I’m all for games enhancing real-world experience. My interest in games for education, social change, and art are all based around getting players to see or act in the real world in a new way after playing.

Even in abstract or fantasy settings, games are very powerful for their ability to shape the perceptions of players, the so-called “Tetris Effect”. (I wrote about this in a blog post “Games and Perceptual Apathy” – click my name for the link)

And even fantasy worlds don’t have to be disconnected from reality. Tolkien’s defense “On Fairy-Stories” is one thing, but even if you don’t accept that, there can be a lot of allegory and meaning in the most bizarre of worlds. For example, I recently came across an analysis of Spirited Away, one of my favorite animated movies, that explained how the story could be interpreted as a critique of capitalism in Japanese society and the Meiji Restoration. I had always thought that Spirited Away was just an awesomely bizarre and vivid world, but seeing these connections deepened my appreciation of it so much more.

(if you want to read the article, you can search for “A nightmare of capitalist Japan”)