The Science of Fun: 3 Ways Games Make You Happier and Save the World

Change is hard, but Nicole Lazzaro argues that advances in game design and neuroscience can make it easier. Lazzaro was the first person to use facial expressions to measure player experiences, and in this GSummit 2014 talk she looks at how games affect the brain.

Evolution has given us a powerful system for acquiring behavior, good and bad. Positive chemicals such as dopamine (reward), endorphin (euphoria) and oxytocin (trust) battle daily with stress chemicals such as cortisol, and the activities we engage in tune our behavior. The challenge is that the rational self that sets our goals is not the same brain system that hands out the chemicals that make us feel good. Lazzaro warns that serious game designers and gamification experts ignore this at their peril.

Specially designed games, she says, can turn vicious cycles into virtuous ones to help people lose weight, get smarter and even fight climate change. The talk explores three specific ways the fun of games can make people happier, healthier and ready to work together.