The Game That Can Give You Ten Extra Years Of Life By Jane Mcgonigal Essay

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In her Ted Talk, “The Game That Can Give You Ten Extra Years of Life” Jane McGonigal explains how she created a game called “Jane the Concussion Slayer” to help her overcome a concussion that didn’t heal properly. McGonigal describes to her audience the different levels and power-ups she created to cope with the aftermath of her unhealed concussion that left symptoms like headaches, nausea, vertigo, memory loss, and mental fog. In addition to this, McGonigal had to avoid everything that triggered her symptoms such as: writing, video games, work, emails, exercise, alcohol, etc. In doing so, she believed the game helped her tackle these symptoms with more creativity, determination, and optimism. McGonigal then concludes her speech and challenges …show more content…

Since McGonigal is a gamer, she convinces her audience that playing games can help one cope through tough times by sharing the game she created for her concussion. In the game she adopted a secret identity, recruited allies, battled bad guys, and activated power-ups. While playing this game, in just a few days McGonigal noticed that she vanquished the fog of depression and anxiety. (McGonigal 8:21 – 8:53). She then interacts with her audience by making them play and complete the first four SuperBetter quests. SuperBetter quests are simple games that can help an individual achieve a three-to-one positive emotion ratio by doing simple things; such as, snapping your fingers and raising your fists over your head. After the audiences have successfully completed their four quests, McGonigal educates them with facts as to why it is important to play games to boost your resilience. Lastly, McGonigal expresses her amazement to the reaction of her readers and their responses to her game. She received messages and videos telling her how playing a life game has changed their lives for the better (McGonigal 9:41 – 10:23). To conclude her speech, McGonigal challenges her audience to create their own games to boost their resilience to live a life truer to their …show more content…

In this game that I have created, there are two different types of power points. The first type of Power Points is Health Points. Health Points can be obtained by: taking thirty minutes to three hour naps after team lifting at seven thirty in the morning (every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), exercising, eating five small meals a day, maintaining an organized room, and keeping a daily planner up-to-date. The other type of Power Points are Magic Points. Magic Points can be obtained by: having a good connection with professors (meeting with them during their office hours), using school resources (such as the library, writing center, math lab, etc.), and completing and turning in homework assignments on time. The reason why you want to gain as many Health and Magic Points as possible is because it helps give you more free time. During my free time, I will explore around Menomonie, listen to music, paint, or study with

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