Fix 14

Taking a long view

When playing Settlers you have to think about the outcome of your actions in the future.  You can’t use all your licenses trying to create pinewood when you will need more licenses to build other buildings to produce other resources.  You also have to think about what your building and what resources will be used to produce items using these buildings.  For example, I built 6 coking plants because I was in the red with coal.  However, I did not think about my pinewood production when I built all the coking plants.  I was not looking into the long-term effects one change may have.  I can relate this to personal growth by thinking about changes I make in life.  One wrong decision can have a negative effect on my future.  Therefore decisions need to be thought out thoroughly in which multiple outcomes are foreseen.

Ecosystems thinking

Ecosystem thinking is similar to taking a long view.  You have to think how one change is going to affect the rest of what you have created.  In playing Settlers I have come to realize everything depends on everything.  I also came to the realization that everything needs to be rationed correctly to create a “green” functioning production system.  In life, everything is also a “complex web of interconnected, interdependent parts.” (McGonigal 2011, p. 239)  One change or one decision can change the whole web that is already created.

Pilot experimentation

When I added more coking plants to my settlement I was taking the chance in experimenting with my production to see what the outcome may be and if it may be the best outcome.  I have experimented with many things on my settlement to make my settlement better or in some cases worse.  I have built another mill and bakery to create more bread only to pause the production because I was using too much wheat.  I have leveled up by bronze weaponsmith to have more bronze swords only to run out of bronze bars constantly.  I leveled up two iron smelters only to run out of coal and iron.  My many experiments, or “…small tests of different strategies and solutions…” (p. 240) as what McGonigal (2011) would say, have helped me and hurt me on my settlement but I have learned from each test.  In life you “test” many different things before you know what really works for you.  I have worked different jobs, tried new workout routines, and change my direction in teaching as tests in life.  Everything is not successful and will never be but it doesn’t mean you should stop trying and experimenting in life.

These skills teach individuals to take chances and expect failure to only learn more.  Just like the game World Without Oil (WWO) that McGonigal (2011) mentions, you prepare for a world with limited supplies of oil.  You change your lifestyle to adjust to a life without oil. The changes can benefit you to live with limited supplies or you learn that there are things you just can’t live without.  You then learn to ration the use of oil to things you feel are more important and you learn to live that way. (p. 243-254) 

This kind of gaming experience and skill learning can be used in an educational context by allowing the students to encounter chance and failure.  It can empower people by building confidence that they can make a difference.  As I was reading Chapter 14 I couldn’t help but think of the many games that help others like the rice game Free Rice, Foldit, and the many other games for change.  I thought about how my little actions in those games can change big things in our world.  These educational experiences can change the outlook on life for students of all ages.  I believe children have the mindset that they can be anything, do anything, and change anything.  Why not keep this mindset through the use of games where they are continuously making that difference? 

The first most memorable concept from McGonigal’s book is the benefits of socializing while gaming.  I have learned so much more after I began socializing.  I created more, built more, and was more successful after socializing.  The next memorable concept is the sense of community in games.  I mentioned the guild I joined multiple times in my blog and I continue to mention them because I have felt so connected to the community I am a part of.  Everything they have done has helped me become a better “gamer” and has improved my understanding of Settlers so much more.  The last most memorable includes two of McGonigal’s concepts, I have experienced fiero by leveling up and achieving things I never knew I could achieve but this was done in part with accepting failure as something that can be positive.  I failed many times in the game and have felt defeated but I kept trying.  The feelings I got when I finally figured it out, the time I had the “ah-ha” moments, was the best feelings in the world!  I wanted to do more and get farther and I felt like I could do it all and more in those moments.  Overall, the book itself will be memorable as I find new games to include in my classroom.



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