I take great issue with this term. First, despite the depth of research available about video-games, much of it focuses on what games are, rather than what you can actually do with them.
Second, there has always been media interest in games, however now its often over-connected to negative effects of gaming (which gamification-people avoid), yet now is the new ‘cool’ whereby if you ‘gamify’ life, people will be more responsive – and happy.
Third, there’s a degree of emperor’s clothes and a great way to appear clever in front of others in the tradition of bar-stool-expert-ism. The rule is – if you Tweet it – Build it. The benefits of this Gamification Revolution in their view is that it can extended to include everything including the workplace, school, home, retail and even mental illness. It’s your round.
There are plenty of equally irritating terms that hang out with gamification such as: Mindshare; The New Economy; Paradigm Shift; Convergence-Culture; Brick and Mortar, Sync-up, The [anything] Revolution; Socialize etc., most of which even hipsters would run from. How about they include – Reality is the worst game ever.
Gamification is about shipping product. Discover the new machines such as Badgeville, Big Door, Bunchball, iActionable (most stupid of all stupid names) except for the ROFL – Reputely.
Games are not now media-interesting because of human evolution or change in social-culture – it’s because Banner Ads, Radio, Print and Television didn’t work to well after Jobs ambushed society with is red-cordial first. Gamification is about user acquisition and retention – the same game it’s always been. We stopped listening, so they are paradigm shifting on a wave of media with a vested interest in convincing you to check it — after the ad break — this has almost nothing to do with the complexity of the human interest, motivation and interest in games – any more than you could argue, because we like TV, we’re willing to watch Ads in every moment in our spare time, But that’s what you’re getting.
Gamification is the worst combination of game-rules, game-play and game-worlds. It makes money – go you – but it doesn’t’ make the kind o meaning that will help a kid deal with cyberbulling or the relentless office troll.
What makes any “place” more productive is when it has leadership, creativity and culture that gives people in the “place” opportunities to lead and explore their take on what might improve their productivity and feeling of satisfaction. Games are a place, not a thing – they are somewhere to go where you immerse yourself in a story or create one.
However, despite years of reports clearly showing what makes the work “place” productive, Mental Heath Australia has consistently also reported that workplace bullying costs the workplace tens of billions of dollars a year in lost productivity.
In face according to research by Griffith University, 85% of people thought they had suffered, or seen a colleague suffer bullying at work. I am really unconvinced that gamifiying the workplace will somehow address this – and other well documented long-term issues that people often face on a daily basis.
If anything, people find some escape in games on their computer or mobile phone, tending to opt for ‘snack’ gaming which some research is suggesting is little more than an avoidance strategy to steer clear of situations and people that do not support a harmonious life. We feel safer and more peaceful when we snack-game to avoid life, not because it’s awesum fun.
Imagine that – Angry Birds is actually about finding inner peace (who’s buying) – maybe not but but it allows millions to escape the moment everyday. So why not figure out what’s wrong the moment.
Gamifying (which is the ‘cool’ spelling) a bad “place” won’t make it a good place, so I figure you’re a Noob until you’ve made a good place, somewhere people want to be – and see if people come. And, actually do it with your time and money – if you’re right, you have nothing to lose and everything to win.
That gets my attention … nothing else.
Playable 