In chapters one and two of RIB, common ideas about gaming and reality continue to be challenged. Many of the things I read in these chapters were new and very shocking. I really like how this book looks at common generalizations and stereotypes that most people have and then tries to prove them wrong and show how gaming can change reality for the better.

In the first chapter, the many different opinions about gaming and gamers are brought up. In almost all of these opinions gaming has such a negative connotation. This section of the book made me think deeper about why these generalizations were formed and why they haven’t changed. These opinions may have been formed a a long time ago when the gaming community was very small and didn’t quite fit in, however today the majority of people play games and enjoy playing games, so why is there still a negative connotation associated with it? Another thing i found interesting in the first chapter was the section of the book about working. McGonigal lists many different types of work and how they are all different, this made me think beyond the general idea of “work” and how not all work is so boring. When I first read the quote form Noel Coward that “Work is more fun than fun,” I automatically doubted it. But the following paragraphs changed my opinion. While reading, I thought of what I find fun and relaxing and agreed with what the book said, that most of the time these activities make us feel worse. Unlike work which can often be rewarding and beneficial.

Finally, in the second chapter, I found the connection between gaming and reality very interesting. I’ve always separated the two in my head, that gaming is completely different than reality. But McGonigal discusses how games give us intrinsic rewards and that these intrinsic rewards (specifically the four main types) are what all humans crave. She discusses how games can be very rewarding and can actually help our real lives. I have never thought about games in this way before, in this section she challenges the idea that people play games just to escape reality.