I just went down for lunch and decided to watch a TEDtalk as I ate. Searching through different videos, I found one that caught my eye titled: How games make kids smarter. I would not say that I have ever been a huge gamer, but I have enjoyed my fair share of virtual fun and was therefore enticed by the idea of someone else rationalizing that time investment for me. Totally judging the book by its cover, I assumed it would be an entertaining TEDtalk while probably not educational but I asked myself: "why not waste another 15 minutes on the mindlessness of the gaming industry?" - and so I watched on.
And rationalize he did! The presenter, Gabe Zichermann, described a world that revolves around the gamer. He brought examples, which were commonplace like the MPG gauges that are being put in hybrids to incentive efficient driving, showing how products are embracing the gamer mentality, We live in the gamer's world and it is a great advantage to recognize it.
He then brought up a statistic that justifies a blog post here. Brian Burke of Gartner Inc. a leading IT research and advisory consulting firm, predicts that at least 70% of Global 2000 Organizations will have at least one gamified application by 2014. A game like atmosphere within an application produces a loyal customer base because they are are not just users but are fans as well. It makes using an application fun and creates motivation to stay involved by providing rewards. In fact, the GPS app Waze that was discussed in a previous post (after having been purchased by Google for over $1 billion) innovated the navigation industry by becoming interactive, social and game like.
And rationalize he did! The presenter, Gabe Zichermann, described a world that revolves around the gamer. He brought examples, which were commonplace like the MPG gauges that are being put in hybrids to incentive efficient driving, showing how products are embracing the gamer mentality, We live in the gamer's world and it is a great advantage to recognize it.
He then brought up a statistic that justifies a blog post here. Brian Burke of Gartner Inc. a leading IT research and advisory consulting firm, predicts that at least 70% of Global 2000 Organizations will have at least one gamified application by 2014. A game like atmosphere within an application produces a loyal customer base because they are are not just users but are fans as well. It makes using an application fun and creates motivation to stay involved by providing rewards. In fact, the GPS app Waze that was discussed in a previous post (after having been purchased by Google for over $1 billion) innovated the navigation industry by becoming interactive, social and game like.
The more you contribute to the application, the more status points you gain within the app. I first thought this was pointless (unintended), as the points are worthless so why bother, but as I was driving with a friend, we had fun putting in the small amount of extra effort to upgrade our account. In fact, we did not look at it as effort-it was FUN.
So where am I going with this?
Gabe Zichermann has inspired me to view the app we are designing in a new light. What if we could make it fun? What if this is not just another responsibility to keep your disease in check and instead is part of the treatment that you look forward to? How will we incorporate fun into an app that has such a serious and important purpose?
So where am I going with this?
Gabe Zichermann has inspired me to view the app we are designing in a new light. What if we could make it fun? What if this is not just another responsibility to keep your disease in check and instead is part of the treatment that you look forward to? How will we incorporate fun into an app that has such a serious and important purpose?
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