Culture

Reality Is Broken

 
William Leith29 March 2012

Reality Is Broken
by Jane McGonigal
(Vintage, £9.99)

The author of this book, a designer of computer games, has a contentious thesis, but, if you read this book, you’ll probably agree with her. The fact is that tens of millions of people are playing computer games, and the number is rising like mad. Not just that but gamers are spending an incredible amount of time in the virtual world. For lots of people, gaming is like having a part-time job. And here’s her point — games give us something that real life often cannot. In a game, hard work is rewarded fairly; in many games, one has a proper sense of community. In other words, games, far from being an über-modern nightmare, are actually rather like the good old days.

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