Augmented reality has the potential to bring digital artifices to the real world. AR gurus constantly speak of geo-location, intuitive search, the Internet of Things and other such high concepts. Digital natives squeeze efficient behavior out of a chaotic world, using their social media, smartphones and apps.
What if we applied those concepts to our lives through a living breathing game designed to make our civilization more efficient than the others? Much the same way we are using No Child Left Behind to apply testing to our school systems to make the US more competitive in a global market. Does testing and measuring and keeping score make people better? Can an algorithm be applied to every skill? How does one nurture innovation?
These are all the questions, and more, that I asked myself when thinking about the world of Gamers. What would our society be like if everything was a game designed to make us better?
Cue the press announcement:
Black MoonBooks is proud to present the first novel in a new YA trilogy from Thomas K. Carpenter called GAMERS:
“Two points for brushing your teeth. Ten points for keeping your room tidy. Seventy-two points for the Bioeconomic Game Design pop quiz on the ride to school in your personal FunCar. Another thirty for making every hurdle in gym class.
Life is a game, unless you’re not the one winning.
When Gabby DeCorte, top student and reality-hacker extraordinaire, learns the truth about LifeGame, she must choose between winning and what she believes in.”
Gamers can be found on eBook for $4.99 at:
And in mid-June Gamers will be available in paperback for $13.99.
Holy Crap! Awesome! 🙂
ooooh! sounds interesting!
and Rachel did a great job!
Yeah. The even more amazing thing was she went from stock photo to front-and-back cover in less than three days. I think she worked on it about 40 hours during that time. I’m really blown away.
“Life is a game, unless you’re not the one winning.”
It’s funny how that works, isn’t it? When you’re winning, it’s hard to think that others are losing.