Tag Archives: team

Welcome, Mark Schreiber!

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The GameMaki Team welcomes our latest team member, Mark Schreiber, who will be based in the US!

He started out as an avid GameMaki user in the past month, and later began reaching out to us through email to share what he thought. This soon escalated into several conversations about the future of GameMaki and now, he’s part of GameMaki’s future!


Say hello to Mark!

1. What drew you to GameMaki and how did you discover us?

I happened upon GameMaki quite by chance, through a link in a repost, and stayed three hours. I’m not really much into video and social games. I had tried Idle Worship the night before, and while it was fun, I had to decide between the time commitment it required and normal life. GameMaki, however, was a completely different experience. Most of the time I spent not on GameMaki itself but on thinking about how I would claim challenges, taking pictures, looking through old ones. Rather than shutting me off from reality it compelled me to look around with new eyes.

2. What motivated you to write to us back then?

I realized you were doing something important here, instantly familiar but in a new way. Because these are the kinds of free-form games we make up as kids, or when we play with our kids, or when college buddies get together. But you don’t have to be in the same room at the same time for GameMaki. You don’t even have to be in the same country. And you can meet new people, as well as play with your friends and family. I wanted to tell the team I thought this was a revolutionary use of the technology. With other social gaming there’s a learning curve. With GameMaki you already know the rules.

3. How do you feel about being a part of the GameMaki team?

You know how most people write “team player” on their resume? Well I’m not one of them. I’ve never even had a resume. The last time I belonged to a team was when I was twelve and played baseball. But with GameMaki I’d finally found a team I wanted to join.

4. So, tell us more about you!

I’ve been writing books since I was a child, mostly novels. I’ve run several businesses, including my uncle’s internal medicine practice in Columbus, Ohio, where I currently live. My girlfriend lives in Costa Rica with her two boys, now mine also, and when I fix their iPad next visit I’ll be able to play GameMaki with them. I’ve always been insatiably curious, looking for new ways to express my creativity. And I challenge anyone to find a more fun way to do that than by playing GameMaki.

You can check out what Mark has been doing on GameMaki.

Also, expect to see him lurking around this blog more often. (: He’ll be our guest writer for all things gamification, so expect good things to come.

Everyone, meet ClownMrMinghui

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Minghui has been with us for slightly more than a month now. You may have met him previously at Echelon 2011 (and even plastered a GameMaki sticker on him at the event), or you may have met him lurking around … elsewhere.

Minghui

Minghui joined us as our business developer in early July and is responsible for merchant partnerships. (So, if you happen to be a merchant or brand owner, a certain clown wants to speak to you!) On top of that, he’s been working on some video goodies for GameMaki behind the scenes which will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

More importantly, Minghui’s main expertise is game design, and he’s one of the key players in taking GameMaki’s gamification experience to a new level. There is loads of activity behind the scenes (which are still hush hush I cannot tell you neh neh boo boo for now) with respect to this area, and are based on a number of ideas from the clown himself.

Since his joining us, he’s fit very nicely into the quirky mix of personalities in the GameMaki team, with his trademark exaggerated “Noooooooooooooooooo!” when something goes wrong, and the sight of him sitting in his favourite corner of the office (which he calls his ‘emo corner’) and doodling away on his WACOM. He’s also crazy over strawberries and good food.

Minghui says hello!

Change of booth location at Echelon 2011!

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Due to space constraints and some technical issues, we have been relocated to booth #17 for Echelon 2011 (starting tomorrow!) from our previous #15.

We will still be your right when you first walk through the entrance, just a stone’s throw away from Nokia’s booth at the extreme corner along the glass window. It’s easy to spot us, because of our giant live-feed bearing projector screen.

See you in 9 hours!

Life is a game. Just the worst game ever.

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Image courtesy from Mr. Foggs Log

In the process of developing a product, we often look back and question why we do what we do. Likewise, there are times when you take a step back in life and ask “What’s the point?”

We had a casual team meeting some time ago and everyone shared what life means to each of us. There are different responses such as “I believe that life is leaving behind a legacy”, “life is about responsibilities” and “life is love.”

Despite the different answers that we had, the team agreed on one point: life is a game.

We created GameMaki because we felt it was so easy to be complacent with our current (mundane?) lifestyles, that we don’t seek out new things to do and excite ourselves. Sometimes all you need is just a little push of motivation.

Activities are called challenges in GameMaki – what may be a routine activity for some may be a challenge to others. Challenges may also be grouped into mini-games (or Makis). We believe everyday life can be just as fun and enjoyable as playing virtual games. Earning virtual and/or tangible rewards in completing challenges is a bonus. But to us, the best reward is the sense of accomplishment from completing the challenge itself.

With GameMaki, you are encouraged to share and discover cool, meaningful challenges with your friends. We want to build up communities that get people to do things together. It can be something as easy as checking out a new Italian restaurant, or something as extreme as going skydiving. Each of these challenges will be meaningful to their own community.

Not too long ago, we asked the Twittersphere whether they agreed with our belief. We received a few interesting answers and one of which is:

“If life’s a game, no one sat down and explained the rules and objectives to me beforehand. How do I know when I win?” by @MonsieurJPL

How about you? What does life mean to you?