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Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World Hardcover – January 20, 2011

by Jane McGonigal (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,013 ratings
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Visionary game designer Jane McGonigal reveals how we can harness the power of games to solve real-world problems and boost global happiness.

More than 174 million Americans are gamers, and the average young person in the United States will spend ten thousand hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. According to world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal, the reason for this mass exodus to virtual worlds is that videogames are increasingly fulfilling genuine human needs. In this groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of gaming, McGonigal reveals how we can use the lessons of game design to fix what is wrong with the real world.

Drawing on positive psychology, cognitive science, and sociology, Reality Is Broken uncovers how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy and utilized these discoveriesto astonishing effect in virtual environments. Videogames consistently provide the exhilarating rewards, stimulating challenges, and epic victories that are so often lacking in the real world. But why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for escapist entertainment alone? Her research suggests that gamers are expert problem solvers and collaborators because they regularly cooperate with other players to overcome daunting virtual challenges, and she helped pioneer a fast-growing genre of games that aims to turn gameplay to socially positive ends.

In Reality Is Broken, she reveals how these new alternate reality games are already improving the quality of our daily lives, fighting social problems such as depression and obesity, and addressing vital twenty-first-century challenges-and she forecasts the thrilling possibilities that lie ahead. She introduces us to games like World Without Oil, a simulation designed to brainstorm-and therefore avert- the challenges of a worldwide oil shortage, and Evoke, a game commissioned by the World Bank Institute that sends players on missions to address issues from poverty to climate change.

McGonigal persuasively argues that those who continue to dismiss games will be at a major disadvantage in the coming years. Gamers, on the other hand, will be able to leverage the collaborative and motivational power of games in their own lives, communities, and businesses. Written for gamers and nongamers alike, Reality Is Broken shows us that the future will belong to those who can understand, design, and play games.
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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Press
  4. Publication date
    January 20, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1594202850
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1594202858
  8. See all details
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4.4 out of 5 stars
1,013 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and interesting, even for non-gamers. They appreciate the thought-provoking insights and explanations of games. The book explores what makes games so rewarding and how to integrate them into everyday life. Readers praise the clear, crisp prose and narration. They mention that the rules unleash creativity and foster strategic thinking. The book also stresses the importance of collaboration and social connections among individuals.

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ReadabilityEnlightenednessGaming valueWriting qualityCreativityCollaborationCredibility
114 customers mention "Readability"114 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and interesting, even for non-gamers. They appreciate the examples and insights into what makes a good game. The book is described as a rare one that delivers more than promised, making it a fulfilling read for readers.

"...Man, I'm old. Jane McGonigal has written the perfect book for someone like myself who is still interested in gaming but leery of getting..." Read more

"...and epic meaning - everything we need for a flourishing, satisfying life...." Read more

"...A good quality game keeps you at the edge between winning and losing - so you continue playing...." Read more

"...What follows next is an investigation of what makes for a good game (and not just computer games)...." Read more

99 customers mention "Enlightenedness"99 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and inspiring. It provides insights and explanations about games and how they can create a more rewarding life. The book explores some examples and discusses how much of them are successful. Readers say it gives another perspective and is an inspiration to make a better world, tackle real issues, and engage humanity.

"...the nature of gaming with a significant pop psychology and social commentary component...." Read more

"...and stereotypes from page one, offering an eye-opening analysis of the psychological, historical, and sociological power of games and game-playing...." Read more

"...There is discovery work that makes us feel confident, powerful, and motivated...." Read more

"...The book provides a nice framework for what makes the great games successful, and how these principles can be applied to the world around us...." Read more

68 customers mention "Gaming value"68 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's insights into gaming. They find it insightful and helpful for understanding what makes games rewarding to gamers, how to integrate them more closely into everyday life, and how games can help society shape and reinvent the future. The book provides perspective on the relevance of games in human history and explains the psychology of game addiction. It also offers an eloquent and insightful analysis of modern gaming trends and the task-reward cycle that motivates a player to continue gaming.

"...It's more of a philosophical treatise on the nature of gaming with a significant pop psychology and social commentary component...." Read more

"...analysis of the psychological, historical, and sociological power of games and game-playing...." Read more

"...This provides motivation to keep playing. And games are voluntary, so participation is a sign that you knowingly and willingly accept the goal,..." Read more

"...Yes, games can fix that reality. Games are already what makes that reality bearable as it is. Going to work by public transport? Look around you...." Read more

50 customers mention "Writing quality"40 positive10 negative

Customers find the writing clear and concise. They appreciate the good narration and pacing. The book offers convincing environments with sound thinking. Readers find the style fast, upbeat, and easy to read. While some of the premises resonate, overall the book is considered awesome and easy to read.

"...Well written, plenty of great and engaging examples - highly recommend it. A Nobel Peace Prize to a game designer within the next 50 years?..." Read more

"...I'm glad to have read the book, and would recommend it as a well-articulated vision of a very interesting idea, one that is certainly worth having..." Read more

"...The author provides very real, tangible, and quantifiable evidence that the second assertion is not only plausible, but that it is within our grasp..." Read more

"...Neither of these sentences prove anything -- moreso, her poor writing renders interesting and plausible ideas unconvincing and tenuous...." Read more

24 customers mention "Creativity"22 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's creativity. They find it provides a good overview of game design philosophy and specific methods for engaging with the real world. The rules unleash creativity and foster strategic thinking. The book facilitates an academic discussion on game design, especially serious games. The author presents a well-thought-out and eloquent argument for the psychology behind game design and the gamer. Overall, customers describe the book as brilliant, interesting, and innovative.

"...And there is hard, creative work where we can make meaningful decisions that make us feel proud of what we have achieved...." Read more

"...The style is engaging and, while the pace may lag a little when describing the mechanisms of individual games the reader may not be familiar with,..." Read more

"...to explore previously uncharted possibility spaces, the rules unleash creativity and foster strategic thinking. 3...." Read more

"...I found the book engaging and her examples well researched and thought out...." Read more

14 customers mention "Collaboration"14 positive0 negative

Customers like the collaboration in the book. They mention it improves interactions among individuals, offers the possibility of teamwork across large groups of people, and creates epic meaning as a group. The feedback loop, engagement mechanisms, and social challenge strengthen communities and friendships.

"...because they provide positive emotions, blissful productivity, social connection, and epic meaning - everything we need for a flourishing,..." Read more

"...the possibility of teamwork across large groups of people, emphasizing collaboration, cooperation, and contributions not possible in the past...." Read more

"...can redesign our reality by augmenting it with social and collaborative game dynamics...." Read more

"...The central theme of these works seems to be that of collaboration and cooperativeness...." Read more

33 customers mention "Credibility"17 positive16 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book's credibility. Some find the research interesting and revealing, with a good overall theory. They appreciate the deep and solid research that explains the whys and tackles real issues. Others feel there are some logic gaps about reality and how it is broken. The summary of psychological studies is also criticized for being unconvincing, with little data justifying many assertions.

"...that she observed in the gaming world, and are applicable to almost any aspect of reality...." Read more

"...Yes, reality is broken...." Read more

"...I had a blast reading Reality is Broken, and it left me feeling hopeful & enthusiastic about the future...." Read more

"...Reality is never predictable, it is always a puzzle, and practically begs us all to learn exclusively by trial and error...." Read more

Awesome book - well worth reading/studying
5 out of 5 stars
Awesome book - well worth reading/studying
This is one of my most highlighted books (also well worth reading as are her later books - especially Imaginable as a follow on). While it's been 10 years + since it was published, the concepts, stories are still as relevant as ever. Not only do the practices cover 'games', in the traditional sense, but its ideas cover a host of industries and scenarios. If this book interests you, you'll want to check out Institute For the Future and the Urgent Optomists group for these sorts of situations & concepts applied.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Clint Schnekloth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Reality is broken and games are salvific
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I was a gaming addict before games were social. Through most of my middle and high school years (and my first year of college, after which I gave up gaming), I played way more video games than I'd like to admit. These were the old flat screen Macintosh and Apple games--Loderunner, Conan, Bard's Tale, Might & Magic. Some were video games, some puzzle games, some role playing. I also spent time playing garden variety games like Tetris, and in my first year of college, I discovered truly social text-based games called MUDs--multi-user dimensions. One such MUD I played non-stop during J-term is actually where one of my best friends of that time met his wife. I was best man in his wedding. She was in Texas. He was in Iowa. They met on-line, then on the phone, then in person. And that game in which they met was the old school form of gaming, completely text-based. Man, I'm old.

    Jane McGonigal has written the perfect book for someone like myself who is still interested in gaming but leery of getting back into it. In consecutive chapters she describes the most popular games of today and shows why they matter, games like World of Warcraft, Farmville, Halo 3, Lexulous, and so on. But the book is much more than a catalog of games and how to play them. It's more of a philosophical treatise on the nature of gaming with a significant pop psychology and social commentary component. She's interested in things like happiness, sociality, satisfaction, and creativity.

    In fact, the greatest contribution of the book is to reverse the terms. Typically games are seen as an escape from reality. But McGonigal sees them as potentially a shaping influence ON reality. She wants to see us play games that make the real world a better place.

    That's an intriguing enough of a thesis to hook me into reading the whole book. It may be a bit over-the-top in the "games can save the world" cheering, but she has a worthwhile point that is seldom articulated. And given that so many of us are gaming, exploring how gaming will shape our world is necessary. This is definitely the book to read first on that journey.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Chelsea M Howe
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspirational Must-Read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Reality is Broken is an inspirational must-read regardless of where you stand or what you think you know about games. Jane McGonigal shatters common perception and stereotypes from page one, offering an eye-opening analysis of the psychological, historical, and sociological power of games and game-playing. The book is peppered with examples of how to harness that power to improve ourselves and our world and proudly kicks us in the most surefire direction to do so. As a game designer and game player, I have never felt more capable of affecting the future.

    Reality is Broken doesn't encourage endless screen-staring and mindless clicking or button mashing, but instead highlights the basic human needs that are no longer met by the real world. Humans spend 3 billion hours a week playing games because they provide positive emotions, blissful productivity, social connection, and epic meaning - everything we need for a flourishing, satisfying life. Even shooter-style games teach us to work together, to be more resilient in the face of failure, and they fill us with a sense of accomplishment that strengthens us in the real world.

    But, McGonigal asks, what if we could make and play better games than Halo, Call of Duty, or FarmVille? What if that gameful feeling was infused into our every day lives - to help us improve not only ourselves (McGonigal devised a game to help her recover from traumatic brain injury, for instance), but our communities and our collective future.

    Humanity currently has a crippling inability to face our most urgent problems - polarizing powers, climate crises, limited resources. We feel powerless, insignificant, divided, and directionless - everything a good game would fix. Reality IS broken, and we are running away from it in hordes for more satisfying digital experiences. McGonigal's conclusion, however, is that digital experiences are not the solution. Reality is where we belong, and games are our last hope for turning reality back into a place where we can prosper.
    21 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Luca De Dominicis
    5.0 out of 5 stars a must Read
    Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Even though the eBook pay its due to time it is still really groundbreaking. I sincerelly suggest you to read it.
    Report
  • Cliente Kindle
    5.0 out of 5 stars O melhor livro que li em anos
    Reviewed in Brazil on July 5, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Ela escreve bem e o tema é fantástico! Ao longo do livro ela explica porque jogos são tão interessantes e depois mostra como trazer essas qualidades para a realidade para tornar nossa vida tanto de um ponto de vista individual quanto coletivo.
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars El libro si te presenta una nueva realidad.
    Reviewed in Mexico on November 11, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Este libro me esta ayudando para crear un juego, y aparte me ayuda en una investigacion en el ambito educativo. Excelente libro si quieres ver todas las investigaciones que han hecho con videojuegos y como nos han cambiado.
    Report
  • H. Baltussen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gaming as life strategy? Possibly!
    Reviewed in Australia on October 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Very interesting book
    Report
  • KJP
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book demystifies their grandkids' favorite pastime and even provides a chapter about how to ...
    Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Every adult over the age of 60 should read this book. It is thoughtful and thought provoking. Many grandparents are concerned and intimidated by the enormous popularity of computer games among young people. This book demystifies their grandkids' favorite pastime and even provides a chapter about how to make rehabilitation (for seniors experiencing health problems) into a game. A worthwhile read.
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