RIB 7&8
In chapters seven and eight of Reality is Broken, McGonigal writes about the consequences (mostly positive according to her) of integrating games into everyday life. She argues that by integrating games into our everyday, sometimes even monotonous lives, we can become more “self-motivated and self-directed, intensely interested and genuinely enthusiastic.” One such example in which she explains this idea is what she calls the “engagement gap.” The engagement gap refers to the educational phenomenon in which student performance suffers due to lack of interest and motivation due to inadequate stimulation from their work. The most direct example of this she provides is of a sixth through twelfth grade school in New York City called Quest to Learn. In an attempt to overcome the engagement gap, the school emphasizes learning through games. The school replaces traditional school concepts such as quizzes and final exams with “leveling-up” and “boss levels,” respectively. This is an instance of converting literal work into play, but McGonigal also discusses the implications of making work more rewarding by utilizing alternate realities.
In chapter eight, McGonigal argues that “compared with games, reality is pointless and unrewarding.” Personally, I disagree with this statement. However, I concede that this may be true for some people, but generally speaking, any greater dissatisfaction that a person may live with is likely better solved through direct action. Games alone cannot improve a person’s quality of life in the long run in terms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Games will not feed you or keep you safe: the two base-most categories of Maslow’s diagram. On a related note, McGonigal also explores the power of virtual souvenirs and power-ups. In a literal sense, I believe they have no real value. However, when people are able to display them in a virtual community to signify achievement, I do believe that they are more likely to hold value due to the potential social acclaim/attention. The more games are integrated with our lives, the more our lives begin to mimic games and we act accordingly.
Josephine Bossidy 
Hyewon Hong 
Ahsan Ahmad 
Shanay Amin
I really like how you connected McGonigal’s ideas to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. She writes about students who are only bored with school, not students who are disinterested because they’re being bullied, having trouble at home, or working part-time. There are other reasons people throw themselves into videogames and their reasons might be toward the base of the pyramid. Though McGonigal was able to help her concussion recovery with a game, I don’t think all situations can be solved so simply.