Reading Response 2.0

Chapter 2 – The Rise of the Happiness Engineers

When McGonigal introduced gamer regret, I thought it was a silly notion. I have always thought games to be productive and on the contrary, I sometimes feel like I have wasted my time if I am not playing a game. This is the complete reverse of gamer regret, but being a member of the hardcore gamer demographic, I might not be the only one with this sentiment. As I stated previously, I hate being idle and I really do consider games as important to me as a job. I can’t even imagine feeling like I have wasted my time unless the game was monumentally crappy.

McGonigal next brought up the case of David Sudnow, the jazz pianist turned Breakout fanatic. In my opinion, it is not really surprising that his addiction subsided once he had effectively beaten the game. As a gamer, I take breaks to help maintain my focus lest I get bored with the game I am playing. Often I switch games every once in a while so as not to get put off the game completely. Whether I am switching to an online game to meet with friends, or to a single player game to get away from the intense environment, it’s important to not get too immersed in the game. When immersion is really high, people can start taking the game too seriously. This is especially true in the case of online games. There is more pressure to do well, and much more pride at stake. Rather than playing against a simple AI that can be defeated by good strategy, the player is now showing off the skills they have acquired to the whole world. Emotions flare and failure to perform to the best of one’s ability will inevitably bring about the ever common “Rage Quit”

Despite this downside, games are still valuable, and McGonigal’s words support this. Later on in the chapter, she identifies the 4 rewards that are most essential to our happiness.

First off, we want satisfying work, every single day. This is defined as work that is demanding but gives us a chance to see the impact of our efforts.
The second thing we want is the feeling of success. As McGonigal puts it, we want to feel the power that comes from showing off our skills and the knowledge that we are getting better.
Third, we want social connection. We want to share experiences and do things together with others.
Finally, the fourth thing we want is meaning, or rather “the chance to be a part of something larger than ourselves.” As McGonigal says, we just want to contribute and be part of something lasting that is essentially greater than ourselves.

Where can we find these rewards though? As stated, many in the world have been conditioned to try and find happiness through extrinsic rewards or external factors such as wealth, fame and beauty. In the end, the only group of people who seem to be unaffected by this, are the hardcore gamers. Gaming does not really benefit us in the material sense. As McGonigal says, gaming doesn’t pay us or help further our careers in any way. However, it does give us happiness and make our lives more rewarding. And in the end, that may be more important.