Jane McGonigal

Jane McGonigal

Game Designer and Author

Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., is a world-renowned designer of alternate reality games — or games designed to improve real lives and solve real problems.

She is a two-time New York Times best-selling author: Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World and SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

Her TED talks on how games can make a better world and the game that can give you ten extra years of life are among the all-time most popular TED talks and have more than 15 million views.

She is best known as the inventor and co-founder of SuperBetter, a game that has helped more than a million players tackle real-life health challenges such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and traumatic brain injury.

Everything Videos Articles
learned helplessness
Neuropsych
Debunked: “learned helplessness,” a theory developed from a cruel animal experiment
Helplessness isn't learned — it's an instinctual response that can be overcome.
Jane McGonigal
2 min
Latest Videos
Mirroring: The Body Language of Love and Attraction
People naturally mimic each other's body language, so when you notice it happening to you, it may be a sign that you are personally or professionally compatible with the other person.
Jane McGonigal
2 min
Latest Videos
“Power Breath” Is Better Than Deep Breathing for Relaxing Mind and Body
Most people are familiar with the technique of taking deep inhalations to relax themselves, but one breathing technique is more effective at returning your body to a naturally calm and connected state.
Jane McGonigal
3 min
Latest Videos
Use the ‘plus one’ technique to make your friend’s day a little better
Make personal connections more meaningful with people you already know and care about, and deepen your relationship with others who you're just getting to know.
Jane McGonigal
2 min
Latest Videos
Kill Cravings by Letting Video Games Hijack Your Visual Cortex
Here's a simple mind hack: If you've got a craving, let Tetris satiate it.
Jane McGonigal
2 min
Latest Videos
Predicting the Future Primes Your Brain for Learning
Every time that you make a prediction you get a little bomb of dopamine in the reward pathways of your brain. That dopamine helps you pay closer attention, to process information more effectively, and to be more engaged with what’s going.
Jane McGonigal
1 min
Latest Videos
Engage Your Team Through Gaming, with Jane McGonigal
In this lesson excerpt from Big Think+, video game designer Jane McGonigal walks you through the ways in which gaming can lead to positive outcomes in the workplace. By the end of it, you may just want to integrate gaming into your break space design or your next corporate retreat!
Jane McGonigal
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