Reality Is Broken

Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

By: Jane McGonigal

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

In today’s society, games are fulfilling real human needs in ways that reality is not. Hundreds of millions of people globally — 174 million in the United States alone — regularly inhabit game worlds because they provide the rewards, stimulating challenges, and epic victories that are so often lacking in the real world. Instead of futile handwringing about this exodus from reality, world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal argues that we need to figure out how to make the real world—our homes, our businesses and our communities—engage us in the way that games do.

Drawing on positive psychology and cognitive science, McGonigal reveals how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy, from social connection to having satisfying work to do. Game designers intuitively understand how to optimize human experience. Reality is Broken shows that games can teach us essential lessons about mass collaboration, creating emotional incentives, and increasing engagement that will be relevant to everyone.

©2011 Jane McGonigal (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Good info, but hard to get through

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It was too long. This book could have been abridged without losing much

Would you ever listen to anything by Jane McGonigal again?

Probably not, though you never know. Though I think she did a good job researching the role games had and continue to have in society, I think some directions she went were a little too bizarre for what I had in mind.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Julia Whelan?

I don't choose books based on who narrates them.

Do you think Reality Is Broken needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. Too long as it is.

Any additional comments?

This book took me a long time to get through. It wasn't that it was difficult. It was just a little creepy in some ways (making a game out of visiting cemeteries, trying to pass off participation in multi-player shoot-em-up games as being involved in something bigger than oneself, etc...) There was a lot of research to back up her themes, though some of it sounded superfluous. I was looking for a book about gaming and business. There is good content in this regard, but there was too much 'gaming will save the world' kind of themes. I'll need to get another book that sticks to gaming and business.

Great intro to Gamification subject

When my daughter became a Minecraft acolyte I knew that figuring out the power of Gameing was essential and Jane is a great teacher. I'm excited to apply these ideas in other places of my life.

Watch her TED Talk first

This is the long version of her 1st TED Talk; plus you will get her game design and developer notes for Augmented Reality games in this book .

However, 30% of this book will become dated pretty soon as games it references may no longer be as relevant as well as links. For example, the links at the end of the book are useful but the relationship between Games for Change and Gameful as evolved and changed.

Still, I think historically this book is probably one of the most influential books about game design that has applicable design techniques for the next hundred or more so years.

Changing the world: One Game at a Time

I love this book this book
Great Inspiration for anyone that wants to make a difference in the world.
Highly Recommend

great treatise on gamification!

I really liked this book. just a few gripes about how capitalism and reality seem to be issues "solved" by gamification rather than gamified themselves. otherwise it lays out an interesting framework for using games to solve world problems and make them fun.

Excellent way to learn about games

Would you listen to Reality Is Broken again? Why?

Yes. It has some great information, statistics, and numbers on the effect of video games. Very informative.

Who was your favorite character and why?

No particular character in this book.

What about Julia Whelan’s performance did you like?

Very clear. So much so, that I could listen to this in 3x narration speed and understand everything.

If you could give Reality Is Broken a new subtitle, what would it be?

The positive effect of games on our society.

Read a Summary Instead

I agree with a lot of other reviewers on the content of this book. Though it presents some interesting ideas, the delivery is way too verbose and somewhat cringey at times. I recommend reading a summary of the book’s main points instead.

Very thought provoking

5 out of 5 stars. Jane McGonigal does a fantastic presentation of a very thought provoking subject. Julia Whelan did a wonderful job on the narration as well. (So much so that it was kind of a jolt when I watched the clip of Jane on the Colbert report and she didn't sound like Julia!) One drawback is I had to buy a Kindle copy after listening because I wanted to check out all of the links that are mentioned. ^_^

Powerful self help and community building book

this book is valuable as a self improvement book, community building guide, and customer interaction guide. I'm not a 'gamer' but this book is a must read for anyone.

Interesting insights

Interesting insights about Games and Games Design,
I do not agree with the info presented, but being exposed to many thoughts and ideas abouts games from the authors experience and point of views, even though it could be subjective, is worth the read. Learned so much from this book. Recommended.