Slashdot Mirror
American Business Embraces 'Gamification'
Hugh Pickens writes "JP Mangalindan writes that for years psychologists have studied what makes video games so engrossing — why do players spend hours accruing virtual points working towards intangible rewards and what characteristics make some games more addictive than others? Now, companies are realizing that 'gamification' — using the same mechanics that hook gamers — is an effective way to generate business. For example, when Nike released Nike + in 2008, it 'gamified' exercise. 'Place the pedometer in a pair of (Nike) sneaks and it monitors distance, pace and calories burned, transmitting that data to the user's iPod. The Nike software loaded on the iPod will then "reward" users if they reach a milestone,' writes Mangalindan. 'If a runner beats his 5-mile distance record, an audio clip from Tour de France cycling champ Lance Armstrong congratulates him.' In addition, users can upload their information, discuss achievements online with other users, and challenge them to distance or speed competitions. The result: to date, Nike has moved well over 1.3 million Nike + units."
then they can run around stealing gold instead of whatever it is they do now to fleece the public
Wherever You Go, There You Are
You're probably not the only one on Slashdot. To the semi-mythical average Joe, those achievements probably seem like some sort of triumph over the incomprehensible computing device, while a slashdotter is more likely to recognize it as merely a subroutine in the code triggered by some arbitrary numbers.
I wonder if adding "achievements" to other types of software might be useful, though, to help counter computerphobia. "Congrats, you have typed 50,000 words in your Word Processor." "Achievement: 20 different programs executed." "Opaquemastery: you have successfully shoved more than fifty elements into a single PowerPoint slide!" :)
Way ahead of you.
http://live.gnome.org/OMG
https://projecthamster.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/gnome-achievements-the-alternative/
Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
"Am I only the one who doesn't need a pat on the back every 5 minutes in order to enjoy something or derive satisfaction from it?"
No, while the vast majority of individuals out there enjoy praise as a motivator, a subset enjoy snark and haughty comments to provide their motivation.
Then again, some us prefer both.
You won't feel more motivated if you fail to come within 10% of your best time, and then John McEnroe spends five minutes cursing you and your entire lineage out.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
"Congrats, you have typed 50,000 words in your Word Processor." "Achievement: 20 different programs executed."
Dude, I think you have just found a new use for Clippy! Make your document concise, grammatically correct and well-written and clippy dies a very violent death, otherwise he won't go away. If that isn't motivation to write well I don't know what is.
Monstar L
Don't pretend you're immune to the allure of accumulating shiny points.
While I agree that a pat on the back can be good, doesn't getting one every 5 minutes for even the most mundane of tasks diminish the praise received for something that is actually worthy of being called an accomplishment?
In a typical game these days you earn about a quarter of the achievements available for getting through the tutorial without uninstalling.
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
A few years ago, Microsoft Research Labs created a "game" add-on for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that turned training and using the software features into a bit of a game.
Basically, in challenge mode it gave you some task to perform with an example (such as "Turn on columns and add a vertical line"). When you got it right, you got points.
And in regular mode, the more features of the app you used, the more extra points you got.
A few other twists let you get points for repeating tasks a few times, doing them quickly, using shortcut keys, etc.
And to wrap up it all up, you could post your scores to Facebook automatically and "compete" with your friends.
Everyone I've shown it to really likes it, and it's totally unobtrusive during your normal work unless you're in Challenge Mode.
-David
Considering how lame some games are, that IS a major achievement.
There exists tons of research on reward systems, how large they should be, how often they should be doled out, etc. Whether psychology or HR, the info is out there. Yours is a valid concern, but it is a question that has been answered in various contexts already.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Actually, he might be representative of "every person who plays wow." Right down to the strained justification of the particular achievement he works toward and disparagement of the other achievements and by extension the character of the players seeking them.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Am I only the one who doesn't need a pat on the back every 5 minutes in order to enjoy something or derive satisfaction from it?
Okay, what if you were patronized with a hand job or a blow job every 5 minutes for something insignificant. Would you complain then?
Am I only the one who doesn't need a pat on the back every 5 minutes in order to enjoy something or derive satisfaction from it?
"Congratulations! You survived a bird looking at you! Achievement unlocked, 10 points!"
If you truly feel this way, there's probably something wrong with you. If you just don't feel this way about, say, Farmville, but do feel it about other things (and probably don't realize that you do) then you're merely normal and not paying attention.
"Gamification" is a fuzzy description of operant conditioning. Anything with a bit of intelligence (dogs, parrots, maybe even sheep, and certainly humans) are wired to get a little jolt of pleasure after successfully negotiating a crisis situation. It's how we learn. What games do is short-circuit this by providing lots and lots of crisis situations, and providing the player with ways to get through them and win, and get that little burst of success-feeling. Some people are seriously susceptible to this kind of shenanigans and spend all their time enjoying their imagined success at Farmville. Others do the same thing climbing the corporate ladder and running companies. In that case, of course, it's not imagined success, it's the intended result of how we're wired, operating in a complex social environment. In any case, it's an essential system for learning in humans, and while it sucks that people are getting really good at twisting it to manipulate other people, it's still vitally important and ubiquitous.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
I know the comment was intended to be funny, but I figured I'd respond anyway as a gamer - and Nike+ user - who can hopefully help others understand the value proposition.
I was a runner in high school who picked it up again about five years ago as a way to stay fit. I got the Nike+ iPod kit two years ago, and it made a significant difference in my enjoyment of running. It provided essential, purely functional benefits (ability to track my running distance, and play my preferred music or podcasts as I ran). It added useful but secondary "online" elements by having the runs uploaded to the Nike website such as recording my runs and giving me an easy way to statistically analyze them (how often, how far, how fast). And it added tertiary but very fun "game" elements such as the ability to set goals for myself (distance, frequency etc.) and work against them. It wasn't really like a RPG game, it was more a way of making it easy for me to compete against myself. Later, they added some social features to it - like the ability to see your friends' runs, and post your runs automatically to Facebook. Those things were "icing on the cake" rather than a key element.
Bottom line - I already had an iPod and used iTunes. The fact that Nike made it easy to track distance while using my iPod made the sale on their shoes. The "game" elements just made it more fun and make me more satisfied with the purchase.
"95% of all Slashdot
Be honest, you've been checking back every five minutes to see if your post is +5 Insightful yet...
After about a half-hour, yes. (Some of us aren't as young as we used to be!)