Here’s a sneak peak of a video I plan to show Spring term in Media & Society, a class I teach at Linn-Benton Community College.
The video, one of many fine works produced by TED (Technology, Education, Design), features Jane McGonigal of the Institute for the Future. In this video she shares her optimism for the future of the human race, which quite possibly could be saved by those who share the traits of the most engaged video gamers, those who play “World of Warcraft.”
Gamers, she suggests, possess four invaluable qualities that could be applied to solving real-life problems. They:
- Possess “urgent optimism”
- Weave a trusted “social fabric”
- Engage in “blissful productivity”
- Desire “epic meaning”
The result of these traits is a booming number of people she describes as “super-empowered hopeful individuals,” who may have the kind of determination and attitude it takes to save the planet.
With two boys who play hours of WOW and other games, I see the traits about which she speaks. I’m not sure whether my sons are quite ready to save the world, but I’m willing to let them take a shot at it…
-rp-
thanks for sharing this video.. at first it sound weird that saving world by playing WOW. But i like the ideas and concept on how they do it..
It certainly puts a new spin on things for people who worry that gamers are wasting their lives in front of a video screen…
-rp-