World of Warcraft player
Games as happiness engines
Think about these happiness determinants within the library context:
- Satisfying work
- Being good at something
- People we like
- Part of something bigger
Games = fun = happiness(?)
Virtuality > reality; global mass exodus to virtual worlds; virtual world playmates
Connecting online world to virtual world
Watched Mary Poppins video, “A Spoonful of Sugar”
“Their task is not a grind”
‘grind’ = reference to repetitive task within MMORPGs
grind = meditative(?) — get rewards (gold, etc.)
But grind is not fun in every MMORPG (e.g., Lineage II, where illegal ‘bots’ get the rewards without putting in the effort)
Game mechanics:
- Collecting
- Points
- Feedback
- Exchanges
- Customization
Games that blur boundaries:
- Chore Wars — MMO(?) for family where they do chores in the real world to get points online, and points are converted to prizes in the real world. Fun and competitive.
- Seriosity’s Attent — reduces number of unnecessary emails, because they spend coins (serios) for each recipient of each email they send
- Social Genius (developed by Elizabeth) (URL?) — applying casual game concepts to get people to recognize their co-workers
- PMOG — Passively Multiplayer Online Gaming — get points for surfing on websites(?)
Games as Gateway Drugs
- Guitar Hero encourages people to learn to play guitar for real(?)
Online Rebound:
- from real to virtual and back again (URL?) — real book used as token to acquire online book
- LAN Parties — people want real-world connections
- moo.com cards — we want something tangible — going virtual all the way is death
- etsy.com — online market place for hand-crafted goods — e.g., woman who sews scrabble books into clothing
- There is an emotional connection between people, things and spaces — e.g., cafe library — Make your space emotional!