the world.
Reality is indeed broken.
McGonigal suggests that in order to fix reality, we must recreate it.
I disagree.
Rather, in order to fix reality, we need to face it.
Much of my unrest with virtual spaces stems from the idea that reality is something that can be - or even needs to be - escaped. Virtual spaces provide an outlet for people to hide from reality. [And it is not just video games. Television, movies, music, even books can be hiding places, too. The effects of these hiding places have the same negative effects on reality as video games.]
So, what exactly is reality?
Reality exists beyond us. We may seem to affect reality – through wars, systems, injustices, rules and laws – but I would argue that these constructions do not shape reality but, rather, dictate how we function within and interact with reality. Reality is a physical and spiritual truth. It cannot be constructed or recreated because it transcends us.
In this sense, reality is black-and-white. We can create and imagine and construct, but we cannot change the fabric of reality. We can only change our perceptions of reality.
This is essentially why I fear technology. It distracts us from reality. It hides reality. It acts as though it changes reality.
To try to illustrate this with a tangible example... Tanavia is my WoW character. I identify with this avatar because I created her. Because I created her, some of me is in her because she also serves as a representation of myself.
This alternate reality becomes dangerous when I replace my true physical and spiritual identity (Sarah) with my virtual identity (Tanavia). This is dangerous because Tanavia is not real while Sarah is real. You can strip Tanavia away, and Sarah still exists. But if you take Sarah away, Tanavia is not.
We have a purpose in reality; hiding places keep us away from our purpose. I do think that we live in a passive society that does not want to deal with tough questions. Therefore, video games become a kind of substitute for these questions. We fulfill our need to belong to something by figuring out the game.
However, there is a whole world – a whole reality – that we have access to that we are hiding from! We turn to things that we can easily control and manipulate instead of working to understand the real world.
***Disclaimer: I am not suggesting that video games are evil and that we should burn all of our books. Nor is every gamer/Internet surfer/television enthusiast trying to hide from reality. Rather, I suggest that as a society, we need to stop searching for alternatives to a tough reality and start engaging with this reality.
I know this is all pretty abstract. So, if there are any questions, I would love to further engage in conversation!
I would really love to hear what you guys think about all of this!
"We have a purpose in reality; hiding places keep us away from our purpose."
ReplyDeleteI can see what you're saying here, but I kind of disagree. I would support that hiding places [like books, video games, TV, music, movies, etc.] keep us from going completely insane in our, forgive my pun, quest to complete our purpose. They're much better "escapes" than something like drugs or alcohol. I agree with what you said about how alternate realities [games/TV/etc.] have the potential to be harmful if overused, but I believe that if we use them appropriately they can only serve to help us along in our purpose :)
I agree with you, Nicole. I strongly believe in the power of art and the emotional energy that we experience through engaging in these escapes.
DeleteWhat I am trying to express, though, is that many of these hiding places seem to have become only a means to escape. And, now that I have finished the McGonigal reading, I can say that I more strongly agree with McGonigal. As a collective whole, we need to shift our perception of these hiding places as a means to escape and turn them into something that can be positive and beneficial, too.
Just as another side note - the ideas in this blog post represent the reality that I see right now. So, basically, I am not saying that these hiding places are unimportant but that, at the current moment with society as it is right now, these hiding places are insignificant because they are overwhelmingly being used to gratify instant and transient needs.
DeleteMy mistake was writing this blog post before I finished McGonigal's full text.
ReplyDeleteI think that she wrote the conclusion for me, and I agree with her more now that I have read it.
"We have to stop thinking of games as only escapist entertainment" (349).
This is the main thrust of my argument, and one that does not stop at video games. Instead of running away from reality or trying to completely reinvent reality, we need to harness our creative, intellectual, and even escapist resources in order to be more present in reality.
Alright Sarah, as I told you the other week I have wanted to respond to this post, but had no idea how to broach the subject. I will tell a story that will hopefully shed light on how I feel escaping into this other world can be hurtful. I agree that not everyone who plays video games are in the category I'm about to talk about, in fact they are the exception. However, I feel still eye opening. Even more so to those unfamiliar to the world of video games.
ReplyDeleteThere is a man. He is in his late forties. He has five children and a wife all living under the same roof. His occupation is a Doctor. He practices family medicine and once a week and every other weekend works in a free clinic. He is well respected in the community and his family can rarely go out without someone coming up and thanking him for taking care of a family member.
He is also an active member in his church. Without fail he is there almost every Sunday. He even preaches on occasionally when the pastor is out of town or sick. He is a deacon, and sits on numerous boards within the church. For all intents and purposes he is what most members of 1980's Reagan America would call a catch.
Well here's the actual catch. He has a very nice computer in an office at home. On this computer are about a half dozen computers games. He spends roughly four hours every night. In that four hours his family makes, eats (he comes down for this part), and cleans up dinner. They talk about their day as well as any plans that they need to hash out in the coming weeks. There are arguments , games played, and that general familial bonding. The father misses this. What's more is he does not understand that he is missing and being missed. When he is told about a plan or idea that the rest of the family has already discussed he becomes insulted that he was not informed. His defense is that he was down for dinner, and that is 'family time'.
This is an actual family that I know. The father is a good man, and I do not wish him ill. I just want to say that it is not always that person who is on a computer for 14 hours with no interaction who is escaping life. Sometimes it somebody who is escaping their busy life, but in doing so, misses out on the people that you shouldn't be escaping from.