All work and All Play-McGonigal

The majority of people that were brought up in the 1970's/80's/90's and perhaps even the 2000's have played, or know someone who has played a video game. They are part of everyday life, and are a massive part of the entertainment sector, with $65 billion spent on video games in 2012. However, they are still a source of entertainment with many negative connotations-for example there is a post on debate.org which has the question "Are video games bad for children?".  However, McGonigal explains that this bias is ingrained into our culture- 

"We frequently use the term “player” to describe someone who manipulates others to get what they want. We don’t really trust players. We have to be on our guard around people who play games..." (McGonigal, 2011, p19)

McGonigal goes on to talk about the definitions of a game, what makes a game, a game. She raises a valid point when quoting Bernard Suits-

"Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles."
(McGonigal, 2011, p.22)

This does sum up everything about games, no matter what game is mentioned. Certain video games such as Super Meat Boy seem to be made with the intention of being nigh impossible to play through without quitting. Metacritic describe it as "a tough as nails platformer" and one of the critic's review starts with "Super Meat Boy's difficulty will likely turn off some gamers..." Why do people play it? What is the attraction? As McGonigal said it is the "goal" that the gamer works towards (in this case, saving Meat Boy's girlfriend). On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is Minecraft. It is a sandbox game, where there isn't an obvious goal as there is not any narrative. However, there are many little achievements that the user gets-for example, building a house, surviving the first night, finding diamond etc. This coupled with the "rules" of not being able to fly (unless in creative) and the voluntary participation with the game to create a world that comes straight out of the users imagination means that it's no wonder the game has 33 million users.

The four concepts are present in the majority of the biggest selling games and although they seem simplistic, they work and perhaps help us understand games more, by being able to relate them to "real life" ideas. 




References

McGonigal, J., (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, Penguin Press HC,

Statistics- http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250966/65b-spent-on-gaming-fastest-growing-entertainment-sector/ (date accessed; 13.11.13)

Meta Critic Super Meat Boy Review- http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/super-meat-boy (date accessed; 13.11.13)