Work or Play?

            I have often wondered about the appeal of certain aspects of video games. These aspects are not, by any means, in every video game, but they show up in a lot of them. So, why is it that we enjoy playing games that, when it comes right down to it, are a whole lot of work?

            I’m currently playing one of the older versions of a game called Harvest Moon. This is a game series where you play a character trying to run a farm in a little village. You basically have to build the farm up from scratch while trying to make money and trying to be part of the small community (maybe even getting married). But there is only so much time in the day, your character only has so much energy in a day, and you start with very little money. In the beginning, the game is all about time management and money management – once you get a ways in and have your farm established, it’s about maintaining a daily routine to keep your farm going. Doing the same thing, day after day after day.

            Sounds an awful lot like work, doesn’t it?

            Another game that I played way too much of when I was younger is Runescape. This is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. There are many aspects to the game, but an important part is trying to get various levels raised. At lower levels, this is fairly quick and easy, but at higher levels you can literally spend days just mining, or cutting down trees, or fighting monsters, or cooking, just to gain one level. Day after day, doing the same thing.

            Hey, that sounds kinda like work, doesn’t it?

            Even in combat-heavy games like Starcraft or Call of Duty, you get an aspect of this – at least if you’re competing against other players and want to do well. You don’t just pick up a controller and become the best on the team – you have to work at it. At the professional level you have to practice and train, day after day.

            Doesn’t that sound like...? Well, yes, okay, at the professional level it is work, but you get my point.

            I believe the presiding theory about this is that video games give a sense of accomplishment without any risk to the gamer. This is a fair theory – you gain a level, and that is a reward for all your hard work. You defeat a difficult opponent and they reward you with treasure. You accomplish the same repetitive tasks one hundred times and you earn an achievement.

            Yet, it’s still just another type of work. Yeah, we don’t take it seriously because it’s a game, but it’s still work. And the general consensus is that work is bad and boring.

            What this tells me is that work can be made fun. All it takes is some gameification – the process of turning life into a game. Like Mary Poppins always taught us (not the blue one). This can be done fairly easy with a variety of apps, or simply setting goals and rewards for oneself, but that only goes part way.

We need employers finding ways of making their workplaces more fun. Having a fun work environment wouldn’t only make employees happier about going to work, it would raise productivity as people try to earn achievements or beat their best score. It would likely improve the employee-customer relationship – especially if the customer was happier at their job.

The augmented reality – being developed by companies such as Magic Leap – would make transitioning workplaces into fun, game-like environments almost simple. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone loved their job? That’s a future I’d like to see.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Hindrance or Help?

            Finding a weekly topic to blog about is often difficult, but I’m finding this week to be a particular challenge. This is because I know that I’m going to end up talking about the exact subject I don’t want to, no matter how hard I try to avoid it. So, I’m just going to save myself the effort and dive right into it.

            I’m sad to say that I’m not surprised by the results of the US election. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. Electoral systems may have started out decent, with good intent, but they weren’t designed for the world we live in today. Back when the US was founded, the population was around 2.5 million. It’s far easier to convey information to that many people, and to take a vote on their opinions, than it is with the 127 times that population of today.

            Yet, the problem runs deeper than that. Beyond being outdated, the system has become tainted – turned into a manipulative game to see who can influence the voters the most. As I was watching part of the election, the commentators kept talking about all the research and strategies that go into “flipping” key voting regions. It’s more than just that – it’s a psychological game to suppress voters who favor the opposite side, either by convincing them that they don’t have a chance, or by convincing them that their win is assured so they needn’t bother voting.

            This is all made possible by the vast amount of information we have – studies of previous voting trends, psychology, and the certainty that most people will vote for the same party, no matter what. Yet, we still consider this a democracy.

            In my opinion, it isn’t. It’s like the professional level of the game Starcraft. This is a war strategy game that has been taken to a whole new level. The people who play it are amazing – they develop strategies, perfect them, then pit them against each other. They time themselves and their routines, figuring out the most efficient ways to spend their resources and build an army to outdo their opponents. They must constantly balance between micro (controlling their units) and macro (managing their base and producing their army) because if one falters, they lose. The players are so fast and need such precision that someone hitting a key one second late can cost them the war.

            At that level of game play, I no longer call it a game. I’ll accept it as an e-sport, but a game is played for fun and I don’t see the amount of training needed to play that game at high-level as fun. Just as a democracy where the candidates have to put on a show to manipulate voters, rather than earning them based on what they plan to do for the country, is no longer a democracy.

            Every election I’ve seen has become something that should be illegal – it becomes a contest to see which candidate can do a better job of dragging the other through the mud. In the end, that’s all that matters. Who are the people more afraid of having in charge of the country?

            With this election, it should have been obvious. It was obvious, as far as anyone could tell. That is, perhaps, why almost half the people registered to vote didn’t. They thought it was a sure thing, so they weren’t needed.

            Here in Canada, we’re pushing for electoral reform to fix this very problem – to make votes actually count in elections. To take away the numbers game of winning certain constituencies to win the election. To bring back democracy.

            The problem in the US right now is that what’s done is done. All the world can do is wait and hope. We can hope that some of the electorates will vote against their party. Failing that, we can hope for impeachment. Or we can hope that the new president was putting on a show and really isn’t as horrible as he seems – although this, unfortunately, will not put an end to the rash of bigotry his campaign has deemed acceptable.

            It may seem like it’s not my place, being Canadian, to criticize US politics – but the problems have reached us here, too. The results of this election are not limited to the US. The world is at a critical place right now and needs strong, responsible leadership from all the leading countries. Will the US help or hinder in the coming years?

            We can only hope for help.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.