Culturebox: I Don't Want To Be a Superhero

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gaming I Don't Want To Be a Superhero Ditching reality for a game isn't as fun as it sounds. By Heather Chaplin Posted Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 2:14 PM ET In October 2004, a Bush aide--widely believed to be Karl Rove--informed the New York Times Magazine's Ron Suskind that, as a journalist, he was part of the "reality-based community." It wasn't a compliment. The aide told Suskind, scornfully, that "when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality ... we'll act again, creating other new realities." Unless I'm talking to a quantum physicist, I don't trust people who argue for multiple versions of reality. That is why I'm wary of "gamification," an idea that's been blowing strong through confabs like South by Southwest and is championed by authors, consultants, and startup gurus like Jane McGonigal, Seth Priebatsch, and Gabe Zichermann. The basic idea arises from how engaged people are when they play games, even if they're doing mundane things like running a farm or mining ore. If we make the world more like a game, the thinking goes, we can harness all that energy to solve real-world problems. To continue reading, click here. Heather Chaplin, the co-author of Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution, has covered games for the New York Times, and NPR's All Things Considered. She is an assistant professor of journalism at The New School. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Obama's Rationales for the Military Campaign in Libya Will Force Him To Expand It Lithwick: A Great Day in Court for Rich Guys Who Want To Buy Elections The Liberal Campaign To Silence Andrew Breitbart	Advertisement
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