RIB Introduction Response (Wogan)
I am not an “active gamer” … not anymore at least. I’ve been “clean” for about five year excluding the occasional trip to the contaminated landscape of Fallout 4 or to “rip some fat dubs with the boys” in the knock-off of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds known as Fortnite. This change in habit – identity even- can be ultimately blamed on social pressures. As Jane McGonigal discusses throughout the introduction in her book, Reality is Broken, there is a prevalent cultural stigma against games that enforces the notion that games are a waste of time and money and are wholly unproductive. It’s this very idea that led to my own decrease in participation in the virtual worlds that were such a substantial part of my childhood. While I don’t entirely disagree with this idea of there being a more constructive way to spend one’s time (a factor in my willingness and success in losing my “frequent flyer card” to my various virtual realities), I do believe in what games can do for us: unite, engage, and inspire.
Perhaps another contributing factor in my migration away from gaming was my own “finite game” mentality. In Jay Gordon Cone’s article, “Authentic Accountability: Tapping the Power of the Infinite Game,” he explores the concept of finite games versus infinite games. The former model consisting of a definite end either governed by time or a point-based cap and the latter model being motivated purely by the continuation of play. Despite the seemingly endless nature of some RPGs (Skyrim, Fallout, etc.) there is an endpoint: once all the trophies or gamer points have been collected and the DLCs have been played through. Of course, there are always other games, but in combination with social pressures I reached a saturation point in my “active gamer” career; hence, earning my “finite game mentality.” Alternatively, to one with an “infinite game” mentality, those same trophies and feedbacks I interpreted as repetitive and monotonous provide “data about progress and potential.” Cone explains this phenomenon:
Even when it’s working perfectly, a performance management system that focuses on finite goals limits your organization to what’s expected and dooms your leaders to apply their energies to what someone else wants of them. (Cone 103).
In other words, a “finite game” mentality places a cap on quality and potential for initiative. On the other hand, a “infinite game” mentality emphasizes the principles of participation for the sake of continuing participation and initiative.
Pokemon Go is an “infinite game.” After reaching level three, I realized the game’s motto, “Gotta catch ‘em all,” is the primary goal in the game. Luckily for Niantic, the game’s developer, there are infinitely many Pokemon to catch and therefore infinitely many reasons for players to keep returning to the game. Furthermore, because of the game’s geography-based features, it presents unique opportunities to visit new places, see familiar places differently, and run into other players. Most importantly, it provides an escape from what is right in front of us.
Micaela Willoughby 
Charles Mosse
I admire Wagon’s perspective on Pokemon Go as an infinite game. While reading Authentic accountability and the descriptions of a finite vs infinite player, I immediately associated myself as a player who completes all coursework, competes for the highest grades and test scores, and someone who quite frankly can’t think creatively. Never considering myself as a player in a game only just a student in a class, I was oblivious to the decisions I was making to perceive anything that wasn’t going to be on the final as irrelevant. During Pokemon Go, my only goal was to make it level three. Reading your take on the game makes me reconsider how I play my games. I want to attempt to focus on the process more, and the opportunities that these games are providing me.