Fix 7-8

Wholehearted Participation

I must admit when I started playing this game I was not as interested as I am now.  I did not want to get on everyday and I was discouraged when it came to completing quests.  As I started playing more and understanding more about the game I became more interested.  I would wait until the end of the day to get on and complete my daily routines but now I get on first thing in the morning to get things going to use throughout the day.  I may log on during my breaks at school to check the progress of production.  I will also get on once I get home to make sure my mines or wheat fields have not been depleted.  I must say that joining a guild has really motivated me as well.  They truly are there to help you along the way and have offered assistance along the way.  I now look at the game more optimistically than I did before.  I have experienced more of the four intrinsic rewards.  McGonigal (2011) states, “ARGs are designed to make it easier to generate the four intrinsic rewards we crave—more satisfying work, better hope of success, stronger social connectivity, and more meaning—whenever we can’t or don’t want to be in a virtual environment.” (p. 104) By socializing and getting help with more things I am able to advance further.  When I advance further I enjoy playing more, as I play more the more I understand, and the more I understand the more meaning the game has. (I have to say this past statement reminds me of the cable commercials, but positive J) Overall, my wholehearted participation has increased not because of the grade reward (not sure if I will make the A) but because I am actually enjoying it more.

Meaningful Rewards

As I think about meaningful rewards I relate it to Nike+ that McGonigal (2011) mentions. (p. 130-134)  Nike+ is a rewards system for runners.  The runners are challenged with new distances, faster speeds, and social recognition for their accomplishments.  I am a runner and have been running for quite a few years.  I have had my times where running just wasn’t enough so my husband invested in Nike+.  My motivation skyrocketed with Nike+, my best time and farthest distance was tracked using it.  I used a small chip like device and put it in my shoe (you have to have Nike+ shoes) and the other part of the device was attached to my iPod.  As I ran I would hear motivational messages through my iPod.  In the end I would check to see what my overall time and distance was, I would always work to improve these two things and the device really helped in achieving these goals!  The rewards in reaching goals challenged me to do more, work harder, and achieve more.

The types of rewards that Nike+ gave me can be compared to Settlers because I did not feel as motivated in the beginning with either one.  I only started to become motivated by the rewards and the new challenges.  As I reached different levels in Settlers and was successful at new challenges I felt rewarded at greater levels. I think my greater rewards now are leveling up at the higher levels because they are much harder to level up.  As I complete adventures and gain “green stars” I feel more accomplished.

Joining the guild has also made me feel better about the game because I feel like everything can be accomplished with the help of others, others that you have a stronger connection to than others that play the game.  I do not have the feeling of defeat and in fact have not had it since I have joined a guild.  I know I can ask questions and get the assistance I need which makes me feel more in control of the game and my success.  Joining a guild is a reward in itself with all of the things they give you, advice and material things, to help you move along! 


McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken. New York: Penguin Group.

Fix 5-6

Interview with another Settlers Player (Khamuul)

The player I interviewed began playing August 21^st, 2012 and has reached level 41.  He plays a minimum of 8 hours a day and spends a lot of his time helping others.  He enjoys the leisurely playing of the game and the patience it takes to play. After talking about socializing during the game he mentioned it being a big part of the success of the game.  He also said he socializes all the time and has met some of his the “best” friends on Settlers.  He does not find many challenges that have to do with quests or anything; his challenges are errors with the game such as glitches and translation errors.  We have talked multiple times and have discussed some of my challenges, which he offered to help.  I feel the new friend perfectly matches what McGonigal (2011) mentions in her text, “We want to be esteemed in the eyes of others, not for “who we are,” but rather for what we’ve done that really matters.” (p.96)   

Social Connectivity

I have not used the social aspect of the game much.  In the beginning of the game I watched the help chat to see what kind of questions were being asked and to get an idea of struggles I may encounter. McGonigal (2011) states, “They [personal service records] connect all the individual gamers into a community, a network of people fighting for the same cause.” (p. 89) I used the social aspect to find out what others are doing in the game to achieve quests that I will encounter.  In the game Settlers everyone seems to be given the same quests to achieve.

I must admit that I was not too enthused about talking with others on this game but as of this week I have connected with a few more people and have noticed how talking with others can help a lot more and feel more productive than researching everything on your own. My new friend, Khamuul, has offered assistance in figuring out any current or future challenges I have or will encounter.  The only other help I received was from the help chat after someone asked a question I had.  The person asked about the production levels of the pinewood.  I was struggling with this at the beginning of the game.  The person on the help chat helped me reach my goal by sending a link that led me right to a web page that described how to achieve the quest and to have good production levels of pinewood.

Guild- I applied to join the guild Just for Fun but have not received a confirmation yet.  I was going to apply for another guild but am not sure if I should join multiple guilds or if I just wait for a response from the current guild I applied to.

Epic Scale

If I had to pick my most memorable, gratifying experience it would be when I completed my pinewood quest because I felt so overwhelmed when I could not complete a quest that seemed so simple. This is the quest I felt so defeated at once, then after completing it I felt an overwhelming feeling of success. McGonigal (2011) states, “…awe doesn’t just feel good: it inspires us to do good.” (p. 86) I had a small feeling of “awe”, I not only felt good after I completed the quest but I wanted to do better.  I wanted to know more before I started placing buildings in the game.  I also wanted to help others after I completed that quest.  I know what I experienced was no where near an epic scale, I was not completing something with a collective group of people like the achievement in the game Halo, but I still felt accomplished to a point that I felt things were achievable and I was not incompetent and incapable. 




McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken. New York: Penguin Group.

Fix 3-4

More Satisfying Work

Leveling Up –

In the game Settlers I have “leveled up” by completing multiple quests that help with the maintenance and production of my settlement. McGonigal (2011) states, “The more points you earn, the higher your level, and the higher your level, the more challenging work you unlock.” (p. 50) As I reach higher levels the quests become harder but I am still able to complete and achieve more experience points (green stars) to level up. For example, in Settlers I have to “own 50 militia” which takes time to create.  My reward for creating the militia is greater than other simpler quests.  I also have to think about saving my militiamen when attacking other camps because my progress decreases if I use and lose the men.

Clear goals and actionable steps –

As mentioned above I have been working towards creating enough militiamen to complete my quest and gain points.  I have been working towards this goal for quite a few days by creating a few militiamen at a time.  I cannot create them all at once because of my lack of resources to create them.  I have to determine how to get more resources if I want to create more men. In the process of completing this quest I have also worked on completing similar quest such as obtaining 15 cavalry.  According to McGonigal (2011),  “Having a clear goal motivates us to act: we know what we’re supposed to do. And actionable next steps ensure that we can make progress toward the goal immediately.” (p. 50) Even though my goal with the militia goal isn’t happening very fast I am able to work on completing other goals immediately and still feel successful towards my other goals.

The only goals that aren’t so clear to me are the quests that are given to me that I am not able to achieve because I am not at the correct level to even begin working on it.

Better Hope of Success

Feedback -

The green bar is enough feedback for me to continue to work towards reaching the next level.  As I watch the green bar increase it gives me the sense of completion and I want to continue to reach the next level. I also like the green bars that are shown on each quest.  I am able to see how much more I have to go to complete the quest.  For example, I have to reach a goal of 500 settlers but my max level for settlers is 330.  I know how many more I need to complete the quest and will have to work at increasing my population. 

Mastery -

I have learned to use my resources carefully and have developed a sense of “resource building”.  McGonigal (2011) states, “The key here is resource building: we like productive work because it makes us feel that we are developing our personal resources.” (p. 53) As I continue to be productive and successful in the game I am beginning to feel more accomplished with my overall self.  However, I still feel a little defeated with not “leveling up” as fast as others but this will come with more time and effort being put into the game which I have noticed myself doing more of.  The more I put in the game, the more research I do, and the more I continue to complete quests and level up, the more successful I feel overall. I think about how far I have gone so far in the game and I think I am not doing so bad after all…the goal of achieving 40+ levels doesn’t seem so far away as it seemed before giving me more hope.



McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken. New York: Penguin Group.