As always, Reality is Broken has evoked a mixture of feelings towards the “fix” she proposes for society. I place no argument against her idea that more can be done in unified groups and the feeling of being part of something is extremely gratifying. I still hold some hesitations though towards the entire collective idea. Also, the importance of epic structures and epic heroes in stories cannot not be downplayed at all because they have served as cornerstones of great human feats and inspirations.

There is no doubt in my mind that more can be done in a group, but to create everything to be part of something more significant and part of a larger thing can be suffocating. Not only for individualistic personalities, but in the sense of seeing self-value. This may sound odd, but if everything I was doing was for a larger purpose or for something for the group, then I personally would lose initiative to do things because what is my own personal reward for doing it, or what is preventing me from slacking off and letting others do the extra work. On the other hand, by including everyone into something bigger than themselves, that can also serve as a source of inspiration to keep moving and working hard. It could also lead to the greatest source of satisfaction, but there is a catch in my mind, everyone is different. In order to truly make every epic project satisfying for everyone, there would have to be a collective singular culture in which people all share the same desires and goals.

Which brings me back to why I mentioned epic heroes and epic structures. Jane McGonigal references Halo heavily throughout chapter 6 and it is a fair comparison. Halo has both an epic hero, epic structures, and an epic collective goal of protecting the human race from the Covenant. The one problem I see if she wishes to apply these things to daily life is that if everything is epic, then nothing is. Something is epic or special by being different from everything else. Every time something new and better comes out, it snatches away the title of epic from the previous generations, which then become epic “considering when they were made”. Not everyone can be the hero, not everything can induce awe, and not everything can be epic. It is just a fact that human adapt and get used to what they are surrounded by and nothing holds its glamour forever.

I feel like I took a very gloomy stance on this chapter, but don’t get wrong, working in groups can achieve glorious things. Being part of something bigger and succeeding gives the biggest rushes of joy and satisfaction. Tell me what you think though about chapter 6? Am I just a pessimist or realist?