What is Gamification?

Today starts a new MOOC on Coursera.org, which is called Gamification by Kevin Werbach from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Learning goals are:

• What is gamification?
• Why it might be valuable
• How to do it effectively?
• Specific applications

 

Starting with a short definition of gamification by Kevin :

The use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts.

 

GAME ELEMENTS

• Toolbox, a regular design pattern that makes up a game such as Points, Levels, Rewards/ Badges, Avatars, a social graph, …

GAME DESIGN TECHNIQUE

• Games are designed systematically, thoughtfully and artistically for the purpose of being fun
• problem solving attitude

NON-GAME CONTEXT

• Some objective other than success in the game, e.g. Business, school, social impact, personal improvement, …

 

 

Why study Gamification?

 

• ERMERGING BUSINESS PRACTICE
  • fruitful and seen as a hot new business concept adopted by many worlds’ most admired companies (Microsoft, Nike, SAP, Samusung, Foursquare, Dell, eBay, FootlocKer, …)
• GAMES ARE POWERFUL
  • can be addictive and immersive although it’s just an experience done for enjoyment
• LESSONS FROM PSYCHOLOGY, DESIGN, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
  • linked to basic aspects of the way our minds work, e.g. What motivates people? How to do business or an effective marketing campaign?
• HARDER THAN IT APPEARS

 

 

History of the term gamification

• 1912 Cracker Jack
  • an American brand of snack, who put a toy surprise in each package
• 1980 Richard Bartle creates MUD1
  • the first multi user dungeon, being the first time people could share a virtual world in this way. The definition back then was: to turn something that is not a game into a game.
• 1980  to present – research by education and scholars looking at video games and learning, showing that kids could learn from games
  • James Paul Gee, “What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy” and a review about it
  • Thomas W. Malone, “What Makes Things Fun to Learn? A Study of Intrinsically Motivating Computer Games”  (PDF Book Version)
• 2002 to present – Serious Game Initiative by Ben Sawyer and David Rejecsk.
  • Use games for training and simulation for various kinds of non game purposes (e.g.in the military, academia, private sector,.. )
• 2003 Nick Pelling
  • set up a consulting firm Conundra, which promoted gamification of consumer products
• 2005 Bunchball
  • launched its first gamification platform in 2007
• 2010 Jesse Schell presents “Design Outside the Box” at DICE – sarcastic but shows the potential of gamification

• 2010 Jane McGonigal, “Reality is broken” and TED talk “Gaming can make a better world“

 

 

Examples and Categories

 

EXTERNAL

• Marketing
• Sales
• Costumer engagement

Club Psych from the USA Network – a gamified website as an extension of the show “Psych”

 

INTERNAL

• HR
• Productivity enhancement
• Crowdsourcing (internal within a community)

Microsoft’s Language Quality Game – a game-like framework to test localization of Windows 7. Competitive within the microsoft offices although it’s not for money,  a leaderboard shows how many bugs people found

 

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE (gamification as a motivation)

• Health and wellness
• Sustainability
• Personal finance

VW contest “Fun Theory“; a marketing program encouraged people to submit ideas for using games to solve real-world problems. Winner: Speed Camera Lottery – track people who are not speeding and enter them into a lottery so that they’re able to win money. The money comes from the speeding tickets.

 

Lessons learned

• Gamification can motivate
• Applications in many domains/fields
  • external, internal and behaviour change
• Encompasses many techniques