Design Intersections: How Games Can Help Us Solve the World's Biggest Problems

1994 : We start playing Warcraft Are we on the threshold of our own epic game ?

Game developer nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by 2020

“ Games are the most elevated form of investigation.”

Will Wright + Jill Tarter

“ I’m interested in the possibility that learning to be good at a game makes you good at life, makes you good at changing the world , and gives you skills that are going to allow you to reinvent your environment. ”

“ There’s real value in being pushed toward global awareness and looking long-term . That’s one of the things that I find very useful about big games…. these are the timelines we need to be looking at — the 10-, 50-, 100- year horizons . Because most of the really bad stuff that’s happening right now is the result of very short-term thinking.”

“ My friends, my family – they’ve all noticed the difference. This game has honestly changed my life .”
Melissa, WWO player

What we learned
We can motivate and coordinate real change

7000 forecasters from
90 countries,
on 6 continents,
In 13 languages

Accounting
Advertising
Aerospace & Airlines
Agriculture
Architecture
Armed Forces
Art & Design
Automotive
Babysitting
Banking
Bartending
Beverages
Biomedical Science
Biotech & Bioengineering Broadcasting Building & Construction Call Centers Carpentry Car Services Caregiving Chemical Engineering Church & Ministry Citizen Journalism Civil Engineering Cleaners Clothing Cognitive Science Collections

Comic Book Industry Communications& Media Community Development Computer Software/Hardware Consulting Consumer Electronics Cosmetics/Cosmeceuticals Cycling Service & Distribution Defense E-Commerce Ecosystem Management Education Energy Entertainment Environmental Mngmnt Event Industry Fashion Finance Food Forensic Psychology Forestry Gaming Gardening Genetics Geo-Information Geology & Geotechnology Government Health Care

Home Remodeling Hotels Housing Human Rights Human Resources Human Services Immigration Industrial Automation Insurance International Relations Internet Journalism Labor activism Landscape Architecture Law Enforcement Law & Legal Services Libraries & Library Science Lumber Management Manufacturing Marine Research Marketing Materials Science Media Medical Mental Health Merchandising Mining Mobile Telephony Monastery Museums

Nano-biotechnology Nonprofit Nursing Oil Industry Package Delivery Parenthood Philanthropy Photography Plumbing Psychology Public Policy Publishing Real Estate Recruitment Restaurant Retail Robotics Sales Social Services Specialty Coffee Steel Industry Storytelling Sstainability Telecommunications Tourism Transporation& Logistics Urban Planning Water Management Writing

> 1000 stories about the future > 500 discussion forum topics > 500 collaborative superstructures

“ This is by far my favorite vision of the future , because it’s the first one I can actually imagine myself doing something important in.”
– Andrew F.

What we learned
We can connect individuals to epic challenges

In the first 24 hours of the network…
Players posted more than 2000 blog posts, videos and photos .

In the first 15 days of the network…
We’ve enrolled more than 10,500 students from more than 120 countries , including more than 2000 students from sub-Saharan Africa .

“ We never saw this mindset in our students before: instead of Africa having all the world’s problems, it could have all the world’s solutions .”
- Thirumeni Thiru , EVOKE outreach team, South Africa

What we’re learning
We can change who plays

Prototype a game – and use free online platforms
Ning for social networking
Twitter for updates
Wordpress for blogs
Wikia for wikis
Facebook for promotion

Get help making a game
Colleges and universities
Libraries and Museums
Institute for the Future
Games for Change network
Serious Games network
Local IGDA (international game developers association) chapters

[email_address]

Challenge #1
Find a position of forecasting strength.

What are 3 things you’d wager $100 you know or care more about than anyone else in this room ?
a subject matter or skill
a location
a community
Challenge #1

Challenge #2
Test the diversity of our forecasting network.

Challenge #3
Immerse yourself in the future scenario.
In a world without oil, how would YOU help?

Challenge #4
Form forecasting teams.

Challenge #4
Your team needs at least one:
Laptop
Wiki hero
Data captain
Town crier

The grand challenge:
Fill the wiki,
from A to Z,
with 260 design solutions for a world without oil.

http://teachingwithted.pbworks.com	1639
http://cyberpsy.ru	468
http://www.wikibranding.net	139
http://model-this.blogspot.com	86
http://inetpsy.ru	69
http://www.slideshare.net	62
http://ru-cyberpsy.blogspot.com	34
http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au	12
http://model-this.blogspot.co.uk	11
http://blog.bostondave.net	7
http://dreaminenglish.blogspot.com	6
http://northernlightsgaming.wikispaces.com	6
http://bostondave.posterous.com	5
http://pre2012.flexiblelearning.net.au	5
http://selfishmemes.tumblr.com	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	2
http://model-this.blogspot.fr	2
http://ru-cyberpsy.blogspot.ru	2
http://www.fastcompany.com	2
http://uat.flw.educationau.edu.au	1
http://dkv-unpas.blogspot.com	1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1
http://portal.ou.nl	1
http://cafe.naver.com	1
http://paper.li	1

Design Intersections: How Games Can Help Us Solve the World's Biggest Problems

by Jane McGonigal on Mar 16, 2010

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Design Intersections: How Games Can Help Us Solve the World’s Biggest Problems Presentation Transcript