Video games: solitary activity to a communal one

“So they worked hard to make every single player as good at Halo 3 as possible. Players shared tips and strategies with each other and organized round-the-clock “co-op,” or cooperative, campaign shifts. They called on every registered member of Halo online to pitch in: “This could be something big, but we will need YOU to get it done.” They treated their mission like an urgent duty. “We know we’ll be doing our part,” one game blog declared. “Will you?”
It’s no wonder London Telegraph reporter Sam Leith observed in his coverage of the Halo 3 community that “a big shift has taken place, in recent years, in the way video games are played. What was once generally a solitary activity is now . . . overwhelmingly a communal one.”

Excerpt From: McGonigal, Jane. “Reality Is Broken.”