Gaming and Bicycling

I am in China for a bit. Very long flight plus an eight hour delay. Had a fair amount of down time, I just finished reading an important book, Reality is Broken by Jane McDonigal. It's about the power of games to change our lives. I would like to share a few of the ideas from the book and relate these to my bicycling experience. Next week I hope to share some bicycling experiences in China. For now, let me give you some interesting figures on Gaming.

First the statistics, Jane cites several that blew me away. Get this:

Collectively, our planet spends three billion hours a week gaming. That's real time people playing games! After you digest that a bit, think about this:

• 69% of all heads of households play computer and video games
• 97% of youth play computer and video games
• 40% of all gamers are women
• One out of four games is over the age of fifty (like me)
• The average game player is thirty-five.

She argues convincingly that the rest of us should get with it, but not in the ways you might think. She asks, "What if we could make our everyday lives as interesting as gaming." We just might be about the business of enabling the future. How can be bring the joys of gaming to real life. It’s an interesting question, and it deserves an answer.

And here is where the bike comes in. Playing a game requires a few prerequisites. There needs to be a goal. Then there are temporary obstacles to overcome on the way to achieving the goal. There are rules. Finally there is feedback. Hence playing a game is very similar to riding my bike.

I love the challenge of riding. Alone or with a group, I can set a goal and go for it. The rules are whatever I or we set, feedback is instantaneous and fun. McDonigal points to research that says that "games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves, and it turns out that almost nothing makes us happier than good hard work. Even failure is OK in a game. In fact, frequent failure is what makes games interesting and addicting. Every ride I take involves a little bit of failure. I don’t ride as fast or as sure as I once did. I can always do a bit better.  How long can I ride – no hands? Next time is a great concept to understand. It keeps you coming back.

Finally there is the concept of "fiero" and this is an emotional rush that comes from participating fully in the moment. Remember when you holed that pitch on the 16th, and you golfing buddies said the downside of that shot is that you will want to comeback tomorrow and do it again! Shussing a hill in Birchrunville, Coasting through a morning sunrise, or stopping and watching a fish rise on the French Creek are all examples of this "fiero." Have one peak experience and you want more. Glasser wrote about it as positive addiction, Czikszentmihalyi called it the "flow-state." It turns out that games produce these effects. Riding begets more riding and we self create highly positive feedback loops. Sounds great doesn't it? Any wonder all those cyclists are smiling? And you thought those were pasted on grins. Nope, they come from the inside, apparently deep inside.

Here is the best part. Knowing this, we can create our own games. Anyone can. I do it by biking, but I can see the relevance to gardening, teaching, governance, and healthy living. What better thing could we be teaching our kids than the joy of participating together to accomplish a goal and going full on. Gaming is at the heart of creativity.

There is a famous ad from Nike emphasizing diversity where a little girl makes the statement to a group of boys, "Just let me play." Maybe it's time we all took a long hard look at playing and gaming. It sure beats what most of us describe as our work!

What examples of play really excite you? I highly recommend Jane’s book. It got me to thinking

Will be writing about riding in China next week.