How Gaming Can Be a Force for Good | Noah Raford | TED

Translator: Andrés Carrasco Reviewer: Silvia Miguélez

Do you spend more money on virtual fashion in video games

Gastades máis cartos en moda virtual nos videoxogos

than you do on physical clothes?

que en prendas físicas?

About a third of all teenage gamers in America do.

En América, arredor dun terzo dos xogadores adolescentes o fan.

Do you think the government is actually run by a secret cabal

Credes que o goberno está dirixido por unha cábala secreta

of demon-worshiping perverts?

de pervertidos adoradores do demo?

About 50 million people do.

Arredor de 50 millóns de persoas cren que si.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

These numbers sound crazy to you?

Estes números parécenvos disparatados?

It's because they are,

Será porque o son,

but they're also a sign of things to come.

mais tamén son un sinal das cousas que están por vir.

The world feels like a pretty insane place right now.

O mundo semella un lugar bastante tolo agora mesmo.

And if you spend any time on the internet at all,

E se pasades un mínimo de tempo en Internet

you can probably tell that people think it's going to get a lot worse.

probablemente vexades que a xente pensa que aínda se vai poñer moito peor.

Now, that may be the case,

Ben, pode que así sexa,

but this feeling is why I believe

pero por esto mesmo é polo que creo

that we're going to see a rise in social unrest

que imos ver un aumento do malestar social

in the coming decades,

nas décadas vindeiras

and that is going to come from a surprising place.

e que vai proceder dun lugar sorprendente:

Video games.

os videoxogos.

A ver, antes de que pensedes,

Now before you think, "Is this going to be another talk

“Vai ser esta outra charla que vincule os videoxogos coa violencia?”

linking video game to violence?"

Sorry to disappoint you,

Lamento decepcionarvos:

that’s been proven conclusively wrong, and that is really old thinking.

xa se demostrou que tal idea é errada e ademais é un xeito anticuado de pensar.

But what I am going to argue is that video games are going to become

Pola contra o que vou argumentar é que os videoxogos vanse converter

the platform through which tomorrow's social battles will be fought

na plataforma na cal se librarán as loitas sociais de mañá,

and the source of recruitment for some of the strangest

e na vía de recrutamento para algúns dos movementos sociais

and possibly most impactful social movements of the future.

máis estraños e impactantes do futuro.

I like to call these video gamecults.

Gústame chamalos “seitas dos videoxogos”.

Sounds kind of scary, I admit,

Soa algo inquietante, admítoo,

but I hope to show how they might also be used

pero espero amosar como se poden utilizar tamén

as a tool to cause some serious hope.

como unha ferramenta para a esperanza.

Now this is all just my personal opinion.

Ben, tan só é a miña opinión persoal.

But I started thinking about this a few years ago

Pero comecei a matinar nisto haberá un par de anos

after I heard a very interesting story while working in the Gulf.

ao escoitar unha historia moi interesante mentres traballaba no Golfo.

The story was about Hassan ibn Sabbah,

A historia era sobre Hassan ibn Sabbah,

a charismatic young preacher who lived about 1,000 years ago

un predicador novo e carismático que viviu hai uns mil anos

in an age full of drama, conflict and social change.

nunha época chea de dramas, conflitos e cambio social.

Hassan became famous for creating the Order of Assassins:

Hassan fíxose famoso por crear a Orde dos Asasinos,

a fanatically devoted group of young men

un grupo de mozos fanáticamente devotos

known as the fedayeen,

coñecidos como “os fedayines”,

"those who sacrifice themselves."

ou “aqueles que se sacrifican”.

His men were so devoted to him

Os seus homes éranlle tan devotos

that, the legend goes,

que, segundo conta a lenda,

they would throw themselves from the rafters to their death

botábanse dende as alturas cara á morte ao dar el a orde.

at his command.

Actually, this is where we get the expression "a leap of faith" from.

De feito, é de aquí de onde procede a expresión “dar un salto de fe”.

So this got me thinking.

Así que isto fíxome pensar.

Why would someone do this?

Por que faría alguén algo así?

What could convince someone so fervently to believe in something

Que podería convencer a alguén para crer con tanto fervor

that they would welcome their own death?

como para recibir a propia morte con agrado?

The answer is 11th century virtual reality.

A resposta está na realidade virtual do século 11.

See, Hassan had cultivated a myth

Veredes, Hassan cultivara o mito

that he could send people to heaven and bring them back again

de que podía enviar ás persoas ao ceo e traelas de volta

without actually having to die.

sen ter que morrer realmente.

And of course, he didn't actually have this power,

Por suposto el carecía deste poder,

but before a mission, the story goes,

pero antes dunha misión, di a lenda,

he would dose his soldiers with massive amounts of hash.

dáballes aos seus soldados unha dose tremenda de haxix.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Their enemies actually called them the "ḥashshāshīn,"

Os seus inimigos deron en chamalos os “hashshashin”,

which is also where we get the word "assassin" from.

que tamén é de onde obtemos a palabra “asasino”.

This would knock them out and then he would lower them down

Isto os noqueaba e entón, el os baixaba

into a secret garden he had built behind his mountain fortress,

a un xardín secreto que construíra detrás da súa fortaleza na montaña,

designed to look exactly like a replica of heaven.

deseñado para semellar exactamente coma unha réplica do ceo.

Waking up in this simulated paradise,

Ao espertaren neste paraíso simulado,

his men would gorge themselves

os seus homes atiborrábanse

on all the things they had been denied in life.

de todas as cousas que lles foran negadas en vida.

Then, after a night of ecstasy,

Entón, logo dunha noite de éxtase,

they would awaken back in their barracks,

espertaban de volta nos seus barracóns

convinced of Hassan's powers,

convencidos dos poderes de Hassan,

eager to fulfill his suicide missions in order to return to heaven again.

desexosos de cumprir as súas misións suicidas

para poder retornar ao ceo unha vez máis.

So.

Entón,

que ten isto que ver co día de hoxe?

What does this have to do with today?

Ben, a maioría dos estudosos coinciden en que isto sería só un mito,

Well, most scholars agree that this is probably just a myth,

but that's not the point.

pero esa non é a cuestión.

The point is that people believed deeply in Hassan

A cuestión é que a xente cría profundamente en Hassan

and his vision for the world

e na súa visión para o mundo,

and were willing to sacrifice their lives for it.

e estaban dispostos a sacrificar as súas vidas por iso.

He gave them a sense of meaning and purpose

Deulles un sentido, un propósito

during a time of great uncertainty.

durante un tempo de grande incertidume.

A purpose which he communicated using the best tools of his day.

Un propósito que el comunicou usando as mellores ferramentas do seu tempo.

And that is what brings us to video games.

E iso é o que nos leva aos videoxogos.

Video games are already the world's dominant form of entertainment.

Os videoxogos xa son a forma de entremento dominante do mundo.

They're three times larger

Son tres veces máis grandes

than the entire global film and music industries combined.

que toda a industria cinematográfica e musical xuntas.

Cada ano,

Every year,

os streamers máis importantes de Twitch reciben o dobre de visualizacións

the top streamers on Twitch receive on average twice as many views

as the biggest Hollywood movies.

que as mellores películas de Hollywood.

And collectively,

E colectivamente,

we spend twice as much time watching and playing video games

pasamos o dobre de tempo vendo e xogando a videoxogos

as we do using all other forms of social media combined.

que utilizando todas as outras redes sociais xuntas.

That's a lot of eyeballs.

Eso é moito tempo.

As vendas de xogos son xigantescas,

Game sales are huge,

mais a verdadeira acción está nas economías dentro do xogo

but the real action is in in-game economies

where people spend over 130 billion dollars a year

nas que a xente gasta cada ano máis de 130 miles de millóns de dólares

buying and selling virtual goods online.

mercando e vendendo produtos virtuais na rede.

Everything from outfits to avatars, to vehicles to weapons,

De todo, desde roupa ata avatares, vehículos, armas,

to dances to architecture to music,

bailes, arquitectura, música,

to access to live events and more.

acceso a eventos en vivo e máis.

Haven't even mentioned NFT or Web3,

Nin sequera mencionei os NFT ou Web3,

but these hopefully will become the infrastructure

pero estas converteranse, se todo vai ben, na infraestrutura

that drives this going forward.

que impulse este avance.

So if you're wondering what the metaverse looks like,

De modo que se vos preguntades que aspecto ten o metaverso,

this is it.

aquí está.

The reason games are so successful

O motivo polo cal os videoxogos son tan exitosos

is because they provide a deep sense of engagement,

é porque proporcionan un forte sentido de compromiso,

community and purpose.

comunidade e propósito.

Yes, we use them to escape and to entertain, and that’s OK.

Si, empregámolos para escapar e para entreternos, e iso está ben.

Pero nos seus mellores momentos

But at their best,

they speak to some of our primal social and psychological needs,

diríxense a algunhas das nosas necesidades psicosociais primarias

from feeling effective to achieving our goals,

desde sentirnos eficaces, ata lograr as nosas metas,

to belonging to a group,

pertencer a un grupo,

to working for something bigger than yourself.

ou traballar por algo maior ca ti mesmo.

Describing his experience in a top World of Warcraft guild,

Describindo a súa experiencia nun gremio de alto nivel en World of Warcraft,

the player Wincy once wrote,

o xogador Wincy escribiu unha vez

"It felt so amazing...

“A sensación foi tan incrible...

Thinking back, it was probably the most intense,

Botando a vista atrás, foi probablemente a experiencia máis intensa

positive emotional experience of my life.

positiva e emotiva da miña vida.

Not my kid being born, not getting married."

Nin cando naceu o meu fillo, nin cando casei.”

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"My mind was convinced we were in a war against an insurmountable foe

“Estaba mentalmente convencido de que estabamos en guerra

contra un inimigo insuperable,

and we won."

e gañamos.”

You can probably see where I'm going with this.

Probablemente xa vedes onde quero chegar con isto.

Although he later went on to regret the amount of time he spent online,

Aínda que despois pasou a lamentarse da cantidade de tempo que pasara conectado

gamers develop a deep sense of commitment to a shared narrative world.

os xogadores chegan a estar moi comprometidos cun mundo narrativo común.

A world which provides for them in a way that "real-world" jobs

Un mundo que lles proporciona dalgún xeito o que a miúdo non dan

and relationships often do not.

os traballos e as relacións do mundo real.

And this is already the world that our children live in.

E este é xa o mundo no que viven os nosos fillos.

The only thing that my son and daughter want for their birthdays

A única cousa que o meu fillo e a miña filla queren polo seu aniversario

are Skyblock coins and digital emotes for their characters.

son moedas Skyblock e emotícones dixitais para os seus personaxes.

Most of their social time outside of school

A meirande parte do seu tempo social fóra da escola

is spent hanging out in-game with their friends.

pásano quedando dentro do xogo cos seus amigos.

My son Teo, he's already flipping NFTs to, in his words,

O meu fillo Teo xa está apurándose a cambiar NFTs para, nas súas palabras,

get rich as quickly as possible

facerse rico o máis rápido posible

so he can take care of us when the world falls apart.

e así poder coidar de nós cando o mundo colapse.

Thanks Teo, appreciate that.

Grazas, Teo, que considerado pola túa parte.

That's why I think games

Por iso penso que os xogos

are going to be one of the driving forces of tomorrow's culture.

van ser un dos motores da cultura do mañá.

But if that's the game's part, what about the cults part?

Pero se esa é a parte dos xogos, que acontece coa parte das seitas?

Well, I'm sure we can all agree

Ben, estou seguro de que todos podemos concordar

that the coming years are going to be interesting, to say the least.

en que os anos que veñen van ser interesantes, como pouco.

From climate change, mass migration,

Desde o cambio climático ás migracións masivas,

pandemics, job loss

as pandemias, a perda de traballo

and now war.

e agora a guerra.

The future feels terrifying for many people.

O futuro resulta aterrador para moitas persoas.

And this is having a tremendous impact on our mental health.

E isto está a ter un impacto tremendo na nosa saúde mental.

One third of all US undergraduates surveyed

Un terzo de todos os universitarios dos EE.UU. enquisados

report having moderate to severe anxiety.

declaran padecer ansiedade de moderada a severa.

Their rates of suicidal thinking and severe depression

A proporción deles que pensa no suicidio ou sofre depresión severa

doubled over the last decade or so.

duplicouse ao longo da década pasada.

And COVID didn't help.

E a COVID non axudou.

But it's not just the US, either.

Pero non só pasa nos Estados Unidos.

Two thirds of those surveyed in a study of 17 different countries

Dous terzos dos enquisados nun estudo realizado en 17 países

reported that they thought their children were going to grow up poorer

declararon pensar que os seus fillos ían medrar sendo máis pobres

and not have successful careers.

e carecendo de éxito profesional.

In other words,

Noutras palabras,

the world feels like it's falling apart for a lot of people.

para moita xente o mundo parece estarse vindo abaixo.

And when worlds fall apart,

E cando o mundo se vén abaixo,

people start looking for answers wherever they can find them.

a xente comeza a procurar respostas onde queira que as poidan atopar.

And charismatic leaders like Hassan have always been happy to provide them.

E líderes carismáticos coma Hassan sempre estiveron dispostos a aportalas.

And their actions have shaped the course of history.

E as súas accións teñen moldeado o curso da historia.

From the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century

Dende a reforma protestante no século 16

to the rise of new religious movements in the 19th century,

ao auxe dos novos movementos relixiosos no século 19,

every era of social change historically has been followed by a wave

todas as eras de cambio social foron seguidas

of new believers and fanatical behavior.

por unha onda de novos crentes e unha conduta fanática.

QAnon is just the most recent example.

QAnon só é o exemplo máis recente.

And while each generation's cults look different

E malia que as seitas de cada xeración teñen diferente aspecto

and the definition of a cult is certainly up for debate,

e a definición de seita certamente está aberta a debate,

they do share general characteristics.

comparten unhas características xerais.

The first is that they inspire a sense of higher purpose,

A primeira é que inspiran un sentido de propósito superior,

often through a lens of good versus evil, where you are the hero,

a miúdo visto como “o ben contra o mal”, onde ti es o heroe,

that creates a sense of passion or commitment that seems insane

o cal crea unha paixón e un compromiso

que resultan desquiciados ou irracionais ao que mira dende fóra.

or irrational to the outsider.

And the second is that they adopt the form of

E a segunda é que adoptan a forma

and use the tools of the dominant organizations of their day.

e empregan as ferramentas das organizacións dominantes do seu tempo.

From the church

Desde a Igrexa

to the corporation

ás corporacións,

to the social media network

ás redes sociais,

to our subject for today, the metaverse.

ou ao que nos ocupa hoxe, o metaverso.

So what happens when you mix billions of people looking for meaning,

Así que, ¿que acontece cando mesturas a miles de millóns de persoas

safety and security

que procuran un sentido e unha seguridade

with widespread virtual worlds,

con mundos virtuais xeneralizados,

crypto economies and gaming culture?

cripto-economías e cultura dos videoxogos?

The answer, I believe, is “gamecults.”

A resposta, creo eu, son as “seitas dos xogos”.

Large-scale social movements

Movementos sociais a gran escala

powered by extreme or bizarre beliefs,

impulsados por crenzas extremas ou estrañas

birthed in virtual worlds,

nacidas nos mundos virtuais,

driven by game dynamics,

guiadas polas dinámicas de xogo,

but with real-world consequence.

pero con consecuencias no mundo real.

The future is about to get weird.

O futuro vaise volver estraño.

We can already see examples of this all around us.

Xa podemos ver exemplos disto arredor de nós.

We just haven't had a name for it yet.

Só que ata o de agora non lle tiñamos un nome.

Softer versions look like BTS stans swarming Donald Trump rallies online,

As versións máis suaves son

como fanáticos de BTS que van a reunións de Trump en liña,

but more extreme versions look like Hezbollah's own custom-made video game

pero hai versións máis extremas coma o videoxogo realizado por Hezbollah

called Special Forces, designed to recruit young people

chamado Forzas Especiais, deseñado para recrutar xente nova

and train them to kill their enemies.

e adestrala para matar aos seus inimigos.

White nationalist groups are hosting Call of Duty tournaments online

Os grupos de nacionalistas brancos celebran torneos en rede de “Call of Duty”

to attract followers,

para atraer seguidores,

and there are Roblox games where you can drive your car

e hai xogos de Roblox nos que podes arrollar co teu coche

through Black Lives Matter protesters

a manifestantes de Black Lives Matter

or assume the role of Kyle Rittenhouse and shoot anti-fascist protesters.

ou asumir o papel de Kyle Rittenhouse e disparar a antifascistas nunha protesta.

And there are many other examples,

E hai moitos outros exemplos,

but all of them are wrapped in a layer of Discord servers

pero todos eles están envoltos nunha capa de servidores de Discord

and YouTube channels and podcasts

canles de Youtube e podcasts,

that act as the funnel to draw you deeper into a web of extremism

que fan as veces de funil para absorberte nunha rede de extremismo

e conduta radical.

and radical behavior.

What starts on the screen no longer stays on the screen.

O que comeza na pantalla xa non permanece só na pantalla.

QAnon is a perfect example of this.

QAnon é un exemplo perfecto disto.

What started on 4chan and Facebook,

O que comezou en 4chan e Facebook,

mutated into a live-action role-playing group

mutou nun grupo de xogadores de rol de acción real

for evangelical militants

para militantes evanxélicos,

and ended up as an anti-vaccination campaign.

e acabou derivando nunha campaña antivacinación.

Before you know it,

Antes de que nos decatásemos,

we have a million excess deaths from COVID in the United States

tiñamos un millón de mortes engadidas pola COVID nos Estados Unidos

and a political landscape far stranger than anything we've ever seen.

e un panorama político moito máis raro do que nunca vimos.

The same is going to be true for games.

O mesmo vai pasar cos xogos.

First you're a player,

Primeiro es un xogador,

then you're a fan,

despois un fanático,

soon you're in a clan,

axiña estás nun clan,

and before you know it, you're invading the Capitol.

e antes de te decatares, estás invadindo o Capitolio.

So I'm a futurist.

Así que son futurólogo.

E hai un dito a propósito dos futurólogos,

And there's a saying with futurists,

que o teu traballo non é soamente predicir o automóbil,

that your job is not to just predict the automobile,

but to predict the traffic jams.

tamén é prever os atascos.

So what might this look like in 10 or 20 years,

Cal poderá ser a situación en 10 ou 20 anos,

cando a realidade aumentada e a virtual

when widespread augmented and virtual reality

meets thriving crypto economies and a generalized crisis of meaning?

conflúan coas cripto-economías en aumento e cunha crise xeneralizada de valores?

Well in the future,

No futuro,

games are going to be everywhere.

os xogos van estar en todas partes.

They're going to move from our screens and onto the streets around us.

Vanse desprazar das nosas pantallas ás rúas, arredor de nós.

Hundreds of millions, if not billions of people

Centos de millóns, ou miles de millóns de persoas

will be buying, selling, making and trading virtual goods online.

van mercar, vender, crear e trocar bens virtuais na rede.

They're going to assume roles as characters,

Van asumir roles dos personaxes,

follow quests and get real-world money for in-game performance.

seguir misións e obter diñeiro real pola actuación no xogo.

Guilds, corporations and clans will form around them.

Gremios, corporacións e clans formaranse arredor deles.

They might start offering salaries, paying benefits,

Comezarán a ofrecerlles soldos, prebendas,

and providing real-world services like education or health care or even security.

e proporcionarlles servizos do mundo real coma educación, sanidade ou seguridade.

People's entire lives will be built around their characters and their stories,

Toda a vida das persoas construirase a partir dos seus personaxes e historias

particularly if things get really bad.

sobre todo se as cousas se poñen moi mal.

And those stories will come to dominate popular culture and politics.

E esas historias chegarán a controlar a cultura popular e a política.

Now, thankfully, not all of them will be harmful,

Agora ben, por fortuna, non todas elas serán daniñas,

but some will be violently evangelical in their nature.

pero algunhas serán violentamente evanxelizadoras de seu.

It's got me thinking, there must be a better way

Isto fíxome pensar que debe haber un xeito mellor

that we can use these dynamics

de empregar estas dinámicas

to heal instead of harm.

para curar en troques de facer mal.

So I started thinking, what might this look like?

Así que comecei a matinar, como se podería concretar?

How can we explore possible futures for positive gamecults?

Como podemos explorar futuros posibles para seitas dos xogos que sexan positivas?

Velaquí tres exemplos discorridos por algúns amigos e mais eu.

So here are just three examples I came up with a few friends.

Consider Druidica, a Minecraft-like nature game

Observemos Druidica, un xogo de natureza tipo Minecraft

designed to restore damaged ecosystems

deseñado para reparar ecosistemas danados

and preserve indigenous knowledge.

e preservar a sabedoría indíxena.

Or perhaps Walkabout,

Ou se cadra Walkabout,

a Rust-like survival game for refugees

un xogo de supervivencia para refuxiados ao estilo do Rust

designed to encourage skill sharing,

deseñado para fomentar o intercambio de habilidades,

interdependence and mutual aid

a interdependencia e a axuda mutua,

linked to scriptural messages of tolerance and compassion.

o que se vincula ás mensaxes bíblicas de tolerancia e compaixón.

Or perhaps Temple, a pray-to-earn game,

Ou quizais Temple, un xogo de rezar para gañar,

linked to a network of nondenominational meditation spaces

ligado a unha rede de espazos de meditación aconfesionais

where players can perform coordinated acts of care

onde os xogadores poden realizar actos coordinados de coidado

to level up on the good works board.

para subir de nivel no taboleiro de boas obras.

A kind of, decentralized church of kindness,

Un tipo de igrexa da bondade descentralizada,

powered maybe by HOLY coin.

quizais potenciada pola moeda SANTA.

It's clear that something like this is coming.

É palpable que algo coma isto está en camiño.

The question is: What can we do about it now?

A cuestión é: que podemos facer agora?

Tal e como aprendemos das redes sociais,

As we've learned from social media,

technological fixes and regulatory restrictions will only go so far.

as correccións tecnolóxicas e as restricións legais pouco poden facer.

And in the attention economy of political priorities,

E na economía da atención das prioridades políticas,

as seitas dos xogos importan pouco.

gamecults are clearly quite low.

But that’s OK,

Pero non pasa nada,

isto significa que aínda temos tempo de reaccionar a elas.

it means we still have time to do something about them.

That's why I think that everyone,

É por iso que creo que todo o mundo,

from policymakers to players to game designers and gamers

dende lexisladores a xogadores, deseñadores de xogos e xogadores,

should be having a conversation about what this means right now.

deberían estar a falar agora do que isto implica.

If you are a media company,

Se sodes unha empresa de medios de comunicación,

you should be talking to experts in radicalization.

deberiades estar a falar con expertos en radicalización.

If you are a game company,

Se sodes unha compañía de xogos,

you should be speaking to those who don't understand gaming dynamics

deberiades estar a falar con aqueles que non comprenden as dinámicas de xogo

e coas comunidades arredor deles.

and the communities around them.

If you're a church or a religious institution,

Se sodes unha igrexa ou unha institución relixiosa,

you should be understanding how people use these tools to build beliefs

deberiades entender como se usan estas ferramentas para construír crenzas

and what they're believing.

e en que están a crer.

And finally, perhaps most importantly, if you're a parent,

E finalmente, quizais o máis importante, se ti es pai ou nai,

you should be playing games with your kids

deberías estar xogando a videoxogos cos teus cativos

to understand the world that they're growing up in

para entender o mundo no que están crecendo

and to have a conversation with them about the role that they might play in it.

e ter unha conversa con eles sobre o rol que desempeñan nese mundo.

Someone's going to connect these dots.

Alguén vai armar este crebacabezas.

The question is:

A pregunta é:

Who is going to be our modern-day Hassan?

Quen vai ser o Hassan dos nosos días?

And will the games of tomorrow be games of subjugation and domination?

Serán os xogos de mañá xogos de sometemento e dominación?

Or inspiration and liberation.

Ou de inspiración e liberación?

It's really up to us.

Realmente depende de nós.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)