Why Work Is Looking More Like a Video Game

james_bong666 writes "According to the New York Times, business software vendors can learn a great deal from how video games are designed. This makes a lot of sense — how many professionals like working with their software in the office as much as gaming after hours? Developers can deal with looking at tables and grids full of data to make decisions and get things done, but other types of workers (executives, salespeople, etc.) have little to no attention span and need a picture to be worth a thousand words, i.e. their software designed completely differently."

Comments

Jaded MMORPGer

[MichailS]

You mean

"Gaming is more like work nowadays"

?

missing the point

[yskel]

I think TFA is missing the point. After reading it, I came away with "If we make work less like work and more like fun, then it will be fun." However, fun does not equal associating pictures, likes/dislikes, favorite colors etc with a business contact. I think the point is that if your job requires you to use a CRM system, then it is not fun by definition, and no amount of reskinning that interface is going to make it more enjoyable.

I agree that the ideas of connection, management and cooperation within MMORPG are potentially interesting in the context of managing large companies, but the "making work like a videogame" metaphor doesn't work for me.

yskel

Re:Uh.

[erareno]

I believe that executives (especially those that have worked their way to the top) would not have a very short attention span. To the contrary, they can see the big picture and work their way towards their ultimate goal. However, I also believe that people who work would be much more productive if they felt they got some form of enjoyment out of what they're doing. Isn't that why Ben Franklin (I think) said something along the lines of 'The day you get a job that you really like is the day you get your last paycheck'?

The Next Level

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean that in order to advance to "the next level," you have to kill the Big Boss at the end of the current level?

Obvious, but overlooked

[donnyfire]

This has parallels with what I am learning in medical school (yes, a med student who reads slashdot *gasp*). We are taught that we cannot use medical jargon to explain things to patients, because our level of training and experience is completely different from that of the average patient. This is also true in software, but I don't think developers are taught this point. This often results in the user not understanding what may have been obvious to the software designer, and a program that is not popular with the public. In both fields, I feel one must think at the level of the end user. In medicine, it is to provide the best health outcome by promoting understanding. We do this because we recognize that not everyone is health literate. In software, I think to be successful, it is also important to recognize that not everyone is tech literate, and design products accordingly.

Re:work / play

[Short Circuit]

Anyone who stays after-hours and plays games or just hangs out is sad. It's not the job, it's the coworkers. Work is one of the few places I can meet computer geeks IRL.

Re:Uh.

[Tickletaint]

Exactly. Here's a hint to computer programmers: If the user's not getting what they need from your application, then you fucked up. It's your job to make your software usable. Stop blaming others for problems caused by your shitty UI design skills. Good Christ, I'm sick of the condescension I see coming every day from my fellow developers.