Gamification: Adding the unusual to the usual to create benefit.

1207907 74613910 Gamification Adding the unusual to the usual to create benefit

Good day and all. Today I am merely rambling to try to either prove or disprove an idea I have.

I was thinking about short definitions for Gamification – outside of the usual

Add game mechanics to non game tasks

The more I look at Gamification, the more unsatisfied I am with that description. There is so much more to Gamification.

I have written in length about that side of Gamification. The use of extrinsic rewards, badges, leaderboards, social elements etc. The more I look, the more I realise how much more we are trying to capture under that one wading of Gamification. Read More ...

GSummit,Bubbles, Badges and the Future

1381916 89731304 GSummit Bubbles Badges and the Future

I have been catching up on the events of GSummit over the weekend. I was very heartened to hear so many people talking about moving beyond badges and xp systems. They were looking for the next phase of engagement. You just need to look at FourSquare recently ditching its gamified elements to see that we are hitting the first big dip in user interest in this kind of thing.

However, there were still quite a few talking about promoting engagement with the use of simple badging / xp systems. I must admit, at first I was a little confused. Then I realised that I was totally missing the context that these ideas were being discussed in. Read More ...

Rewarding Failure – Can It Work In Gamification?

914483 54526013 Rewarding Failure 8211 Can It Work In Gamification

In a lot of posts, I talk about rewards. My last post discussed the potential dangers of extrinsic rewards when used to try to motivate intrinsic behaviour. So I imagine that most of you think that rewarding failure is a bit of a no brainer. No way. Why would anyone reward anyone for failure?

Banks Do It

A good example this kind of reward can be seen in bonus culture. Think of all of the bankers who were blamed for the recent collapses. Many were quoted as being shocked at the idea that they may not get their bonuses. Bonuses in the banking business are expected. They are used to ensure that people stay in their role. The fact that they failed horribly is irrelevant. They were still rewarded for failure. If that is the case, how do you motivate success? Read More ...

Thanks, a little housekeeping and other stuff.

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

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 ...