In Chapter 13, McGonigal discusses collaboration and shared intentionality — “the ability to participate with others in collaborative activities with shared goals and intentions”. I really liked this definition that she gave, though they are technically the words of Tomasello, because it explains why we cooperate, to achieve similar goals. It is when she introduces “Fix #13” that I started to lose her again. She claims that games can give players the ability to develop collaboration superpowers. I am not a big video gamer so I can’t assess the validity of those examples, but more traditional board games that I have played, I would say that I’m more likely to screw someone over because the consequences are lower. For example, when playing Settlers of Catan, Wogan and Carson lied about what cards they had to do a trade. While it sucked for our team, had I been in their position, I probably would have done the same thing. In reality though, I like Carson and Wogan and would not undermine them like that. I also strongly disagree with her example of the Olympics as a broken game. Even if not participating in the games yourself, they are still a powerful message because you can imagine people all over the world huddling around their TVs and cheering for their athletes. For me, watching the so-called “spectacle” of the Olympics inspires awe when I think about how many people had to collaborate to make them happen, how many people travelled great distances just to observe, how many people are tuning in to watch the events, how much talent and effort and dedication lies in that one place. With this example, I think McGonigal missed the mark entirely and completely misunderstood what the Olympics can do.

In Chapter 14, I do agree that games can help people imagine and invent but that doesn’t mean that reality can’t do that either. I do think that “World without Oil” is a cool concept, one that could even be applied to academic settings, as we talked about a couple chapters ago. I am turned off though by the thought of her self-plugging games that she was involved in creating. This example along with “SuperStructure” and “EVOKE” aim to raise social-consciousness around a variety of issues. I understand that she hopes to instill a sense of responsibility and urgency into communities, but the key to making these games successful is having players to play them. I personally have never heard of any of these games before reading, so while I like their ideas, I never would have known about them. If people don’t know the games exist, the games won’t have a large impact. McGonigal appears very idealistic at the end because no one has even heard of these games and because not everyone has the time to play a six week round of “World without Oil”.