Beware of Popularity Contests

Book thumbs Beware of Popularity Contests

Voting. A fair and representational way to decide if A is better than B… Isn’t it? A simple mechanic where people are asked to express their opinion by way of simply ticking a box, or clicking a button or whatever.

However, as we can see time and time again, this is not actually as fair as it seems on the face of it. Instead of being a fair view of what people feel about something, it actually turns into a popularity contest.

If you set up a competition where the criteria is “he who has the most votes wins”, what do you think is going to happen? Are those invovled going to just sit back and wait for votes to come in, or are they going to campaign? If they campaign, who will they campaign to? Will they be people who can make an informed decision on what is actually the best option, or will it be friends, family and social media followers? Worse still, will it be people who have been encouraged into voting (read bribed)? Read More ...

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Looking for some feedback

Uni1 Looking for some feedback

Hi all. No words of pseudo-wisdom this week, just looking for some feedback!

Last year I wrote an updated version of Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play called the Unicorn Edition.

It contains large updates to the content as well as 50 or so new pages.

Now, I sent this to a few publishers and have been spending many months working with one to get a proposal together. However, it looks like I will need to completely rewrite the book to fit their audience. No more monkeys or unicorns!

My question to you all is (and answer here or on twitter http://www.twitter.com/daverage), would you like me to release the Unicorn version on Amazon myself, or would you rather wait for the more “business” friendly version if/when it comes out? Read More ...

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10 Top Gamification Tips – And A Question

10 gamification tips 10 Top Gamification Tips 8211 And A Question

Hi there you lovely, lovely gamification enthusiasts! First off, I wanted to collate 10 tips for gamification greatness that I published on Twitter not long ago. Keep these in mind and you are destined for great things… probably.

  1. Recognise don’t bribe.
  2. Challenge don’t patronise.
  3. Focus on solving the problem not on forcing fun.
  4. Record everything you can, but be sure to define clear metrics to measure success and failure.
  5. The rules of the system need to give everyone the same opportunities to thrive.
  6. Let people fail, but make sure they can learn from it.
  7. Gamification should enhance, not annoy.
  8. Bring your solution together with a strong theme and narrative.
  9. Collaboration will encourage a more diverse group of players and deeper engagement than pure competition.
  10. Gamification should be an intrinsic part of the design, not an aesthetic afterthought.

Secondly, I am starting a new book and have a question for you. It is a companion book for Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play, focusing on the practical aspects of gamification. It is going to be shorter and will have less of an academic feel (don’t look for  along citation page at the end). Read More ...

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Simulation Breaks Free in Game Thinking

Game thinking v6 Simulation Breaks Free in Game Thinking

Well, it has been a long time coming – but Simulation has finally broken free from Serious Games in my Game Thinking “framework”. It will take a while for me to update everything, but I wanted to share the draft entry for simulations in Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play.

A simulation is a virtual representation of something from the real world, such as a flight simulator. Often this can be hard to distinguish from a game or a serious game, as they look very game like. The difference is that a simulation does not usually need gameplay elements in order to function and fulfil its designed intent. It exists to allow users to practice an activity in a safe environment. Read More ...

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Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Errata

Even ninja title Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play Errata

I would like to thank Alisa Odincova for pointing out an error in the references for Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play.

“[…] a word like “game” points to a somewhat diffuse “system” of prototype frames, among which some frame-shifts are easy, but others involve more strain”
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Marczewski, Andrzej (2015-10-12). Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Gamification, Game Thinking & Motivational Design (Kindle Locations 357-359).
Gamified UK. Kindle Edition.

I referenced this as Wittgenstein, L. Philosophical Investigations. GEM Anscombe, (1953). Read More ...

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