Top 10 Myths of Gamification

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Mark Schreiber

Adam and Eve Leveling Down

1. Gamification is new.

Tell that to Adam and Eve, who got history’s biggest level down on the Apple Challenge.

2. Gamification is a passing fad.

Why do people always say “passing fad?” Aren’t all fads passing? In any case, if it’s not new it can’t be a fad. What critics are referring to is digital gamification, which is new only because cheap mobile devices with more computing power than the Apollo space program are new. Unless the lights go out, gamification won’t either.

3. Gamification is worthless because it’s superficial.

Hey, you’re not lying on the beach or spending $150 at the salon for the benefit of your internal organs. Unless you’re at a wedding or a funeral, there’s nothing wrong with being superficial.

4. The name’s too ugly to last.

I get paid by the letter, so I love it. And you’re mistaken if you think length or awkwardness spells a word’s doom. Can you say “entrepreneurship?”

5. Gamification is no different from a game. It’s a distinction without a difference.

The Olympic events are games. The medal ceremonies with podiums and flags and national anthems are gamification. [Insert from Keith: Game lets people escape from the real world. Gamification lets people escape IN the real world]

Black pride!

6. Gamification is by nature less important than a real game.

Then why do people cry at medal ceremonies? Why do they mean so much? The scene at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fist on the podium as a expression of black pride is remembered to this day, long after the race itself was forgotten.

7. A lot of people won’t buy in.

Everyone already buys in, whether it’s fantasy football leagues or frequent flier programs or church raffles. Critics underestimate the degree to which people everywhere are already innured to gamification.

8. Gamification is a Science

Gamification is an art.

9. Gamification is easy.

Then you do it.

10. Gamification exploits people.

Bad gamification exploits people. Good gamification empowers them.

Battleship – The Game, the Film, the Gamification

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Mark Schreiber

In 1967 Milton Bradley (since bought by Hasbro) introduced the game Battleship. It was a very simple concept based on a old paper and pencil game, but it was easy to learn, quick to play and had the novelty that players only saw half the board. The ships didn’t move and there was only one kind of weapon, but you got to put plastic pegs into holes and pretend you were a lot cleverer than you really were.

Like most successful games it survived new technologies rather than being made obsolete by them. There was an electronic version and a digital version. And now of course there is a 200 million dollar movie.

Battleship

Believe it or not, once there was a time when films looked to people like Dickens and Tennessee Williams for inspiration. Now Hollywood looks to comic books, Disney rides and board games for its source material. I don’t know why they haven’t made Candy Land yet, as it would be 90 minutes of product placement for theatrical concessions. (Not being someone to overestimate the sophistication of popular taste, I decided after writing that last sentence to check that indeed there was not a Candy Land movie, and learned Adam Sandler has signed on to do it.)

But much as I’d like to rant about the film business, I’ll keep to the subject of gamification. The enterprise side of gamification rests on the premise that game elements can increase customer or employee engagement and therefore increase profits in the former case and reduce costs in the latter. But however it’s pitched, the bottom line is the bottom line. Gamification is good for business.

Critics, notably game developers and enthusiasts, see these corporations as aliens, to borrow one of their favorite metaphors, unfamiliar with the pristine craft of game design. They are simply money-hungry entities eager to use whatever methods they can find to exploit the masses. But strangely, in all the blogs and articles and videos I’ve digested on the subject, I haven’t come across a single acknowledgement that movie studios are also huge corporations.

On the contrary, the dramatization of games is viewed by game developers and companies as the God Level. The movie version inherits a core market of Battleship devotees, if there is such a thing, and the game company gets a pile of cash and a two-hour advertisement to sell the game to a new generation.

My question is: How is the dramatization of a game any different from gamification? My answer is, I don’t think there is a difference. The worst kind of gamification is simply awarding points to pointless acts, failing to connect rewards to genuine achievements. But is the bastardization of gaming any different from the scene in Battleship when our heroes search for the enemy on a computer screen deliberately meant to reference the plastic grid of the Milton Bradley game?

What’s the point of that tedious sequence? Or the fact that this is a first encounter story with aliens, when the board game had no aliens? Exploitation of one creative product to make money for another can be done well or poorly. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, based on a ride that at least has a trace of a narrative, is an example of it being done well. But exploitation in itself shouldn’t be a valid subject of criticism. It’s a feature of the natural world. It’s an unrepentant part of our culture.

At the conclusion of Battleship the movie Lieutenant Hopper receives the Silver Star for saving the world. A medal for a great achievement. Now that’s gamification done right.

How can I get even more points in the Digital Life/Diablo III Quest?

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Brenda

So, you got all the possible points you can get in the Digital Life/Diablo III Quest. Now … what?

Sit back and wait for the results to be announced? NAWWWWWH.

Because … you can get even more points when people ‘like’ your claims! (Claims = your submissions to the challenges, for the non-GameMaki savvy.)

And considering how everyone stands to earn the same number of points after doing all the challenges, getting these extra ‘likes’ makes a huuuuuuuge difference!

WHOA! I WANT POINTS NAO! TELL ME HOW TO GET THESE EXTRA POINTS!

Sure, sure! Here goes!

1. Get your friends to sign up at Gamemaki.com!
2. Direct them to your profile. (You may find your direct profile URL from your settings!)
3. Get them to click ‘like’ on as many claims as you have!

It’s really that simple! And of course, the more ‘likes’ you get on your claims, the more points you get! So, grab as many friends as you can and get them to ‘like’ your claims!

GO, GO, GO!

P/S: No cheating! Believe me, we CAN tell. (;

The Digital Life/Diablo III Quest – Everything you need to know!

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Brenda

Diablo 3 was released worldwide just a few days ago on 15th May 2012 … and now we have hoards of angry girlfriends grumbling at how their guys prefer to spend endless amounts of time with a square monitor instead of with them.

Diablo 3
Photo credit to Nerd4Sure

Well, this should change it all! Organized by Digital Life Singapore, go on your very own real-life Diablo III Quest and take on Diablo III-themed challenges … away from a computer screen!

Now, you’re probably grumbling at WHY are we dragging you away from your computer screens. Well, if you are a true blue Diablo fanboy, you totally MUST do this Quest. WHY? Because of all the amazing prizes that are in store for you if you win!

What’s in store for me if I win?

CHAMPION
The champion will walk away with prizes worth more than $2000 from Dell and AsiaSoft!

ZOMG! I want in! How do I take part?

ZOMG!

Simple! From 23rd May 2012, head over to The Digital Life/Diablo III Quest page and check out the challenges that are listed!

Then, proceed to do the challenges! It’s that simple. The more creative your claims, the better. You’ll earn 20 points for every challenge you do, and you stand to earn even MORE points when people ‘like’ your claim! (Every ‘like’ received on a claim will earn you an additional 5 points.) So, get your friends in to support you by clicking on that little heart below your claim!

The quest is also available on Digital Life Singapore’s Facebook Page.

A representative from GameMaki and Digital Life will moderate claims on a regular basis and remove claims that are irrelevant, repeated, inappropriate or do not fit the requirements.

The game will run for a week starting from 23rd May 2012. All challenges will expire at 2359hrs on 30th May 2012.

Terms & Conditions

This contest is open to Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are fans of Digital Life Singapore’s Facebook page.

Employees of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and their immediate family members are not eligible.

SPH reserves the right to amend the contest rules or cancel it without prior notice. Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for cash and may be subject to availability. Value of the prizes may vary and SPH reserves the right to replace any prizes with items of similar value.

All entries must adhere to the contest mechanics as listed in the Digital Life/Diablo III Quest. Only one entry per challenge is allowed. All entries will be moderated, and SPH reserves the right to disqualify errant contestants who do not adhere to the contest rules.

Winners will be notified via the email address registered on GameMaki. Once contacted, winners are required to confirm acceptance of the prizes and provide their personal particulars for verification purposes, including:
1. Name
2. NRIC number
3. Mobile number

All prizes must be redeemed from Singapore Press Holdings at 1000 Toa Payoh North by June 20.

Prizes not collected by June 20 shall be disposed of at SPH’s sole discretion.

The quest begins 23rd May 2012.
Are you ready?

Earn 10 points for reading this article.

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mark Schreiber

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Oops!
Photo credit to endlesspicdump.com.

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Points, badges, levels, leaderboards, rewards – this is gamification, a term that describes competivizing tasks and events in a fun way. And I just earned a Dictionary Ninja badge for using a word even uglier than “gamification.”

Gamification has always been with us, from boy scout badges and karate belts to lotteries and charity challenges. But social media has taken it to a new level, pun intended. Some people think this is the tsunami of the future, others that it’s just the latest fad. Supporters point to brain research; after all, we’re hardwired to seek rewards, while cynics claim it’s just a gimmick.

What gamification is not. Credit to marketoonist.com.

The trouble with describing gamification is that it’s both profound and superficial. It’s whatever you want it to be. To early proponents and evangelists like Gabe Zichermann, gamification is the cheat code that makes life more fun. He even coined the term “funware,” while to skeptics like Ian Bogost, it’s “exploitationware.”

But what gamification isn’t is temporary. It’s important and it’s here to stay. I say that with confidence because gamification had been with us since God gamified the Garden of Eden. Eat the apple, game over.

Scout badges

But like music or film gamification is a creative force that’s large enough to contain the best and worst humanity has to offer, from the evil manipulation of the Hitler Youth to the developmental aspirations of the Girl Scouts. And now that we have social networks larger than countries and enough processing power to assign a value to how well you slept last night or how long you brushed your teeth, gamification will no longer be something we have to go out into the world to find. Like music and film, which have evolved from aristocratic theaters to egalitarian smart phones, gamification will illuminate our lives wherever we are, whether we want it to or not.

I just wish we had a cooler name for it.

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Tag Archives: game

Top 10 Myths of Gamification

Battleship – The Game, the Film, the Gamification

How can I get even more points in the Digital Life/Diablo III Quest?