We’ve all been in the middle of a video game, completely immersed, solving complex challenges, teaming up with others, and making big decisions that shape the fate of “the world”. The best part of it? We feel like we’re making a difference.

Then we log off and real life hits. Suddenly, our energy, motivation, and sense of purpose, all gone…

But who wouldn’t feel as “good” in reality as they are in games? Good as successful but also as motivated to do something that matters, to be inspired to collaborate and to cooperate.

Which brings us to the question: Is it as easy to make an impact in the real world as it is in a video game?

In her book Reality is Broken (2010), Jane McGonigal, an American game designer and researcher, provides a bold answer. Her main argument is that reality—considered as everything that isn’t a game—isn’t designed as well as games are and that games can actually inspire us to make the reality better.

“What is it about games that makes it possible to feel that we can achieve everything?”

Video games are powerful. They can make you feel that so much is possible than in real-life. The entire structure of video games is built to make you experience what McGonigal calls an epic win, “an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive, you had no idea it was even possible until you achieved it”:

1. You encounter characters who trust you with a world-saving mission.

But not just any mission, the mission. The one that is perfectly matched to your current level, skills, and experience in the game. In video games, this kind of clarity and purpose comes naturally. You know exactly what you’re supposed to do, and you’re motivated to do it.

Now, compare that to real life.

• “What’s your mission?”
• “Make the world a better place?”

Sure, sounds great! But, where do you even start?

2. You have allies.

In video games, you’re rarely alone, even in single player games. You have collaborators, teammates, or random players, ready to support you. Collaboration is expected and even often essential to win (good luck winning a game of League of Legends without collaborating with your teammates). By the way, giving the final hit on an enemy champion and claiming the kill — even though one of your teammates did most of the work — is called a KS (Kill Steal). And yeah… It’s not cool (please don’t do it). 

In real life, overcoming big social issues can feel isolating. Even if you know that others care, it can be hard to connect or to figure out who’s really got your back.

3. You get feedback and you see yourself improving.

In games, feedback is constant and rewarding: you earn +10 XP, you level up, you unlock new abilities, etc. You always know how far you’ve come and how close you are to your next goal. In daily life, progress is slow, invisible, and smalls improvements are rarely celebrated. We are told that “change takes time”, but without feedback, it is easy to lose momentum. Although you might be doing great things, if no one notices (not even you), how do you stay motivated? 

So maybe it isn’t that having real-world impact is harder to achieve, but that reality isn’t designed to keep us as engaged and happy as games are…