Gamification

Gamification is the use of play and game mechanics to support a product or service. This could be reward cards like Tesco club card or a loyalty card at a local coffee shop. Gamification is used to make tasks or purchases feel more rewarding and worthwhile. These types of systems offer an addictive quality to them, often creating repeat or increased loyalty to a shop, it also gives a feeling of achievement to the customer taking part.

Gameification could be used for almost any problem or day to day tasks. This idea is comes from Jesse Schell who has the idea that the world will be filled with lots of gamification in day to day tasks like blushing your teeth to what you buy for lunch. Below is a link to Jesse Schell video on gamification where he discusses his crazy but amazing ideas on the possible future for us.

TED. (2010). ‘Jesse Schell: When games invade real life’ http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real_life.html

I think Jesse Schell has interesting ideas, although I don’t know if some of them will be for the better. As marketing and adverts in your sleep is a scary through as if this was real this could cause companies to brainwash people in buy and doing things. Also I imagine that there would be people who would hack the system and gain a scary amount of information on other people in order to exploit it. I know this is a very negative view on his ideas; I just do if I would want to live in a world where everything is monitored to that extent. No one would have freedom and everyone would be liable to where you are and what you do.     

As well as Jesse Schell there are other very interesting ideas on gamification by Jane McGonagall in the video link below she talks about how gamers can be used to solve problems in the world

TED. (2010). ‘Jane McGonagall: Gaming can make a better world’ http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Jane McGonagall idea is to create game which the player would come up with solves to a problem or problems. I agree and disagree with what she said because she basic is saying ‘give gamers (monkeys) a problem and they will evenly come up with a solution’ which as a gamers I would only play a game which is enjoyable and rewarding, not a game where I have to read up on oil problems and come up with solutions. Not my ideas of enjoyment. This is just my opinion and doesn’t mean it right.