People like to have fun. This is obvious. Games are a part of virtually every culture and gaming has the power to make the world a better place.

The Fun Theory

Not long ago I heard about The Fun Theory, which is simply brilliant. The idea of the fun theory is that having fun is a good way to change behavior. The web site challenges visitors to think of creative ways to improve the world by using the concept of fun.

We all know that taking the stairs is healthier than taking the elevator. The age of computers is causing more and more of us to sit on our asses all day. What if taking the stairs was more fun? Check out the video below:

Check out The Fun Theory web site for more videos.

Jane McGonigal

Jane McGonigal is a well known game designer who is working to encourage game designers to improve the world with their games. She claims that reality is broken and game designers can fix it!

In the 20-minute video below, McGonigal discusses gaming and how we could use it to solve real-world issues like hunger and poverty. Sounds crazy, right? Check out her fascinating talk:

Be sure to check out her web site as well. As McGonigal says, we need more epic wins!

DICE 2010: “Design Outside The Box”

In the video above, Jesse Schell of Schell Games gives a presentation on the future of gaming. This video is interesting because it shows how gaming has already changed the world and how we spend our money on games.

Games like Farmville and Wii Fit came out of nowhere and changed games as we know them. The possibility of earning Gaming Achievements has changed how gamers play their games.

Could our real-world lives be more successful if we acquired achievement points for performing certain tasks? The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid explores this idea by having you grow a tree in the dashboard. The better gas mileage you get, the taller your tree grows.

Some teachers are already successfully using video games in their schools and UC Berkeley even taught a class using Starcraft.

How do you think gaming has changed the world?

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