Sense of agency

The last time my family visited New York City, we stopped by a board game coffeehouse. We played Pandemic, which allowed the three of us to work together to stop widespread disease from taking over the planet. It took a bit of skill and a bit of luck, but we did it. We supplied the world with the vaccine to stop disease, panic, death and destruction. We left the coffeehouse as heroes.

There was a sort of exhilarating feeling that came from organizing the data, solving the problems, and working together. It’s moments like this that make game designer Jane McDonigal believe that we can change the world through games. It’s what drives her thesis in Reality is Broken.

Dr. McDonigal knows that 99% of boys under 18 and 94% of girls under 18 play video games. While we play (with cards, boards, balls, or computers), we learn strategic thinking, problem solving and organizing skills. We have positive emotional responses.  McDonigal would like to harness all of that time, energy, and emotion into solving the world’s greatest problems. She wants to design games that will devop and transform our positive habits from the game to our lives.