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Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World
The phenomenal growth of gaming has inspired plenty of hand-wringing since its inception--from the press, politicians, parents, and everyone else concerned with its effect on our brains, bodies, and hearts. But what if games could be good, not only for individuals but for the world? In Power Play, Asi Burak and Laura Parker explore how video games are now pioneering innovative social change around the world.As the former executive director and now chairman of Games for Change, Asi Burak has spent the last ten years supporting and promoting the use of video games for social good, in collaboration with leading organizations like the White House, NASA, World Bank, and The United Nations. The games for change movement has introduced millions of players to meaningful experiences around everything from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the US Constitution. Power Play looks to the future of games as a global movement. Asi Burak and Laura Parker profile the luminaries behind some of the movement's most iconic games, including former Supreme Court judge Sandra Day O’Connor and Pulitzer-Prize winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. They also explore the promise of virtual reality to address social and political issues with unprecedented immersion, and see what the next generation of game makers have in store for the future.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2017
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363 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 2, 2025
I've been in the gaming industry for over a decade and I would love the opportunity to work on something that can have as much real world impact as the games written about in this book have.
January 14, 2022
I liked the idea for this book, loved it even, what a shame that it ended up being mediocre. I love reading academic studies, especially ones centered on video games being a lifelong gamer myself. This book had so much potential but it ended up falling flat. A mix of useless writing and “gamification” projects that had nothing to do with video games.
A good portion of the book is dedicated to some truly inspiring projects, most notably Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics and the cancer-fighting Re-Mission. The chapter about the potential of VR and how it is already being used for a variety of non-entertainment purposes was fascinating. Even some of the less successful games, such as Half the Sky, were still good attempts with the best of intentions that just suffered from a lack of game development experience. This is understandable, of course, as many of the trailblazers talked about in the book have never really worked in the games industry before. It was refreshing to see some projects made not for greed and entertainment but to help society in new and innovative ways.
There were some projects that are talked about like they were good things, such as pharmaceutical companies trying to get their hands in the gaming industry which I personally found unsettling. Despite some chapters about some hideously unsuccessful or misguided projects, I was actually enjoying the book. Then it all went wildly off the rails.
One of my biggest complaints was the lack of focus on the central subject, which is about video games. I found, especially in the later chapters, that the book’s definition of what a “game” was is really loose. By loose, I mean web browser-based personality quizzes. One of the chapters even talked about a one-time activity called Macon Money which had nothing to do with tech. It was an attempt at “gamification” to encourage townspeople to mingle and shop at local businesses, which was great, but it’s not a video game?
That’s what threw me off. If a book is titled and marketed about how video games can change the world, shouldn’t the book be about video games? Some of the stories were cool, sure, about folks trying to create games or using tech to facilitate change or help scientists with research, but they had next to nothing to do with the core thesis of the book.
Another issue I took with the book was the writing, which felt like amateur journalism. There were random paragraphs filled with flowery, almost romantic-sounding physical descriptions of the various creators talked about in each chapter. Considering the fact that this is a non-fiction book about games, I honestly don’t care about what most of these people looked like. It was distracting, disjointing, and boring. I noticed that two different women in different chapters were described as having “expressive eyes,” which made me think that they couldn’t think of anything better to say about them. Another paragraph made me feel like I was reading a description of a brooding male love interest in a romance novel.
“In person, Gazzaley cuts a striking figure. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with a healthy crop of silver hair, dark brown eyes, and a placid demeanor. One might call him intimidating, but there’s a keen sense of humor lurking beneath the surface, for those willing to tease it out.”
If you’re going to add fluff to make the book a little less dry, at least come up with something meaningful. It was less prevalent in the early chapters but got progressively worse as I kept reading. I found myself asking, “Why is this necessary?” These odd chapters with terrible writing diminished my overall enjoyment of the book. Unfortunately, this book was a swing and a miss for me. There are some good ideas here that was simply executed poorly. I would have liked to see more focus in the chapters on video games specifically because as it stands the book is hideously mismarketed.
A good portion of the book is dedicated to some truly inspiring projects, most notably Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics and the cancer-fighting Re-Mission. The chapter about the potential of VR and how it is already being used for a variety of non-entertainment purposes was fascinating. Even some of the less successful games, such as Half the Sky, were still good attempts with the best of intentions that just suffered from a lack of game development experience. This is understandable, of course, as many of the trailblazers talked about in the book have never really worked in the games industry before. It was refreshing to see some projects made not for greed and entertainment but to help society in new and innovative ways.
There were some projects that are talked about like they were good things, such as pharmaceutical companies trying to get their hands in the gaming industry which I personally found unsettling. Despite some chapters about some hideously unsuccessful or misguided projects, I was actually enjoying the book. Then it all went wildly off the rails.
One of my biggest complaints was the lack of focus on the central subject, which is about video games. I found, especially in the later chapters, that the book’s definition of what a “game” was is really loose. By loose, I mean web browser-based personality quizzes. One of the chapters even talked about a one-time activity called Macon Money which had nothing to do with tech. It was an attempt at “gamification” to encourage townspeople to mingle and shop at local businesses, which was great, but it’s not a video game?
That’s what threw me off. If a book is titled and marketed about how video games can change the world, shouldn’t the book be about video games? Some of the stories were cool, sure, about folks trying to create games or using tech to facilitate change or help scientists with research, but they had next to nothing to do with the core thesis of the book.
Another issue I took with the book was the writing, which felt like amateur journalism. There were random paragraphs filled with flowery, almost romantic-sounding physical descriptions of the various creators talked about in each chapter. Considering the fact that this is a non-fiction book about games, I honestly don’t care about what most of these people looked like. It was distracting, disjointing, and boring. I noticed that two different women in different chapters were described as having “expressive eyes,” which made me think that they couldn’t think of anything better to say about them. Another paragraph made me feel like I was reading a description of a brooding male love interest in a romance novel.
“In person, Gazzaley cuts a striking figure. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with a healthy crop of silver hair, dark brown eyes, and a placid demeanor. One might call him intimidating, but there’s a keen sense of humor lurking beneath the surface, for those willing to tease it out.”
If you’re going to add fluff to make the book a little less dry, at least come up with something meaningful. It was less prevalent in the early chapters but got progressively worse as I kept reading. I found myself asking, “Why is this necessary?” These odd chapters with terrible writing diminished my overall enjoyment of the book. Unfortunately, this book was a swing and a miss for me. There are some good ideas here that was simply executed poorly. I would have liked to see more focus in the chapters on video games specifically because as it stands the book is hideously mismarketed.
February 27, 2017
This isn't my favorite nonfiction book, but I'm so, so glad I read it. I've been helping people learn through interaction for more than five years now, and I found this book SUPER motivating! I'm even more excited to continue learning how to make games.
Unlike some of my favorite nonfiction titles (Deep Survival, The Psychopath Test, Moonwalking with Einstein), POWER PLAY doesn't read well as a narrative. The book touches on dozens of stories about different gamemakers, so you never really delve deeply into any one story. That's OK. It wasn't the authors' intent to inform readers about all the steps these various gamemakers took to success, although glimpses into their stories might provide some useful information to that end.
No, it's not a book about process. It's a book about possibility, and in that I think it excels. Read it, and learn about some of the cool stuff happening out there!
Unlike some of my favorite nonfiction titles (Deep Survival, The Psychopath Test, Moonwalking with Einstein), POWER PLAY doesn't read well as a narrative. The book touches on dozens of stories about different gamemakers, so you never really delve deeply into any one story. That's OK. It wasn't the authors' intent to inform readers about all the steps these various gamemakers took to success, although glimpses into their stories might provide some useful information to that end.
No, it's not a book about process. It's a book about possibility, and in that I think it excels. Read it, and learn about some of the cool stuff happening out there!
June 26, 2019
Before read this book I had never heard about most of the video games in this book. I think. My favorite part of the book was part II. It talks about foldit, zooniverse. The idea that I could help science in some small way is exciting to me. I also enjoyed the the last chapter about virtual reality. I have never worn a VR headset but, the chapter made me want to try one.
I wish icivics were around when I was in school. It sounds fun. I remember some things from my civics class but, I am probably would have remembered more if I had been assigned to play this game.
I think I learned a lot of great information by reading this book. I enjoyed it. That's all I can think of to write about this book.
I wish icivics were around when I was in school. It sounds fun. I remember some things from my civics class but, I am probably would have remembered more if I had been assigned to play this game.
I think I learned a lot of great information by reading this book. I enjoyed it. That's all I can think of to write about this book.
February 19, 2024
Está bien, creo que trata de forma superficial temas que podrían llevarse más lejos y profundiza en otros que no son tan interesantes. Creo que lo que debería intentar el libro es que, una vez terminado, tuvieras ganas de probar alguno de los juegos de los que trata, o buscar otros que intenten lo mismo. El caso es que no lo consigue.
August 4, 2019
A good general survey of how games can do good.
November 15, 2020
Now, heading to gamification. Long treatment: I would really like to write something on the use of video games in many different disciplines, and I hope I can jumpstart with these.
April 28, 2017
POWER PLAY highlights case studies of video games released over the past 20 years that have aimed to promote social change in a variety of areas. Co-written by the former head of Games for Change, the stories presented in this book are incredibly interesting and make a strong case for the growing belief that video games can be a force for good in the world. While I'd heard of some of the games described previously, many I had no clue existed, and it was really illuminating to learn about the process of making games like Remission 2 into reality. POWER PLAY isn't incredibly well crafted- there were chunks of text that were tough to slog through and the overall structure is frustratingly repetitive, but this is an important text for folks who only think of video games as violent first person shooters or irrelevant distractions. I highly recommend this book to folks who love video games and folks who don't and could use a lesson in why this medium is important.
June 28, 2017
Inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews