Not all who wander are lost. How Fallout 4 Changed How I Think About Career Development

First things first, I want to admit that I’m not a huge gamer — at least not anymore. Sure, I play the occasional first person shooter but when it comes to RPGs or open world games, it’s been a while.

That being said, I love Fallout 4.

Sometime shortly after the player-controlled protagonist emerged from an underground bunker 210 years after a nuclear war, I became consumed with exploring the post-apocalyptic world. The late night hour or two I can steal away from work is now spent scavenging for resources, battling adversaries, and building weapons and settlements to allow for myself and the people of Massachusetts to survive in the harsh, dystopian landscape.

While any gamer reading this is already on board, some of you may be rolling your eyes. A fascination with a virtual gaming experience conjures thoughts of childish fantasy or avoidance of day-to-day realities. For these non-believers, I urge you to look into the work of Jane McGonigal and her TED talk Gaming Can Make A Better World. McGonigal is a game designer whose stated mission is, “to make it as easy to save the world in real life as it is in online games.”

In 2009, she suffered a severe concussion and found herself bedridden and suicidal. With her mental and…