Today we welcome Jane McGonigal. She is a world-renowned game designer who challenges players to tackle real-world problems such as poverty, depression, and climate change through collaboration. Jane is also a future forecaster, serving as the current Director of Games Research & Development at the Institute for the Future. Her games and forecasting work have been featured in The New York Times, Wired, The Economist, CNN, NPR and more. As a two-time New York Times bestselling author, she has recently published her third book called Imaginable. In this episode, I talk to Jane McGonigal about the intersection of gaming and future forecasting. Jane asserts that games are not just for escapist entertainment; they could also be used to help prepare us for what’s to come. Imagining fictional simulations can inspire us to make present changes which can influence our personal and collective futures for the better. We also touch on the topics of creativity, psychotherapy, forecasting, hope, and tech. Website: janemcgonigal.comTwitter: @avantgame Topics02:20 Futurist game design05:49 Imagination and the psychological safety of games09:25 Forecasting and psychotherapy 17:01 Urgent optimism21:16 Predicting the COVID-19 pandemic in 201023:59 Can we predict our own futures?27:58 Affective vs behavioral forecasting34:16 The Institute for the Future37:01 Future scenarios change present behavior41:51 The perils and promise of facial recognition47:34 Assessment and benefits of futurist imagination52:58 The need for more longitudinal studies