JANE MCGONIGAL

In this ground-breaking book, visionary game designer Jane McGonigaI challenges conventional thinking and shows that games - far from being simply escapist entertainment - have the potential not only to radically improve our own lives but to change the world.

Hoy en el mundo se juegan alrededor de 3000 millones de horas de videojuegos por semana. El interés y los afectos de jóvenes y también de adultos migraron hacia el mundo virtual. ¿Qué hacer con un hijo que se pasa horas frente a la pantalla construyendo aldeas y personajes o embarcandose en aventuras fantasticas junto con desconocidos? ¿Hay que resignarse a la idea de que los videojuegos son solo formas de escapismo que condenan a la alienacion y la pasividad, y que el tiempo de jugar no sirve para nada? Jane McGonigal, una de las mas reconocidas especialistas en diseño y desarrollo de juegos, prueba que los gritos de alarma no tienen ningun sentido. Este libro ofrece una perspectiva revolucionaria: los jugadores son expertos en buscar soluciones, esforzarse por una meta y alimentar un sentido de comunidad, y todas estas habilidades contribuyen a remendar una realidad repleta de dificultades, en la que faltan las motivaciones y sobran los problemas. Juegos de realidad alternativa, sistemas de creacion colectiva, juegos de pronostico, para computadoras, consolas, telefonos: todo lo que se aprende entre pantallas y teclas sirve para hacernos mas flexibles, mas creativos, mas capaces de trazarnos objetivos y mejor dispuestos a colaborar para alcanzarlos. Contra todos los prejuicios, McGonigal nos convence de que es posible aprovechar el poder de los juegos para reinventarlo todo, desde el gobierno, el cuidado de la salud, la educacion, hasta los medios de comunicacion tradicionales, el marketing e incluso la paz mundial. Este libro provocador y genial, pensado para jugadores empedernidos, para los recien iniciados, para los padres y maestros mas escepticos, demuestra que los videojuegos pueden mejorar nuestras vidas y cambiar el mundo, ademas de prepararnos para las formas de liderazgo propias del siglo XXI.

We are living in a world full of games.More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers. The average young person will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. The future belongs to those who play games.In this ground-breaking book, visionary game designer Jane McGonigaI challenges conventional thinking and shows that games - far from being simply escapist entertainment - have the potential not only to radically improve our own lives but to change the world.

An innovative guide to living gamefully, based on the program that has already helped nearly half a million people achieve remarkable personal growthIn 2009, internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed, she became anxious and depressed, even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further, she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for post-traumatic growth that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today nearly half a million people have played SuperBetter to get stronger, happier, and healthier.But the life-changing ideas behind SuperBetterare much bigger than just one game. In this book, McGonigal reveals a decades worth of scientific research into the ways all gamesincluding videogames, sports, and puzzleschange how we respond to stress, challenge, and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a more gameful mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play gamessuch as optimism, creativity, courage, and determinationto real-world goals.Drawing on hundreds of studies, McGonigal shows that getting superbetter is as simple as tapping into the three core psychological strengths that games help you build: Your ability to control your attention, and therefore your thoughts and feelings Your power to turn anyone into a potential ally, and to strengthen your existing relationships Your natural capacity to motivate yourself and super-charge your heroic qualities, like willpower, compassion, and determination SuperBetter contains nearly 100 playful challenges anyone can undertake in order to build these gameful strengths. It includes stories and data from people who have used the SuperBetter method to get stronger in the face of illness, injury, and other major setbacks, as well as to achieve goals like losing weight, running a marathon, and finding a new job.As inspiring as it is down to earth, and grounded in rigorous research, SuperBetter is a proven game plan for a better life. Youll never say that something is just a game again.

World-renowned future forecaster, game designer, and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jane McGonigal gives us the tools to imagine the future without fear.How can we be confident about making plans?How might we feel secure despite the future being unknown?How do we learn to feel at peace with the unexpected?Today it feels more challenging than ever to feel unafraid, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it seems impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures.By learning to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable you can better plan for a future youd like to see. And by seeing whats coming faster, you can adapt to new challenges, reduce anxiety, and build hope and resilience.An accessible, optimistic field guide to the future.-San Francisco ChronicleJane McGonigal is unusually adept at anticipating events that most of us cant even fathom. In this eye-opening, actionable book, she teaches you how to widen your peripheral vision, extend your imagination farther into the future, and conceive of the inconceivable. Adam Grant, #1 Bestselling Author of Think Again__________Top 10 innovators to watchBusiness Week10 most powerful women to watchForbesTop 100 creative people in businessFast Company

A revolutionary new self-help book by top flight game designer Jane McGonigal. After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. Half a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. The book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own power-ups which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives. This book provides simple step-by-step ideas that can be carried out in day-to-day life, helping you transform your life with a new flexible and reenergised mindset. In this book McGonigal uses her own story and those of others to expertly demonstrate how simple changes can result in dramatic life-affirming effects. And whats more, she tells you how you yourself can lead a more gameful life.

We are living in a world full of games More than 31 million people in the UK are gamers The average young person will spend 10 000 hours gaming by the age of twenty one The future belongs to those who play games In this ground breaking book visionary game designer Jane McGonigaI challenges conventional thinking and shows that games far from being simply escapist entertainment have the potential not only to radically improve our own lives but to change the world