Technology Positive play Gaming could play an important role for wellbeing, as well as helping people Liam Kay I magine settling down to an evening of playing video games with friends. You choose a car-racing game and start searching for your race vehicle. One of the options has a hybrid engine and, from past experience, you know that car could help you win. Could that nudge persuade you to buy a hybrid car in real life? There are almost 2.7 billion gamers in the world today. Much has been written about whether video games can incite violence among players, and research has largely debunked that idea. But is the inverse true? Can games help embed good behaviour, and lead players to make life choices that are good for themselves, their communities and the environment? Leigh Caldwell, partner at Irrational Agency, says that ideas about how games can help develop positive behaviours in players have their roots in behavioural psychology. He argues that humans use System 3 thinking the imagination to gain mental rewards for good behaviours through playing games, which helps people learn positive traits. Games immerse you in an imaginary world and guide your imagination into certain behaviours, he explains. Games have the power to create a space in your imagination where whatever issues there are play out and give you rewards for doing the right thing, changing real-world behaviour, Caldwell says. The Sims and Sim City series of games is an example; people are able to build cities and control characters, which allows them to explore the consequences of their decision-making. If you fail to build a functioning city in Sim City, the consequences will be dire for its citizens and your own progress in the game. Games could have a good role in understanding optimising in games what behaviours make the biggest impact or have the highest rewards. That could be a great example of training people to do what really matters and not just give lip-service. with social gaming platforms such as Twitch helping people maintain bonds during recent Covid-19related lockdowns. Users of Twitch watched 1tn minutes in 2020, with 30 million average daily users on watched, showcasing the growth the platform has seen in the pandemic. Nearly half of its users are aged between 18 and 34. Research carried out last year by University of Oxford researchers Niklas Johannes, Matti Vuorre and enjoyment from playing were more likely to report experiencing positive wellbeing, with the amount of time spent playing games having a small, but The study was based on a survey of approximately 3,270 players and was aimed at measuring wellbeing, self-reported play, and motivational experiences objective behavioural and industry data from the games Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The past year has shown how video games can help create a sense of community for players, says Sean Campbell, vice-president, tech and gaming research, at Reach3 Insights. So many games have connect with and build relationships they wouldnt have otherwise, he explains. I think that does a lot for positivity in general. Many games, especially massively multiplayer online games, have this, as the players take on a persona and create almost family units in some areas. Beyond the impact on wellbeing, could gaming change? Casper Harteveld, associate professor of 44 Impact ISSUE 34 2021_pp44-45 Tech.indd 44 18/06/2021 13:57