At any rate, this book makes a number of very interesting points. First, that the engineers that design games could be considered happiness engineers. No one else has studied happiness to the same extent. Games provide more satisfying work than most of our jobs allow. She focuses on the MMP RPG types. These are massive multi-player, role playing games. They also provide social connectivity and the chance to be part of something bigger than yourself.
She outlines some of the benefits of alternate reality games which are designed to make your real life better with games like Chore Wars. We all want to be able to level up in life and games make that so easy by defining clear goals and immediate tangible rewards. As a matter of fact, good games are defined by goals (providing a sense of purpose), rules (which are composed of un-necessary obstacles), a feedback system and voluntary participation.
She describes a number of games that build temporary communities out of total strangers. She also suggest that in an effort to attain happiness, the self help movement causes people to try too hard. Happiness is best approached by not trying so hard. She suggest that a hack can be our best approach when trying to better tune our lives. Making real change is difficult for us but a hack, where you spend just a short time each day engaged an activities that can ultimately lead to real change can be a better approach. Games make it easier to try out good advice. She was even able to get healthier using a game that she invented herself called Super Better. Compared to games, reality is unambitious. Games can help us define epic goals and tackle major social missions.
Games can help us build collaboration superpowers. We are in the age of human impact on the earth. Good games that can help us solve real problems are just starting to surface. These games are often called "god games" such as "The Sims". The most epic god game yet is called "Spore". But there is also an epic game with real world consequences, called "World Without Oil". A large scale game, studies found that game participants often became what have been termed, SEHI types, or super-empowered-hopeful individuals. SEHIs don't wait around for someone else to save the world but believe they can do it.
The author's ten year forecast group also looked for a word that describes the overall solution structure and coined the term, superstruct. The group then launched a massive multiplayer forecasting game by that name.
The four traits that define a superstruct are:
1-brings 2 or more communities together to solve a problem
2-the problem is big or complex
3-a superstruct harnesses the talents, resources, skills, and activities of each group
4-it is fundamentally new, an idea no one has tried before
There is even the concept of a long game, one that is played over generations.
This book really challenges some of my assumptions. At work, as we are hiring a number of young college grads and this book gives me a different perspective on how to manage this new generation. They are digital natives and have game based childhood experiences?
And finally, this book also left me feeling a bit like I could be a SEHI. I cannot help but keep my eyes open for opportunities to build the right superstruct and see if my communities can change the world.
