In chapters 9 and 10 of Reality is Broken, McGonigal argues that alternate reality games can create communities and make individuals happier. She describes how new communities can be made out of alternate reality games using three examples: Comfort of Strangers, Ghosts of a Chance, and Bounce. Out of the three, I think that Bounce had the most effective method of creating a community between elders and others younger than them. I never realized the extent of the bias against elders from younger generations, and I think Bounce has a really positive goal behind it: to bridge the generation gap between people of different ages. Based on my experiences with elders, I know that interacting with others is really comforting for them, and it’s important that individuals in younger generations have solid relationships with those in older generations. While I think that Bounce has a really positive goal, I think the main challenge with each of these virtual reality games would be the lack of participation in the games. Even if some of these games can help people feel connected with a community, for the games to be truly effective, they would need to have a sufficient number of players, which I don’t think is entirely attainable.

In chapter 10, McGonigal argues that it is difficult for people to mend their unhappiness on their own. She suggests that “happiness hacking” in order to experience the benefits of positive psychology consists of making life easier with a collective community. She provides examples of alternate reality games that are meant to make people happier, which involve complimenting strangers, playing poker in a cemetery, and dancing without moving your feet. These games are based on psychological research that making others smile, thinking about death, and dancing all help individuals feel more positive. I would say that each of these factors are effective in making people happier. I try to go out of my way to smile at people I don’t know when I’m walking down hallways or streets because if I see them smile back, it makes me feel good. Overall, I think that these sorts of positive actions are beneficial, but I’m not entirely sure how they relate to changing the world. McGonigal argues that alternate reality games can improve people (make them happier, more creative, etc.) which will in turn help them improve the world. I’m curious to see what evidence McGonigal provides to support this point.

Although I’m not exactly sure how to relate the Oregon Trail to McGonigal’s points about playing games with strangers and happiness hacking, I had a lot of fun playing the game. When playing the game, my main objective was to complete the trail regardless of how many points I would end up with, so I took the easiest route by traveling to Oregon as a banker. Because I started off with more money, I was able to maintain sufficient resources to help me complete the trail with most of my passengers at fair health. What I liked most about the game was the random challenges that came up over the course of the game, such as robberies, random illnesses/injuries, and random breaks in the wagon. The challenges force you to figure out your priorities fast and make sacrifices based on what resources you have. For example, when you have a shortage of food, you either have to sacrifice the health of your passengers or sacrifice your other resources in order to successfully complete the trail. If I were to play the Oregon Trail again, I would try to score as many points as possible rather than just simply trying to complete the trail to make the game more challenging.