How SCS Trains the Minds Who Shape How We Play
It’s hardly a secret that human beings are hard-wired to crave entertainment. Entire industries, and spinoffs of industries, are devoted to capturing and holding our attention for as long as possible through games, stories and play. Whether we’re enjoying some downtime after a long day, trying to forge new connections with other people or practicing a new skill, we innately gravitate toward the joys of entertainment. In gaming specifically, the tools of the trade are often found deep in the heart of computer science. And the School of Computer Science has long prepared its graduates to apply those tools across a variety of fields that channel back to the art of amusement.For those working in the entertainment field, play is serious business, combining elements not only of technical prowess but also of creative thinking, strategy and social sciences. When done well, the result is an approach that seeks to not only satisfy our desire to be entertained, but also to meet critical societal needs and thoughtfully shape the future.
Using Play as a MotivatorTo understand the fundamental role entertainment plays in our lives, it’s helpful to look at what drives us.According to Jessica Hammer, an associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and director of the Center for Transformational Play (CTP), human beings have two approaches to motivation. One is intentional and purposeful, thinking about the long-term future of what we are doing: We might put together a budget or work out in the morning not because we want to, but because the process allows us to accomplish a later goal.The second motivational state is wanting to enjoy the present, staying in the moment of what we are doing right now. If a process is not motivating enough on its own, introducing play — or gamifying the task — makes working on purpose-driven problems more palatable, Hammer said.
