A Mind for Gaming

Jeremy Pope, is my go-to friend for all things digital. He's managed to turn his curiosity and passion for gaming and technology into a solid career with a promising future. Recently, over a couple of beers in our shared Brooklyn neighborhood, Jeremy and I talked tech.

As an early adopter of technology, Jeremy fondly recalls his first pre-Windows computer at age 12 (in contrast, I still had a Brother word processor throughout my undergrad). He's worked in the video game industry for 14 years, first at Acclaim and Rockstar Games, then he started his own company, Cashmere Productions. Jeremy is currently producing video games on a freelance basis and is pursuing a degree in computer science at Brooklyn College.

Video games often get a bad rap, especially from parents and health advocates that consider gaming as a contributor to childhood obesity (remember when kids used to like to play outside?).

Personally, I love games, particularly Ms. Pacman, Scrabble, backgammon, and anything on the Wii, especially Guitar Hero. I like how they occupy a certain part of my brain, forcing me to focus and be creative. Check out my mom and I rocking on Christmas! Gaming isn't always antisocial.

Speaking with Jeremy helped me to understand how and why gaming (in moderation) is appealing and beneficial. Basically, video games put achievable challenges in front of you and offer you small rewards, which get you into a happy “flow state”. Video game challenges build, driving you towards a larger goal, which leads to a greater sense of satisfaction once accomplished.

Currently, Jeremy is working on creating a game that hones in on meditative gestures, such as stillness and presence, to keep players in a flow state. Jeremy aims to take advantage of what video games have to offer--real time feedback--to create an experience with similar benefits to a yoga class.

According to Jeremy, "everything that you can do with TV and books, you can do with video games, and more...games get people thinking about big ideas and subjects that they wouldn’t be accustomed to." For example, Jeremy and his gaming colleagues are currently obsessed with a new Facebook game, Power Planets.

In Power Planets, you are given a planet for only 48 hours, then it’s handed off to someone else. Players (or rulers) have to balance earning points and/or money with more socially conscious efforts--you can be greedy or (ecologically) green, or try to balance these often conflicting qualities. In a nutshell reflecting how the real world works. You have the opportunity to craft a Utopian planet or if you get stuck with a planet lead by a slumlord of a planetary ruler, try to make the world a better place.

This game sounds compelling, but also time consuming. I barely have time to hang curtains I bought at Ikea 6 months ago let alone fix an entire planet.

Life is imitating the art of video games. As Jeremy notes, "the internet is becoming more game like, as is everyday life". Retailers are rewarding customers for their loyalty, like my local Duane Reade. Their Flex Rewards program attempts to keep consumers in a flow state issuing points for each purchase. Members receive even bigger discounts at the end of each month when certain point quotas are met. Now if only I could remember where my rewards card is when I get to the register.