A lot of the conversation surrounding gamification tends to focus on how businesses can better engage and relate to customers. While it obviously can increase brand loyalty, gamification can also be used to better motivate and educate employees. In her recent blog post, Lauren Carlson over at Software Advice theorizes how game mechanics can be…
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) recently launched their Games & Experimental Entertainment Lab (GEElab). During SXSW GEElab director Dr. Steffen P. Walz handed out cards, co-created with Lancaster University’s Dr. Paul Coulton, for Gamification: The Rhetoric Wars. Designed in the style of Magic: The Gathering, these cards depict 5 different guilds that represent…
Remember back in the late ’90’s where meeting people online seemed scary and dangerous? Now online dating is the new norm and it’s meeting people in real life that seems intimidating. How do you approach that cute stranger on the subway, in a coffee shop, the book store…? And what do you say? “Missed Connection”…
UPDATE: Our Workshop Series 2011 is now over. If you are still interested in keeping up with the fast-moving frontier of gamification, we will be offering an in-depth workshop at Gamification Summit New York on September 16, 2011. For information and registration, visit GSummit.com. We’re excited to announce that Gamification Co. has expanded its successful workshops…
As far back as we can remember, video games primarily utilized three senses: visual, auditory and tactile. As innovations continue to push the limit, so goes the number of senses we can activate in a virtual world. Believe it or not, the sense of smell is now being integrated into gameplay. As debuted at GDC…
According to Jen Pahlka, founder and Executive Director of Code for America, trust in government is at an all time low except amongst a single demographic: Millennials. This may seem odd, as our generation is typically seen either in a never ending text conversation, wasting time on Facebook, battling friends on Call of Duty, or clicking on cows in FarmVille. But I see these elements as something different. I believe our “wastes of time” have the ability to make our generation into the most participatory generation in the past two-thousand years. As Pahlka puts it, “it’s not that Millennials think the government works now, it’s that they think they can remake the government in their image”. In line with this idea, collaboration and participation through social media is becoming an integral part of the Government 2.0 movement, and I see games as the next step in the process.
In part one of episode 13 of this season of Top Chef All Stars, a little snippet stood out amongst the drama. Contestant and previous season 4 winner, Antonia Lofaso commented that the show’s prize money doesn’t matter, only winning the competition. Splicd.com This goes to show what we at Gamification Co have been saying…
Today Econsultancy realized a Q&A with Laurie Petersen and Gabe Zichermann about gamification, fun and metrics. In the piece, Gabe discusses which metrics really matter, how to make gamification sustainable, unusual examples of gamification and the future of Zynga and engagement as a whole. You can read the entire Q&A here.
You can make a positive impact one step at a time. DailyFeats is a new site with the idea of getting people to do good through small actions. These actions can be for your own benefit, for your community or even the world. The point being: one person can make a significant difference in their…
DailyBurn is a fitness and health site, that tries to cater to every possible type of user and offers a ranges of apps and devices to continue interacting off-site. After you create an account, you select a fitness goal – loss weight, get stronger, increase endurance or become more athletic. Right from the get-go there’s…
Yahoo Research released a short study on what has become one of the most controversial mechanics in gamification: badges. Some people love ’em, some people hate ’em – but most of the arguments are based on speculation or personal preference. There hasn’t been much focused research done on their affect on people as a motivator…
Can you take a classic toy and and gamify it even further? That’s what the developers of Sifteo have done with one of the most basic instruments of play- the block. The building block has been stimulating motor skills, and creative and analytical brain development for generations. Now the block has been built upon once…
As you probably already know, the French take food very seriously. French cuisine is about high quality and small portions, each piece expertly crafted so as to feed your desire for aesthetics (visual, olfactory and gustatory) as much as your hunger. In fact, food is so important that naming the best chefs is of national…
When discussing gamification, especially with those not previously familiar, it’s hard not to bring up Foursquare. Their premise is so artfully simple, absolutely anyone with a computer or a mobile phone can understand. But just because it’s a basic idea doesn’t stop Foursquare from evolving. A new blog entry was posted Tuesday announcing the 3.0…
Gabe Zichermann was recently interviewed for an impressive piece on Canadian Business Online by Angelina Chapin. Appropriately titled “The future is a video game“, the piece goes in depth of the definition of gamification and aspects of it – like gaming mechanics, rewards and leveling – the history of loyalty programs and the evolution of…
