Gamification
This post was originally published on my previous domain, jessekohl.com, on September 15, 2011. It was recovered from the Wayback Machine. This may or may not have been edited slightly by AI.
I’ve taken some interest in watching the buzz grow around “gamification,” with some fuel around the topic coming from the marketing space. It’s no surprise. The surface level attraction involves turning something that is “boring” into something that is “fun.”
Interest in the topic has certainly grown from almost nothing a year ago to significant levels today. It looks like about 18,000 searches for “gamification” happen every month on Google. Of course, it’s all over Twitter… which has got to mean something. And there are now a few great news sources for gamification updates.
Monthly searches for gamification
Wikipedia defines it as “the use of game play thinking and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences.” The creative possibilities are interesting when you consider the mechanics. According to Gamification.org, they include everything from achievements and discovery to levelling up, loss aversion or even a free lunch. The full list is here with descriptions, and it’s long.
While gamification may not be new, it’s great to see new ideas flowing. There’s valid criticism out there, and some interesting thoughts on problems that gamification could help solve. Gamification seems to have potential for accomplishing real world goals with meaning, in some cases, beyond the simpler branding approach offered by advergaming.
It’s fine to define the space, the mechanics, and the potential audiences with actual goals in mind. But it’s also important to remember one of the key draws of video gaming: great storytelling. It’s one thing to level up and it’s another to unlock achievements or other rewards, but without a great story, there will always be a better game out there.