Online gaming is a growing industry globally. According to futurist and game designer Jane McGonigal around 2.6bn gamers worldwide spend an average of an hour a day playing games online. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking that gaming is a waste of time. “There something physically engaging about gaming,” said McGonigal, speaking at the BCX Disrupt Summit in Johannesburg last month. McGonigal designs alternative-reality games – taking real-life scenarios and reframing them as a game that she claims helps people deal with depression and pain – and is the game designer behind SuperBetter, a mobile app and web-based game. She says research has shown that gamers foresee something positive happening, and tend to stay engaged for longer in expectation of this positive outcome.
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