Comments on: Gamification Needs to Level Up — Here’s How

By: Stark Burns

Stark Burns — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:53:46 +0000

Gamification Needs to Level Up — Here’s How http://t.co/9u6DzTUh

By: Tadhg Kelly

Tadhg Kelly — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:19:59 +0000

I wrote about this very topic tonight also on What Games Are.

I’m pretty convinced that gamification is the most recent iteration of a whole area of game design called meta-gaming (virtual worlds and ARGS are in the same root) and that it’s showing many of the same problems as well.

Anyway, here is my original piece:

http://whatgamesare.com/2011/01/gamification-avoiding-the-fate-of-args-meta.html

By: SCVNGR Hopes Games Are Location’s Killer App [Video]: Tech News «

SCVNGR Hopes Games Are Location’s Killer App [Video]: Tech News « — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:46:20 +0000

[...] others and will fuel mass adoption. The badges and points many location services offer are just bolt-on gamification efforts. Location, he says, needs to be more engaging to [...]

By: When iPhone Gaming Gets Real: Raise the Village Blurs Lines: Apple «

When iPhone Gaming Gets Real: Raise the Village Blurs Lines: Apple « — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:31:32 +0000

[...] Gamification has been a huge trend this year, and it continues to influence all aspects of business. Seeing it appear in such a literal fashion in the not-for-profit sector isn’t surprising, but is “gaming” with a community’s future something we’re really comfortable with at this point? Isn’t this at least objectifying, and at worst, demeaning, the actual Ugandans involved? Shank doesn’t think so. Rather than playing with people, she sees it as “playing for people through a company dedicated to bringing villages (Kapir Atiira first) [...] to a sustainable level.” [...]

By: Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges | ZDNet

Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges | ZDNet — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:55:27 +0000

[...] lists numerous examples of sites with badges, including some of the examples listed above. A recent GigaOm post talks about how game mechanics just being tacked on to consumer experiences, with little [...]

By: Mark Sage

Mark Sage — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 08:00:46 +0000

I think the issue with gamification is the word game. This creates confusion that it means you have to turn a marketing program into a game. Gamification instead is the use of gaming mechanics, essentially the psychological reward and recognition levers, to get people involved. For example we’ve been ranking performance on employee programmes for decades – creating a leader board – to ensure we create a desire to win and to outperform others, but this isn’t a game in the sense of compelling game play, but it does work to change behaviour.

By: The Year Even Politics Became Cursed by Gamification and Foul Play « The Bygone Bureau

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:05:04 +0000

[...] say that the worst slave masters were those who were nice to their slaves? Same with Farmville. One tech writer explains that “Gamification should tap emotions and deeper motivations.” But if the original [...]

By: Steven Kane

Steven Kane — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:08:11 +0000

Amen.

By: Leon Cych

Leon Cych — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:11:55 +0000

I quite agree with all of the points – cf my recent video for TeachMeet Sunderland in the UK:

http://www.l4l.co.uk/?p=1130

By: Rodolfo

Rodolfo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:08:18 +0000

Gamification is as fun as managing your air miles. Hint: it’s not fun. At all.

There are more blog posts about gamification than actual posts about companies that have game-like mechanics in their products. If you take 4sq away, who else there is? Gowalla? Aren’t they dead already? And for how long do you think 4sq will keep the “badges” thing and switch to a coupon thing in exchange of selling your personal information to retailers and then sell out to Facebook?

Gamification was the non-story of 2010. Since it’s going to be December soon let’s kill it now please.