A Buddhist Game Designer

Summary: Jane McGonigal is an author and game designer who describes herself as “23% Buddhist, 77% geek.” She begins the presentation, originally given at the 2011 Buddhist Geeks Conference, by asking three questions: Do Buddhists and Game Designers share goals? Do Buddhists and Game Designers share methods? Could Buddhists and Game Designers share practices? She then shares some fascinating insights into the measured benefits of gaming, after which she has the audience join her in a game of “massive multiplayer thumb wrestling.” Jane closes her talk by drawing some striking parallels between the goals and benefits of gaming with the goals and benefits of Buddhist practice. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Listen to part 2 (airing next week). Episode Links: www.janemcgonigal.com Awakening is an Epic Win [video] ( https://youtu.be/uI46wbjrVc0 ) Reality is Broken ( http://amzn.to/1gc7qgv )