Gamifying Energy via "Reality Is Broken" by Jane McGonigal

I started reading Reality Is Broken at my desk today, flying through the first Chapter. Applying newly learned ideas to meaningful situations in real life is the highest level of comprehension, so I'm processing learnings from Reality here. 

McGonical posits that the undergoing a mass-exodus to virtual worlds (>50% of people are now gamers) because they better satisfy human needs then our present realities. To harness the massive power of games, we can create alternate realities around "games for good." 

I wonder if we could also use gamification elements to make our existing realities more rewarding. I.e., provide a better augmented rather than alternate reality.

What exactly is a game?

1. Defining elements of a game
1. Goal
2. Rules
3. Feedback system which tells users how they're doing compared to their goal 

Playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. 

Competition and winning are not defining elements of a game. Think Scrabble, Tetris, virtual reality games (Sims, World of Warcraft) if you STOP for any reason (win, lose, take a break), the fun is over. The engagement is over. 

Figuring out what your goals are can be part of the game (e.g., assessing reasonable potential energy savings based on lifestyle etc.). 

• The first "unnecessary obstacle" that challenges players and piques their interest are the challenges of not knowing what to do and not knowing how to play. 

Why on earth do unnecessary obstacles makes us happy....??

• They're hard work we choose for ourselves, and hard work we like makes us happy."The opposite of play isn't work, it's depression." 
• Depression: 
1. a pessimistic sense of inadequacy 
2. despondent lack of activity (Sound like attitudes towards Climate Action, anyone??) 
• Opposite of depression: 
1. an optimistic sense of our own capabilities
2. an invigorating rush of activity 

In the real world, it's often hard to see the direct results of hard work. Or, worse, work isn't hard or rewarding and we feel bored and useless. 

Games offer better hard work. Challenging, customizable missions and tasks, to do alone or with family and friends, whenever and wherever. Game designers provide gamers with vivid, real-time reports of progress they're making and a clear view of the impact they're making on the world around them. 

Applying Ch. 1 of "Reality Is Broken" to Gamifying Climate Action

The two pieces of information that resonated immediately were: 

1. The description of depression that sounds much like the feeling I have towards tackling all of climate change
2. The idea that sustainable behavior program designers can frame the multi-faceted, complicated goal of "being energy-efficient" as a game, "a series of customizable missions and tasks."  

So if the goal of sustainable behaviorists is to counteract the despondency and disempowerment that blocks individual attempts to "be energy efficient" or "fight climate change," games may just offer some very useful tools. 

Games also have the power to bring together a series of seemingly disparate challenges under the umbrella of a coherent, meaningful sense of progress and constant improvement. Does this mean we could turn the "problem" of the scattered nature of energy efficiency and carbon-reduction actions into an advantage of providing a suite of "missions" for individuals to voluntarily tackle and accomplish? 

Related -- a recent paper on the importance of self-efficacy as a predictor of pro-environmental behavior: Can I Make a Difference? The Role of General and Domain-specific Self-efficacy in Sustainable Consumption Decisions. Daniel Hanss & Gisela Böhm. 2012.