Fix 14

McGonigal focuses on three aspects as she begins chapter 14.  The first, "taking a long view means working at scales far larger than we would ordinarily encounter in our day-to-day lives" (Kindle Location 4830), can help players of video games understand their potential to affect change in the long term.  Next, "ecosystems thinking is a way of looking at the world as a complex web of interconnected, interdependent parts" (Kindle Location, 4830), makes the gamer think about how their actions can affect other parts of their "world".  Lastly, "pilot experimentation is the process of designing and running many small tests of different strategies and solutions to...discover the best course of action to take" (Kindle Location, 4847), means that once a gamer knows how their actions impact, they can focus on taking their actions to a greater scale. 

When I consider these three aspects relative to the Settler's game, I think I can most see how I have used the "ecosystem thinking" in my game playing experience.  As I think about what I've taken away from the game and how I've changed my thinking from the beginning of the game to now, I can see that I'm playing much more strategically than before.  When I'm placing anything in my settlement, I'm focusing on what effect placement will have on the rest of the settlement.  I can also see how I've used "pilot experimentation" in some of the adventures that I've participated in.  I started out with smaller, simpler adventures, gained knowledge and confidence, and slowly have started to work on more difficult adventures.  I would say that the aspect of "taking the long view" is probably the one aspect that I can't really say I've seen much in my game playing.

In terms of educational context, these aspects can encourage students to use the "creative capability" McGonigal talks about.  Giving students real world problems to solve, and using the "creative capability" to "inspire them to adopt the long-term, planetary outlook" (Kindle Location, 4863), students could work together (in small or large scale) to seek out problems and enact real solutions developed by the collaboration of the game playing environment.  Students are great problem solvers and giving them the experience of game playing may encourage them to develop their own video games that can mirror real-world problems and, hopefully, solutions.

In reflecting back over the past few months of game playing in Settler's Online, I think the three most memorable concepts for me were:  "blissful productivity, the sense of being deeply immersed in work that produces immediate and obvious results"(Kindle Location, 905).  I remember especially this concept from early in the game playing experience as I was seeing the direct result of completing quests.  The next concept that I feel was especially important to me is that of "competitive engagement--the kind of engagement that increases our personal and collective participation by motivating us to do more" (Kindle Location, 3974).  I saw this concept more after I joined a guild and found that there were so many people willing to help me and in turn, I felt compelled to try a little harder to achieve the goals of the game.  The last of the three important concepts has to do with the "extraordinary collaborators" McGonigal talks about.  I found this concept important as I worked with the members of the guild.  I knew that there were people who were helpful in specific situations and I called on them for assistance.  In turn, I gave resources to thank them for helping me out. 

I hope that, going forward, I continue to have time to play Settler's.  I've worked so many hours to build this settlement and I'm so used to visiting it and working to maintain what I've built.  I can't see just letting it slip away.  I am also looking at trying to use this game next year as an elective for some of our students.  I can see them working on their settlements and finding the same fun that I did in the game this semester!