People keep Tweeting and e-mailing... did you see this speech? Yes, I saw it. This is today's must-watch about the future of gaming — and the future of life.
Carnegie Mellon assistant professor of entertainment and technology, Jesse Schell, tore down the house at the DICE Summit last week in a half-hour presentation about where games are heading, beyond consoles and beyond even the current gaming phenomenon, Facebook's FarmVille.
The hook behind FarmVille and so many other popular games these days is authenticity and reality, Schell argued. He said the leading trend is games "busting through reality," denying the old notion that gaming's best attraction is fantasy.
The idea of games being part of the real world is what's taking hold: games that have you jumping around in the real world, games that have you connecting with people in the real world. Facebook gaming, in particular, is a key attraction for this kind of play that more and more people are discovering that they want. Playing a game in which you're outscoring your friends — not people you meet on Xbox Live, but your old college roommate you've friended on Facebook — is the undeniable lure. Mix that in with Achievements for ... everything. (Memories of the so-called World of Chorecraft.)
So where does that take gaming? And life? If you're short on time, go to the 20-minute mark.