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Our friend Victoria from the Developer Relations team sat down with Jane McGonigal, one of the featured speakers at BlackBerry® DevCon Americas 2011, to chat about game development as well as “gamification”: how gaming concepts can apply to real world challenges. Jane highlights the growth of a gaming generation, and looks to the future when this group will become the majority of the workforce. Lastly, she touches upon the importance of exploring the applicability of gaming early on in order to fully understand this trend. Check out a full video of the interview above!

How do you see gaming concepts applying to everyday life? Reply in the comments below.

Have you ever wondered how playing video games can change the world? I’m thrilled to announce that visionary game designer and futurist, Jane McGonigal, will be speaking at BlackBerry® DEVCON Americas 2011 on Wednesday October 19, 2011.

Her recent book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, explores how some of the most difficult challenges facing humanity can be resolved by tapping into the skills demonstrated in gameplay. Think of how video games offer stimulating challenges, exhilarating rewards, epic victories and collaboration with trusted team members – and then imagine if those same skills could be applied to your next project!

Ms. McGonigal is an engaging speaker whose work offers entertaining and inspiring research. Her credentials include being the director of Game Research and Development at the Institute for the Future, Creative Director of Social Chocolate, and a successful game developer for reality games such as EVOKE, World Without Oil, Crypt Zoo and Superstruct.

As part of her participation in BlackBerry DEVCON Americas, Ms. McGonigal will also hear five pitches from application developers and give feedback into how to improve their apps. Stay tuned on how you can be part of the collaborative session!

Don’t miss this inspiring speaker: register now to attend BlackBerry DEVCON Americas on October 18-20, 2011 in San Francisco, CA.