Games and reality

"The brilliant masterstroke of Chore Wars is that it convinces us that we want to do these tasks." While the concept of Chore Wars is interesting and it had the author cleaning at odd hours, and may work better for more competitive sorts, I couldn't be prompted to scrub my bathtub via an online game. Perhaps the participation of her husband is what furthers this response. I do participate in SuperBetter, as an ally to my sister in her efforts to improve her health, and the interaction of the game does prompt me to check in on her recovery more often in addition to our usual chats.Her point of connecting activities to a larger social experience does stand in my own use of this website. Encouraging participation in this manner creates a communal experience and makes an activity more rewarding, both through the interactions and the rewards of the game (such as avatar items or improved character capabilities), as well as tangible real world rewards in the form of the social experience and in the case of Chore Wars a cleaner area or better health with SuperBetter.This participatory factor has educational and work applications as the audience is more engaged, and more likely to pay greater attention and contribute a greater effort. From my own engagement in the SuperBetter game with my sister, to a biology teacher who had distributed a ROM hack of Pokemon with curriculum information added into the dialogue and Pokedex (which the instructor had posted about on tumblr), the benefits of games and social interaction in real life are quite apparent.