Gamification

Thanks, a little housekeeping and other stuff.

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Gamification Thanks a little housekeeping and other stuff

Hello all. First of all, thank you so much for making this blog (and its syndication’s) way more successful than I had ever imagined! I would never have thought that people would be interested in what I have to say, so thank you.

This is all a big learning adventure for me, one that I am enjoying greatly. It has also opened up some amazing opportunities!

Facebook

A little house keeping. I have started a Facebook Page about gamification – Gamification World

The idea is to post my blogs up there, but also for it to collect articles I like and tweets I have seen that I think may be interesting to all those of you who love a bit of Gamification. Head over and Like the page if you could 🙂 Read More ...

Gamification: Why Badges can be Bad – Really Bad

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487145 79884958 Gamification Why Badges can be Bad 8211 Really Bad

Last week I got to go to the Digital Shoreditch Play event. It was a wonderful day, listening to games developers, designers, experts and Gamification gurus all with amazing tales to tell from the coal face of the industry.

The audience there were of similar calibre , most being experts in their respective fields. It was talking to a few of these people that really got me thinking. You see, within certain circles, Gamification is almost a swear word. After a little digging I discovered what the real issue was. You see I thought it was some kind of clique that was in place. “Games are ours, business can’t have them”. But actually it was more than that. It was born of a deeper understanding of the psychology of what is know as “extrinsic rewards for intrinsic motivation”. Their objection was not to the use of gamification, but to the generalized poorly conceived usage that is being used and promoted by many. Read More ...

Gamification: Rules Rule, but Shouldn’t Rule Everything.

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Rules rule Gamification Rules Rule but Shouldn 8217 t Rule Everything

Everything has rules. Life works because of rules. Rules have many names and forms. Laws of physics, algebra, logic, frameworks, instructions and more. Without rules you have chaos. That said, some scientists think even chaos has rules.

In games, rules are vital. However free and open a game may seem, there will be a deep set rules that cannot be broken. Be it the size of the map or the way physics work in the game. Minecraft is a good example. Seemingly you can do anything. However, you have to follow rules and instructions to gain that freedom. You have to mine and craft and create – all within the rules of the world around you. Read More ...

Don’t Love Games? Step Away From the Gamification

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New dice Don 8217 t Love Games Step Away From the Gamification

Games. I love them. Board games, card games, video games and anything else you can put the word games after. I play them, I write about them, I think about them, I dream about them and from time to time I even try my hand at making them (http://www.fuzzyd.co.uk/robbers). So what does this have to do with such a business orientated subject as Gamification. One needs to be a savy expert to be able to speak on such highbrow topics – not a games loving lout?

Well Mr suit, that’s where I think you are dead wrong. Jesse Schell in his excellent “The Art of Games Design: A Book of Lenses” asks a simple question. “Do I love my Project”. He goes on to state “If the creators of a game do not love it, the game will surely fail”. So I ask you. If you do not love games, dream about them and want to play them all day every day – how can you talk about gamification with any conviction, let alone make decisions about it’s implementation or design? As horrible as the name may be, gamification contains a key word. Gam(e). Whether you like it or not, implementing gamification is implementing at least some elements that come from games. Read More ...

Gamification: Seamless Integration

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1378640 lips Gamification Seamless Integration

Continuing on from last week’s headline grabbing “The Death of Gamification” post, I want to talk about another aspect of gamification that should be kept simple.

Integration.

In many cases, gamification is meant to add some kind of layer of engagement to a process and possibly even fun. What it is not meant to do is add extra effort for the end user. With that in mind, how you integrate it into your tasks or processes is critical.

If a user thinks that it is too much effort to play the game, they just won’t play. It should all be as seamless as possible. Read More ...