We think of games as escapist – as helping us forget about real lives – rather than as adding to our real lives. We think of games as something we play to forget about our problems – not to help us solve real problems. We think of games as fundamentally separate from reality – and I am here to say that this is not only completely wrong, it’s actually the most dangerous idea we have about games today. Why is it a dangerous idea? Because the biggest obstacle to industry growth is the perception that games are a waste of time. Meanwhile, the biggest source of criticism of videogames is that they are addicting and a distraction from what really matters: real life. The great challenge for the next decade of games is to battle this perception – AND to do a better job of making games that clearly and powerfully connect with our real lives.