Learning from the past to improve the future

Stonehenge 101801 1920 Learning from the past to improve the future

I was recently included in a couple of tweets where people were discussing their path to getting into gamification. I was one of the people mentioned as part of their learning journey.

It was an odd experience.

I have never considered myself influential, but am aware that over the years I have been in the world of gamification. People have done research based on my work, built products and even earned degrees and PhD’s citing my work as a core to theirs.  But I still don’t see myself in that way. I have spoken about imposter syndrome in the past, but basically, it is hard for me to accept that I deserve to be where I am. Read More ...

Learning From Games: Fortnite and Exclusivity

Recently, gaming phenomenon, Fortnite ran an event that signalled the end of their current season and a whole new set of clues to what may be coming next.

Two weeks prior to the event, players had seen a skull on in-game televisions, which had turned into a countdown – heading towards the 30th of June. The Friday before the event, an in-game message advised players to get into the game on the 30th and look to the sky.

Players who were able to get in then witnessed a rocket launch that tore open an interdimensional rift in the sky. Read More ...

Considering Age and other factors in Gamification

When speaking to people about gamification, I often hear comments along the line of “Yeah, but games are only for kids”, or “Yeah, but the age groups who work here are not interested in games”.

What is very nice these days, is how easy it is to dispell these myths with statistics (yeah I know, Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics).

Roughly (I say this as this is coming from multiple sources and 2017 quarters), in the UK, 43% of people aged 6-64 say that they play video games in some form. Of that group, 57% are male, 43% female. If we consider that working age is around 18 to 60 (ish), you are looking at about 78% of the total gaming group are potentially playing games., peaking around the 25 to 44 age group, but still significant in the 44 to 64 age group. Read More ...

Learning From Games: Space Invaders – Simplicitas est Perfectum

To this day, Space Invaders is one of my all-time favourite games.  Born the same year as me (1978), it is a classic in every sense of the word.

What I love is the simplicity, There is no heavy backstory, there is no complicated power-up system, no fancy boss battles or in-game purchases!

The instructions whole scene was set in one line of the four lines of instructions.

Game ends when players “Laser Bases” are all hit by invaders missiles or when invaders overun the base.

Simple as that! In one line of text, you know everything you been to know. You control a laser base and you need to defend it from the invaders. You quickly learn that there are some building you can hide under, but they can be destroyed and that from time to time a bonus can be had from hitting the mothership style alien. Read More ...

My Mental Health and How Gamification Has Helped

It is mental health awareness week, so I felt this would be a good opportunity to share with you one nugget of life strategy that gamification helped me learn.

I have made no secret that I have suffered from anxiety and depression most of my life. These have, at times, crippled me in ways that those without the issues find hard to understand. The truth is that no matter what strategy you may think you have, the first step is always to accept help. Easier said than done, but it is essential. No one should or can go through it alone and come out the other side in one piece. Read More ...

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