Games Can Make A Better World

TED Talk Video Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world 

This video was presented by Jane McGonigal, a game designer for 10 years. McGonigal stated that gamers feel empowered, confident and eager to conquer challenging situations when playing games. However, in real life, gamers don't feel this way. We are often faced with anxiety and fear when presented with a challenge in reality. A funny, yet interesting fact that McGonigal presented was, "that if we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict and obesity...she feels that we need to play online games for at least 21 billion hours a week by the end of the next decade!"

McGonigal went on to state the following four things that games do to make us "virtuosos".

These four things are:

Urgent Optimism - a desire to act immediately, to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success.

Social Fabric - McGonigal stated how there is research showing that we like people after we play a game with them. Trust is a big factor when playing a game with someone. If we trust that someone will take the time to play with us, follow rules and value a goal, we will trust this person until the game is over.

Blissful Productivity - Social fabric can become blissful productivity. Playing a game with someone builds up a bond, trust and cooperation.

Epic Meaning - Gamers like to be a part of a huge mission. McGonigal stated that World of Warcraft wiki has nearly 80,000 articles with five million people who use the website every month! Gamers are building an epic story based on the knowledge and resource about the World of Warcraft.

My inital thoughts of this video is this:

The gaming world is an odd obscure world to me. I have never been interested in it because I choose to live in reality instead of getting sucked into a game. However, the more I watch and learn about games throughout this course, I do see the many benefits of gaming. Gaming is a huge hobby among young people today, and if we can intertwine gaming with a positive activity, there could be endless opportunities to help certain aspects of the world. I'm not sure what these opportunities could be, but I do think this is an interesting factor to explore. McGonigal said something that I really liked, "Gamers are super-empowered hopeful individuals. They believe they can empower virtual worlds versus the real world."I would like to see more games created to help gamers feel that same empowerment in the real world.

Augmented Reality in Education

As a child, I can remember sitting in the planetarium on a field trip and being in awe at the constellations before me. I was excited to find an AR app called Star Walk – Explore the Sky. This app is an interactive guide to the night sky. You just point your phone up to the sky (or towards the ceiling of your living room, as I did) and you will see all of the constellations before you. The app covers celestial bodies, thousands of stars, the planets, and other sky objects. It’s almost like your own personal planetarium in your hand. The age recommended on the app states 4+. I feel to really grasp the information and read the description of the constellations, etc. third grade would be most suitable to use this app.

I feel that this app would be awesome in the classroom because the student would have their own control over their view of the night sky. Like I previously stated, it would be their own personal planetarium in their hands.

Below are two screenshots of me using the app.

Augmented Reality Exploration

I explored two augmented reality apps. I used my iPhone 6 Plus iOS 11.2.5

The first app I used was called AR Dragon. This app is basically an augmented reality virtual pet simulator. You can create your own unique dragon. This dragon will grow older and larger each day. You can feed, train and play with your dragon each day as well! Throughout the app you can collect rare food and toys. Below is the dragon I created. I named her Lilly.

The second app I used was called Stack AR. This app is addicting. You have many graphics involved, and you basically tap the phone and stack blocks. The blocks shave down the more you stack. The goal is to achieve a high score. Below is a screenshot of the stack I created.

What are Virtual and Augmented Realities?

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MwaH6oGEY&feature=youtu.be

Virtual Reality – Also known as VR, virtual reality is best described as a computer generated simulation or replacement of one’s environment. VR in a nutshell is mental teleportation. The origins of VR trace back to 1962 and includes a filmmaker named Mort Heilig. Heilig created a 3D like machine that would show city streets with wind blowing in your face and smells of the city. This idea, although revolutionary, did not take off. Many feel the godfather of VR displays was a man named Ivan Sutherland, an MIT computer scientist. He created the first virtual headset. VR did not take off until presently, and it is used by gamers, 3D artists, architects and real estate agents, teachers, students and astronauts.

Augmented Reality – Also known as AR, augmented reality is best described as mixed reality. The main purpose of AR is to cut out the real world and transport you to another one. Your environment is supplemented or augmented, and it adds to your existing reality. You may be familiar with AR based on the apps Pokemon Go or Snapchat (the use of filters).  

In conclusion, VR tends to be immersive, and the user feels they are in another place. AR is an addition to the user’s world. AR and VR changes the perceptions and processes of the human mind in an obvious way. By 2025, AR and VR will be something that is common in our society.