This week on the Gamification Roundup: Aetna is giving away their Mindbloom wellness game, a 3D Printing platform gets gamified, Tony Vetrice covers what makes games addicting, and a RFID sensor game incentivizes workers to take the stairs. Check out the full roundup after the jump.
Aetna Giving Away their Mindbloom Wellness Game – VentureBeat, April 11
In a surprising move by a healthcare provider, Aetna is now giving away the premium version of their Mindbloom game to all their healthcare customers and employees. The Mindbloom game is aimed at promoting wellness among its users by allowing them to track and manage their conditions through a mix of social gaming and achievements. The premium version will grant users access to new music, an expanded gallery of images, and unlimited online storage for sharing media.
Gamification Meets 3D Printing – MarketWatch, April 10
3D Systems Incorporated, has announced that it has acquired My Robot Nation, a leading consumer technology platform. 3D Systems Incorporated plans on integrating the MRN platform into their Cubify website to integrate engaging play mechanics, social features, and intuitive user interfaces into their 3D creation process for kids and adults alike. It will be interesting to see how gamification fuels creative processes.
Flow: The Industry Name for Addictive Games – GamaSutra, April 10
In the last of the three part series of gamification dynamics, Badgeville’s Tony Vetrice covers the idea of flow in game design. The article is a comprehensive overview about the factors that create an addictive game and how to apply them, namely: intrinsically rewarding, clear unobstructed goals, Immediate feedback, and balance between ability level and challenge. Vetrice also cites the “flow” factor in various successes such as Angry Birds, FarmVille, and even slot machines.
RFID Sensor Game Encourages Elevator Avoidance – EIN News, April 13
We’ve covered this sort of game before in a previous roundup but London marketing agency studio, EHS 4D,has created a fully completed game called Floord to showcase London’s design prowess in the Summer Like No Other campaign. The game works through RFID chips placed throughout the building that can measure how far workers walk and transmit that data to a website, where users can track their progress and compete with others. The top scorers of each month earn a prize. This idea really needs to start popping up in all office buildings.
