Schell heard from a player who was disappointed at first that the game didn’t allow the trash talking and arguments as permitted in other MMOs – but after playing ToonTown, he found himself encouraging, rather than disparaging other players in Dark Ages of Camelot: the player realized that Toontown had had an effect on his behavior, helping him to model and practice positivity. “When you really care about what your game is going to do to somebody… if you put that in there, people feel it and they acknowledge it,” said Schell. “They appreciate it, because nothing feels better than the feeling that ‘someone else cares what I’ve accomplished.’” One person who knew this better than anyone else is Mister Rogers, says Schell. Fred Rogers entered television because he hated it, and wanted to use its power for good – and in his work encouraged those who use media platforms to think of themselves as being in the service of the nation. Rogers, a minister, felt the way he could best serve the world was to make programming that would encourage children to be better people through simple messages, instead of through overt religious teachings. He viewed media as an expression of care for children, and believed that if children could have their feelings taken seriously, they would use their emotions in caring, meaningful ways as adults. “The 21st century is going to be a war for human attention,” says Schell. “And where the attention of a culture goes, defines that culture.” (via Gamasutra – News – G4C: Schell On Games’ Power For Peace)