Alternate Realities - Jane McGonigal Keynote SXSW 2008

Slide 1: alternate realities jane mcgonigal @ SXSW 2008

Slide 2: a game designer’s perspective on the future of happiness

Slide 6: The Quality of Life Index The Happy Planet Index “Gross National Happiness” Subjective Life Satisfation The Canadian Index of Well-Being World’s Most Livable Cities The Vanderford Riley Well Being Schedule The Authentic Happiness Inventory

Slide 7: Are YOU are in the happiness business?

Slide 8: Are YOU are in the happiness business? Maybe not yet… but will you be.

Slide 9: A future forecast (2013):

Slide 10: Quality of life becomes the primary metric for evaluating interactive brands, services, environments, and experiences.

Slide 11: Positive psychology is increasingly a principal, explicit influence on interactive design and development.

Slide 12: Communities form around different visions of a real life worth living.

Slide 13: Value is defined as a measurable increase in real happiness, or well- being – the new capital.

Slide 14: HAPPINESS IS THE NEW CAPITAL.

Slide 15: HAPPINESS IS THE NEW CAPITAL. … but happiness doesn’t mean what it used to.

Slide 17: 1. satisfying work to do 2. the experience of being good at something 3. time spent with people we like 4. the chance to be a part of something bigger

Slide 18: Multiplayer games are the ultimate happiness engine.

Slide 19: signals

Slide 22: 1) better instructions

Slide 23: 2) better feedback

Slide 24: 3) better community

Slide 25: a global mass exodus to

Slide 26: “We are witnessing what amounts to no less than a global mass exodus to virtual worlds and other online gaming environments.” – economist Edward Castranova

Slide 27: For many gamers today, in terms of perceived quality of life, virtuality is beating reality.

Slide 28: For many gamers today, in terms of perceived quality of life, virtuality is beating reality.

Slide 30: Multiplayer gaming, c. 2008

Slide 31: Multiplayer gaming, c. 2008 It’s like we invented the written word… and we decided only to write books.

Slide 38: signals … what do they mean?

Slide 39: “To imagine the future, always look back at least twice as far as you are looking forward."

Slide 41: GAMES KILL BOREDOM Found to be Fatal to Dangerous Lack of Engagement Games have a value as an aid to quality of life even greater and more direct than has hitherto been suspected. The ordinary routine of playing a game is fatal to conditions of boredom, inertia, disinterest, and other serious afflictions of dealing with everyday life.

Slide 42: GAMES KILL ALIENATION Found to be Fatal to Dangerous Lack of Friends, Allies Games have a value as an aid to quality of life even greater and more direct than has hitherto been suspected. The ordinary routine of playing a game is fatal to conditions of social alienation, loneliness, lack of community, friendlessness, and other serious afflictions of co-existing with real people.

Slide 43: GAMES KILL ANXIETY Found to be Fatal to Dangerous Lack of Confidence Games have a value as an aid to quality of life even greater and more direct than has hitherto been suspected. The ordinary routine of playing a game is fatal to conditions of anxiety, fear, social awkwardness and other serious afflictions of being human and alive.

Slide 44: GAMES KILL DEPRESSION Found to be Fatal to Dangerous Lack of Purpose & Meaning Games have a value as an aid to quality of life even greater and more direct than has hitherto been suspected. The ordinary routine of playing a game is fatal to conditions of depression, existential angst, human suffering and other serious afflictions of real life.

Slide 45: Alternate reality designers are trying to embed these happiness engines in everyday life.

Slide 46: The concept “alternate reality” comes from science fiction.

Slide 47: “An alternate reality is another way of experiencing existence.” G. S. ELRICK, 1978

Slide 48: World Without Oil, 2007* *

Slide 49: World Without Oil, 2007* *

Slide 53: A collaborative multi-platform authoring envirorment (the Web 2.0) invites players to create and to test an alternate reality

Slide 56: How alternate reality games amplify human happiness mobbability open authorship influency emergensight ping quotient longbroading multi-capitalism protovation signal/noise cooperation radar management

Slide 57: mobbability

Slide 58: cooperation radar

Slide 59: ping quotient

Slide 60: influency

Slide 61: multi-capitalism

Slide 62: protovation

Slide 63: open authorship

Slide 64: signal/noise management

Slide 65: longbroading

Slide 66: emergensight

Slide 67: Amplifying human happiness mobbability open authorship influency emergensight ping quotient longbroading multi-capitalism protovation signal/noise cooperation radar management

Slide 68: 1. Satisfying work to do 2. The experience of being good at something 3. Time spent with people we like 4. The chance to be a part of something bigger

Slide 69: Alternate realities, circa 2008 - 2013 Where to next?

Slide 78: www.thelostring.com

Slide 79: 1. Satisfying work to do 2. The experience of being good at something 3. Time spent with people we like 4. The chance to be a part of something bigger

Slide 80: the important stuff 1. Soon enough, most of us will be in the happiness business

Slide 81: the important stuff 2. Games designers have a huge head start.

Slide 82: the important stuff 3) Alternate realities signal the desire, need & opportunity for all of us to redesign reality for real quality of life.

Slide 83: jane @avantgame .c om