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Is Life a Game? 当电玩变成真实人生！

（译注：直译为游戏人生？）

 

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Are games sneaking into every part of our lives? 电玩游戏是否正悄悄潜入我们生活的所有层面？

 

Jesse Schell, the 40-year-old game designer and Carnegie Mellon professor peered out at the 400 or so attendees of 2010’s DICE (design, innovative, communicate, entertain) Summit, the video-game industry’s answer to TED.

四十岁的杰西．薛尔是游戏设计师，也是卡内基美隆大学的教授，他仔细看着出席2010年设计创新通讯娱乐高峰会四百位左右的与会者，这个高峰会是电玩业对科技娱乐设计会议的响应。

 

He began his speech with the premise that a real-life game could be stacked on top of reality. You’d get points for, well, just about everything you normally do in the course of 24 hours. This was already happening, he explained, and the games were altering human behavior. In the Ford Fusion, a virtual tree is embedded in the dash. The more gas you save, the more the tree grows. They put a virtual pet in your car, he marveled, and it actually changed the way people drive!

薛尔的演讲一开始的前提就是，实境人生游戏可以放在现实之中。一天廿四小时日常生活中你所做的每一件事，几乎都可以用来得分。他解释道，这些情形已经发生了，而且游戏会改变人们的行为。在福特的Fusion车中，仪表板上安装了一棵虚拟树，你省下愈多汽油，这棵树就长得愈大。薛尔赞叹道，他们还在你车中放一只虚拟宠物，而这真的能改变人们的驾驶方式！

 

Gaming takes off  游戏开始

 

Sensors, he said, have gotten so cheap that they are being embedded in all sorts of products. Pretty soon, every soda can and cereal box could have a built-in CPU, screen and camera, along with Wi-Fi connectivity. And at that point, the gaming of life takes off.

薛尔表示，传感器已经便宜到可以嵌入各种产品之中。不消多久，汽水罐和早餐谷片盒可能就会有内建中央处理器、屏幕、摄影机和Wi-Fi链接，到了那时，游戏人生就开始了。

 

“You’ll get up in the morning to brush your teeth and the toothbrush can sense that you’re brushing,” Schell said. “So, ‘Hey, good job for you! Ten points’” from the toothpaste maker. Then grab the bus because you get enviro-points from the government, which can be used as a tax deduction. Get to work on time, your employer gives you points. Who knows how far this might run? Schell said. You pop down on your sofa for some television, and “it’s just points, points, points, points,” because eye sensors ensure that you actually watch the ads. In the meantime, you chat with other viewers, play games designed around the ads and tally more points.

「早上起来刷牙时，牙刷可以感应到刷牙的动作，」薛尔指出，「所以，『嘿，做得好！送你十分』」就会来自牙刷制造厂。然后你会去搭公交车，因为政府会送你环保点数。谁知道会发展到什么样的程度呢？薛尔说道。你懒洋洋地躺在沙发上看电视，「会一直看到得分、得分、得分、得分」，因为眼睛传感器会确定你真的看了广告，与此同时，你还可以和其他观众聊天、玩着依据广告所设计的游戏，获得更多分数。

 

Sure, it’s crass commercialization run amok, Schell conceded, but “this stuff is coming.  … What’s going to stop it?”

当然啦，薛尔也承认，这是全然商业化的走火入魔，但是「这种情形就快来临……谁又阻挡得了？」

 

单词发音

 

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peer out at  凝视 to stare out at someone or something

stack [stæk] v. 堆放

dash [dæʃ] n. 汽车的仪器板 a dashboard

pop down (迅速或突然)来, 去

tally [ˋtælɪ] v. 计数; 得..分 to keep score

 

 

 

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There is reliable evidence that playing video games can be beneficial. Studies indicate that video games improve decision-making, vision and hand-eye coordination. One study found that surgeons who play such games commit 37 percent fewer errors and work 27 percent faster in laparoscopic surgery – which requires deft use of a joystick, instruments and a tiny camera – than doctors who don’t.

有可靠证据显示，打电玩有其好处。研究指出，电玩有助于决策、展望和手眼协调。一项研究发现，打这类电玩的外科医师在进行腹腔镜手术时，出错次数比不玩的医师少了三成七、速度快了两成七。因为医师在进行腹腔镜手术时，必须能灵活操作游戏杆、仪器以及一个微摄影机。

 

Getting serious about video games  当电玩游戏不再只是游戏

 

Surgeons are player in an emerging niche of the industry called “serious games.” The Entertainment Software Association claims that 70 percent of major employers use interactive software and games for training. Many are simulations that enable users to perfect skills in 2-D before taking on the 3-D challengers of real life – doctors, for example, may practice cutting open avatars before turning to living, breathing humans. Such simulations make up a billion-dollar-plus business that is growing fast.

外科医师是电玩业新兴利基「严肃游戏」的玩家。娱乐软件协会宣称，七成大型企业使用互动软件与游戏做为教育训练，许多是模拟游戏，为了让使用者在面对真实生活的三度空间挑战之前，先在二度空间中磨练出完美技巧，举例来说，医师在帮活生生会呼吸的人类动手术之前，可以先拿虚拟化身开刀。这类仿真游戏的商机发展迅速，价值十亿美元以上。

 

Serious games have also become a staple in education: To practice running virtual businesses, students at more than 1,000 colleges and universities around the world play an IBM sim called Innov8.

严肃游戏也成为教育主要的一环：全世界有一千所以上的大专院校，让学生玩IBM所出的Innov8模拟游戏，练习如何经营虚拟事业。

 

But this is only the beginning. Games are on the verge of transforming our concepts of work, education and commerce. To understand how, you have to know a little bit about what makes a great game and what happens to your brain when you’re playing one.

但这只是开端而已。游戏即将改变我们对于工作、教育和商业的观念，若想知道其中奥妙，你必须先稍微了解好游戏之所以了不起的原因以及玩游戏时大脑的运作情形。

 

This is your brain on games  爱玩游戏的大脑

 

A game is, at its root, a structured experience with clear goals, rules that force a player to overcome challengers and instant feedback. Because they offer those clearly articulated rewards for each point players score and new level they achieve, games trigger the release of dopamine. Since we like the feeling we get when our brains are awash in dopamine, we’ll do whatever it takes to get it, over and over again. Video and computer games offer “threshold effects,” where prizes or level changes are dribbled out to keep us hooked.

归根究底，电玩游戏是一种结构化的经验，有明确的目标、立即回馈、以及强迫玩家必须克服挑战的规则。玩家每次一得分和晋级，会获得清楚明确的奖赏，因此游戏会引发多巴胺的分泌。由于我们很喜欢脑部充满多巴胺的感觉，因此会不顾一切，一次又一次地想办法获得那种感觉。电玩游戏和计算机游戏会产生「识阈效应」，每次一点点地释出些奖赏或是让玩家晋级过关，就会让我们无法自拔，继续玩下去。

 

单词发音

 

More Information

reliable [rɪˋlaɪəb!] adj. 可信赖的；可靠的

laparoscopic [͵læpərəˋskɑpɪk] adj. 腹腔镜检查的

simulation [͵sɪmjəˋleʃən] n.〔用于试验的〕模拟操作; 模拟研究

avatar [͵ævəˋtɑr] n.【计算机】（术语）指在虚拟现实中互动地呈现一个人 a movable image that represents a person in a virtual reality environment or in cyberspace

make up v. 组成 to constitute; form

on the verge of 接近于；濒于 almost doing or experiencing something

threshold [ˋθrɛʃhold] n. 阈值; 临界值

dribble [ˋdrɪb!] v. 〔指液体〕慢慢滴淌 run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

hooked [hʊkt] adj. 着迷的，入迷的 captivated by or devoted to a custom or thing

 

 

 

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Teaching by playing  寓教于乐

 

Quest to Learn, a non-charter public school for grades 6-12 in Manhattan, bases its entire pedagogy on game design. Its students assume the roles of truth seekers and engage in problem solving. There are no grades. Instead, students are rated at levels from novice to master. A typical class may be devoted to a multiplayer game where the students work in teams to defeat hostile aliens, or to a simulation in which the kids run an entire city. The kids even code their own games, which involve math, English, computer science and art.

探索学习是曼哈顿一家从小六到高三的非特许公立学校，整体教学方式就是以游戏设计为基础。学生扮演真相追求者的角色，负责解决各种问题。学校不打成绩，而是将学生列入从新手到专家各等级。典型的一堂课可能就是进行一场多人游戏，由学生组队对抗敌对的外星人，或是玩管理整座城市的模拟游戏。孩子们甚至自己设计游戏，其中就会用到数学、英文、计算机科学、艺术。

 

Even parents who routinely play video and computer games may have trouble [understanding] that. But a growing number of academics, led by James Paul Gee at Arizona State University, believe that gaming can drive problem-based learning, in which students develop skills as they work collaboratively to confront challenges.

就连固定在玩电玩游戏和计算机游戏的家长，也会觉得难以理解吧。但是以亚历桑纳州立大学的詹姆士．保罗．吉伊为首的愈来愈多学者相信，打电玩可以增进问题导向的学习，学生分工合作共同面对挑战时，能够从中培养出能力。

 

“The problem is that our schools are focused on relating facts and how well students retain this info,” says Gee. “Teachers are teaching to the test.” When Gee started playing video games seven years ago, he was struck by the fact that games are often long and demanding yet designed to be so intuitive that no manual is ever needed. You learn by playing.

「问题在于，学校注重的是相关事实以及学生能够记住多少，」吉伊表示，「老师的教学都是配合考试。」吉伊七年前开始打电玩，有一点令他非常讶异，因为游戏通常又长又难，但是它的设计却又让人只靠直觉就能玩，根本不需要说明书，边玩边学就可以。

 

Supporting evidence  左证

 

According to a 2006 report by the Federation of American Scientists, students recall just 10 percent of what they read and 20 percent of what they hear. If visuals accompany an oral presentation, retention rises to 30 percent. But “if they do the job themselves, even if only as a simulation,” students can remember 90 percent. While reliable numbers are hard to come by, several games claim improvements over traditional classroom learning.

美国科学家协会在2006年的一份报告中指出，学生只记得住一成读过的内容、两成听过的内容。如果视觉影像搭配口头说明，记住的内容会上升到三成。但是「如果他们自己动手，即使只是个模拟游戏，」学生也能记住九成。虽然可靠的数据不容易找，有几个电玩游戏声称效果比传统教室学习好。

 

Game-based methods may benefit the poorest-performing students most. River City, a game that exposes students to ecology and scientific inquiry, cites a 370 percent boost for D-students’ test scores.

游戏导向的方法也许对表现最不理想的学生最有帮助，瑞河市游戏让学生接触到生态与科学探究，该游戏引证，成绩原本是D的学生，因为这个游戏，考试分数进步了3.7倍。

 

单词发音

 

More Information

charter [ˋtʃɑrtɚ] v. 特许设立，发执照给; 给予……特权

pedagogy [ˋpɛdə͵godʒɪ] n. 教育；教学

assume [əˋsjum] v. 装出，假装 take on titles, offices, duties, responsibilities

grade [gred] n.【美】成绩，评分 a number or letter indicating quality

code [kod] v. 为……编码; 写程序 to write or revise a computer program

come by 得到, 获得 to gain possession of; acquire

inquiry [ɪnˋkwaɪrɪ] n. 探究，探索

 

 

 

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Game Over?  游戏结束？

 

Of course, not everyone is convinced. “Who said education is supposed to be fun and not hard work?” says Alexander Galloway, a professor at New York University. “At some point, you have to buckle down and memorize facts.” Not to mention that video games unleash almost double the levels of dopamine experienced by humans at rest. Yes, this can increase performance in meaningful ways. But what would happen if nefarious companies and marketers realized the potential of hooking us through dopamine release? Therein lies the danger.

当然，不是所有人都相信这些。「谁说教育一定要好玩，不能是辛苦的学习？」纽约大学教授亚力山大．盖洛威表示，「到了某个阶段，就得认真用功，努力记住内容。」至于打电玩刺激多巴胺的分泌量，几乎是人脑休息时的两倍这件事，就更不用提了。没错，这是以有意义的方式来提高表现，但是如果邪恶的企业与营销人员体认到，让人因多巴胺分泌而上瘾，其中所具有的商业潜力，又该怎么办？这就是危险所在。

 

“We humans are pretty susceptible to addictive tricks, so surely people trying to make money will exploit that to the fullest. In fact, they already do,” says David Sirlin, an independent game designer. “The best defense is to raise awareness about the dangers of being manipulated by external reward systems.” But he isn’t hopeful. There’s too much money to be made.

人类很容易受到令人上瘾的花招所吸引，所以想赚钱的人当然会利用这个机会大捞一笔。事实上，他们已经这么做了。独立游戏设计师戴维．瑟林表示，「最佳防御就是多多倡导受外在奖赏系统操弄的危险。」但是他不抱太大希望，因为其中有太多钱可赚了。

 

Schell’s conclusion  薛尔的结论

 

The night before his speech at DICE, Schell stayed up until 2 a.m. He couldn’t think of an ending, a kicker that would put his many examples of the gaming of life in the right context. He knew that some people would view a world of ubiquitous gaming with fear, and he knew that this unique gathering of the world’s best game designers would have a say in whether the pessimists’ fears would be realized, to tragic effect – or whether the outcome would be far better.

薛尔在设计创新通讯娱乐高峰会发表演讲的前夕，直到深夜两点还没睡。他想不出演讲的结语，一个能够把他所说的许多人生游戏例子放在正确角度来看的突然转折。薛尔知道，有些人对处处皆游戏的世界心怀恐惧，他也知道，究竟悲观者的恐惧是否会不幸成真，或是结果会比预期好很多，决定权就操在这个聚集了全世界最佳游戏设计师的独特会议中。

 

And he knew something else: With sensors and tracking technology, our grandkids could discover where we had gone, what we had bought, how – and how well – we had spent our time.

薛尔还知道一件事：传感器与追踪科技，会让后代子孙知道我们去过哪里、我们买过什么东西，以及我们有没有好好利用时间。

 

“And so,” Schell concluded the next day, “it could be that these systems are all crass commercialization and terrible, but it’s possible that they’ll inspire us to be better people if the game systems are designed right.”

「因此，」薛尔在次日的演讲中做出结论，「这些系统有可能很糟糕，完全只是全然牟利的商业化，但是如果游戏的设计正确，也有可能会激励我们成为更好的人。」

 

－by Adam L. Penenberg

 

单词发音

 

More Information

unleash [ʌnˋliʃ] v. 释放出 to release or loose from or as if from a leash

nefarious [nəˋfɛrɪəs] adj. 恶毒的；穷凶极恶的 infamous by way of being extremely wicked

therein [ðɛrˋɪn] adv. 在其中, 在那里, 在那一点上 in that circumstance or respect

kicker [ˋkɪkɚ] n. 决定胜负的单牌; 意外的结局 a sudden, surprising turn of events or ending; a twist

context [ˋkɑntɛkst] n.场合; 环境; 周围情况; 背景 the circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting

have a say 有发言权, 有理由说话  be allowed to state a view, help to make the decision

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

peer [pɪr] v. 凝视, 盯着看 to look carefully or with difficulty

premise [ˋprɛmɪs] n. 前提; 假定，假设 an idea or theory on which a statement or action is based

crass [kræs] adj. 非常的，彻底的 offensive in manner or style

run amok [əˋmɑk] 猖獗; 乱窜 to have no control and act in a wild or dangerous manner

deft [dɛft] adj. 灵巧的，熟练的 skillful, effective, and quick

staple [ˋstep!] n. 主要商品；日常必需品 a basic item, or a main product or material

articulate [ɑrˋtɪkjə͵let] adj. 表达清楚的 to express things easily and clearly

awash [əˋwɑʃ] adj. 充沛的; 被水或其他液体淹没的 overflowing with or as if with water

novice [ˋnɑvɪs] n. 新手，初学者 a person who is not experienced in a job or situation

retention [rɪˋtɛnʃən] n. 记忆力; 保持; 保留 the ability to keep or continue having something

buckle [ˋbʌk!] down 开始认真从事; 埋头于 to start working hard

susceptible [səˋsɛptəb!] adj. 易受……影响的 easily influenced or harmed by something

exploit [ɪkˋsplɔɪt] v. 利用 to use someone or something unfairly for one’s own advantage

 

 

 

IBM Innov8 and CityOne Serious Games Overview Video

 

TEDxUniPittsburgh - Jesse Schell - The Future is Beautiful