About Games

Posted by on Feb 13, 2014 in Blog

2.1 Gamification in context

Gamification ist not

  • Making everything a game or an immersive 3D virtual world
  •  any games in the workplace
  • any use of games in the businesss
  • Simulations (although they may constitute serious games)
  • just for marketing, costumer engagement or PBLs ( points, badges, leaderboards )
  • Game theory

Gamification is

  • Listening to what games can teach us
  • Learning from game design (and psychology, management, marketing, economics )
  • Appreciating fun!

 

From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification” from Sebastian Deterding

 

2.2 What is a Game? (by Bernard Suits, “The Grasshopper”)

•  Pre-lusory Goal
•  Constitutive Rules
•  Lusory Attitude
•  voluntarily overcoming unnecessary obstacles

 

2.3 Games and Play

 

PLAY

  •  “Play is the aimless expenditure of exuberant energy.” (Friedrich Schiller)
  • “Play is whatever is done spontaneously and for its own sake.” (George Santayana)
  • “…play creates a zone of proximal development of the child. In play a child always behaves beyond his average age.” (Lev Vygotsky)
  • “Play is free movement within a more rigid structure.” (Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman)

GAMES

  • “A game is a closed, formal system that engages players in a structured conflict, and resolves in an unequal outcome.”  (Tracy Fullerton, Chris Swain and Steven Hoffman)
  • “A game is a series of meaningful choices”  (Sid Meier)
  • “A game is a … domain of contrived contingency that generates interpretable outcomes.”  (Thomas Mallaby)
  • “A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude.”  (Jesse Schell)

 

To sum it up games are about:

  • Voluntariness
  • Learning or problem solving
  • Balance of structure and exploration

 

2.4 Videogames

We’re All Gamers Now  (Source: Pew Foundation and Entertainment Software Association)

  • 97% of kids 12-17 play videogames
  • The average game player is 30 years old
    • –  37% are older than 35
  • 47% percent of all game players are women

 

Not Just Blowing Stuff Up:

  • Sandbox – Minecraft
  • Building – Civilization, SimCity
  • Social building – The Sims, Farmville
  • MMOGs – World of Warcraft
  • Puzzle  – Portal 2, Angry Birds

 

 

2.5 Just a game?

Real World Building Blocks

  • E-business 2.0 –  analytics, cloud, mobile, etc.
  • Social networks and media
  • Loyalty programs
  • Management and marketing research

 

Games Get Real

Games Were Always Real