fred bartels’ musings

"We are all born with the potential to develop collaboration superpowers. Scientific research shows that we have both the ability and the desire from early childhood to cooperate, to coordinate activity, and to strengthen group bonds -- in other words, to make a good game together. But this potential can be lost if we don't expend enough effort practicing collaboration."  (Page 293 from Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken)

I'm really interested in empowering people. Always have been I think. Probably has something to do with my upbringing.

I recently read an interesting cynical take on the Golden Rule which went like this. "He who provides the gold, gets to make the rules." This, I'm afraid, is the way our country is headed as more and more wealth and power get concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.

McGonigal's work with games provides some hope that -ironically- it may be play that allows us to escape this unattractive future. Millions of gamers have been practicing collaboration in their game worlds. If even more of us join in and start developing our collaboration superpowers we may have a chance to back our nation away from plutocracy and return to a vibrant democracy.

That's how much is at stake with games.

(The image is from a SketchUp model called TipToeing Between the Horns of a Dilemma.)