As we edge closer to Gamification EU, I was thinking about the lessons I wish I had learned earlier on when I started in Gamification. Keep in mind, at that stage there was not a lot of information about gamification, it was in its infancy (2011/2012).
After a lovely 3-week break from writing (my longest since about 2012!!), I am back.
I will get back to the “Introduction” series next week and will hopefully compile them into a new book soon as well.
But I wanted to just share a little thought with you.
Gamification, as a term, seems to be getting less popular. Sure, it is still getting search a lot, but I am seeing fewer people using the term to sell products. It is often relegated to the second or third thing on their list if selling points, rather than the first thing as was popular a few years ago.
Gamification is often thought about as a digital realm, but that is not the case at all! Some of the best gamification I have seen has been “analogue”, or not digital. I myself have written about simple gamification experiments with eh kids that were entirely paper-based.
Just like games, gamification can be just as effective in the non-digital world as it can in the digital world. Think about it, games have existed since history began, with games like Senet being dated back to 3000BC in Egypt and evidence of dice like objects as far back as 5000BC.
Happy 2019. I thought this year I would go back to the beginning and reintroduce all of my previous work for a whole new generation! Sounds boring and a copout, I know. However, having not long released Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Unicorn Edition, it seems like a good time to have a bit of a fresh look at things.
So, starting at the beginning, let’s explore what gamification is, 8 years after I first discovered its existence!
The first thing to keep in mind is that gamification is not just about making games. In a true game, entertainment is the desired outcome of what the designer is building. In gamification, there is normally a defined business outcome, such as higher engagement rates. Entertainment is very rarely the core reason a business will want gamification in their product or service.
Yep, paradoxical title alert!
Recently I got into a very interesting debate on LinkedIn about the definition of Gamification. Now, I have long had my definition of gamification, one that doesn’t stray too far from the closest thing we have to a “proper” definition.
Whichever definition you follow or whomsoever you may ask in the industry, 9 times out of 10 you will get something along those lines. The core of most peoples definition revolves around the use of game “bits” to improve things that are not games. What they don’t often say is that it is creating a game.