According to Jane McGonigal on the Sci-Fi Channel’s HowYouCanSaveTheWorld blog, yes – and that too by the easily attainable year of 2032 (dogs will be extinct and the world should begin capsizing by then). McGonigal, both a game developer and PhD holder stated that, “a game developer or a community of online gamers will be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.” The basis for this astute hypothesis? Our ability to cooperate and work together when dealing out and with mass pawnage.
“Why am I so confident that gamers can save the world? It all boils down to this: Online gamers – even the most competitive gamers – are the most collaborative and cooperative people on Earth. You might not guess it by the way they gleefully battle each other to the (virtual) death. But even games that seem designed to stoke and inflame our competitive spirits are, in fact, quintessentially collective adventures. To play a game with someone else, even ruthlessly cutthroat games, requires extraordinarily collaborative behavior.”
Yes, this is pretty much the same argument which says that games aren’t anti-social but actually pro-social. There are many points to disagree on: Firstly, for every Team Fortress that encourages the victory of the team, there’s a Halo rampant, with chest-thumpers proclaiming their uber-skillz (damn pre-teens). It’s not the cooperative aspects we simply look forward to – it’s the thrill that the experience brings, that intangible element of fun. Whether it’s with friends over co-op or strangers on broadband, the experience is always fresher when it’s not played alone.
Secondly, when considering the case study of individuals, you also have to consider their environment. And make no mistake: The opening of the gates of Tartarus is nothing compared to a gamer, who has just played a laggy, buggy level with cheaters high and low humping his dead corpse.
Finally, it seems the ability of a game to unite gamers is more likely to get a developer that coveted medal, irrespective of the quality of the game. Think Everquest elevated to greatness while Guild Wars languishes in obscurity. And even with the opposite scenario, we doubt many developers will prefer a Nobel over revenue and acclaim for their games.
However, a couple of decades down the line, all that could change, but well, so will the Earth. Who knows? By then, a gamer could be elected President of the All United Continents through a policy of “Pac-Man for All”. Or the fan-boy wars could take a nuclear twist, leaving Dreamcast to make a come-back. Until then, we can only dream and above all, flame on.
Source: PSX Extreme
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