American Business Embraces 'Gamification' 109
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."
Achievements... (Score:1, Insightful)
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!"
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
It's not a matter of needing the pat on the back, it's a matter of the pat on the back being better than not getting the pat on the back.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Re:Achievements... (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re: (Score:1)
Not really. Sure there are a lot of super easy achievements in games, such as playing through the basic story. While you can get them, they are really only designed to create encouragement to get through. Some achievements are supposed to have low value in order to elevate the value of those that are more difficult and not something you get just through a basic playthrough. I have somewhere near 1500 hours in Team Fortress 2, and I am yet to get all the achievements. (In my defense, I don't farm achievement
Re: (Score:1)
It's not a matter of needing the pat on the back, it's a matter of the pat on the back being better than not getting the pat on the back.
The pat on the back, the annoying chime, the shitty popup, the wasted development time, the shitty way people play online in an attempt to farm them, the slow loading they cause when I want to send a message to someone, etc. are all DETRIMENTAL to the game.
Go play TF2 or L4D/L4D2 after a major update.
Or go play the PS3 ever.
At least on ecksbawks you can turn the notifications off.
Re:Achievements... (Score:5, Funny)
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!" :)
Re:Achievements... (Score:5, Interesting)
http://live.gnome.org/OMG [gnome.org]
https://projecthamster.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/gnome-achievements-the-alternative/ [wordpress.com]
Re: (Score:2)
=(
Re: (Score:2)
Who says OSS doesn't innovate?
Re: (Score:2)
At first I thought these must be april fool's pranks, but apparently not; I do find the entire concept ridiculous though. Getting an award in a game is generally a fun, if usually completely ephemeral, thing to do... but installing a buttload of apps or performing better tasks? IMHO resources would be better spent on either a) improving the apps themselves or b) writing more/better documentation (even if it's in the form of videos along the lines of "Look at some of the cool things you can do with X to impr
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
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.
Re:Achievements... (Score:4, Funny)
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.
Re: (Score:2)
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.
If you fall behind or fail you get a canned upbraiding from Jar-Jar Binks...
Mesa sooo disappointed in yousa performance! Yousa not living up to expectations!"
Of course, this could just lead to damaged speakers or eardrums (depending on which is easiest to access).
Re: (Score:2)
Place the [Dynamic] in a pair of [enterprise, leading-edge] sneaks and it monitors [immersion], [leverage] and [proactive synergy], transmitting that [paradigm] to the user's [framework]. The Nike [Next Generation] loaded on the [Web 2.0] will then "[leverage]" users if they reach a [paradigm shift],' writes Mangalindan. 'If a runner [synthesizes] his [long tail], a [tipping point] from Tour de France [viral] champ Lance [Result-driven] Armstrong [integrates] him.' In addition, [global e-busi
Re: (Score:2)
They ran it up the flagpole, but nobody saluted.
Re Incentives... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
Napoleon was the man who said "a soldier will fight long and hard for a coloured bit of ribbon."
as small as it may be, we like to feel we have accomplished something.
Re: (Score:2)
There is Ribbon Hero for MS Office that uses similar mechanics: http://www.officelabs.com/ribbonhero [officelabs.com]
Re: (Score:1)
Acheivement Unlocked: Used Times New Roman font... again!
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Right, and you are every person who plays WoW. Your anecdote doesn't interest us, and your sample size of one does not interest businesses.
Re:Achievements... (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Re: (Score:2)
Judging by your marvelous communication skills, I'm going to say WoW to you consists of comparing gearscore in trade.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Re: (Score:2)
Wish I had mod points. You just achieved two sequential asshat posts, congratulations!
Re: (Score:2)
I bring nothing to the table. But I also don't carry the hubris to think that my opinion matters a hill of beans to Blizzard, unlike yourself.
Re: (Score:2)
"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?"
You might be, but either way there is sweet, sweet money to be made in backpatting.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Precisely.
I have the Nike+ and Lance's little words of encouragement are completely meaningless to me. Hell since it occurs at the end of the run, I've usually already taken the earphones out so I don't even hear it.
Rather for me the Nike+ system was just an easier way of tracking when and how far I ran. I already carried my MP3 player while running anyway, and the Nike receiver stays in the shoe ... so it was a completely effortless way to do that. Rewards or acheivements etc. had nothing to do with it.
Not
Re: (Score:2)
I am the parent to which you are replying.
Yes I can afford a smartphone with GPS - and I indeed have one.
However I'd rather take an old iPod Nano which weighs virtually nothing and is worth 100 bucks with me, than carry my far heavier and far more fragile iPhone 4 which is less than 3 weeks old and cost me $1000 AUD.
I run in a tshirt and shorts so something as heavy as the iPhone bouncing around in a pocket is kinda irritating and probably isn't very good for the phone. I have had incidents while jogging in
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
That might be frowned upon in the workplace though.
Re: (Score:2)
"Then again, some us prefer both."
Well, then congratulations... jackass!
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
Sorry, AC, but First Post is not a recognized Slashdot Achievement [slashdot.org], and we're all grateful.
I'd mod the fucker up, though, because actually being insightful and getting First Post should count for something.
Re: (Score:2)
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!"
No. For people like you there are highly profitable products that allow you to pat yourself on the back.
Re: (Score:2)
Congrats.. You got uprated.... (dun dun DUN)
Re: (Score:1)
How about +1 insightful?
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
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?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
After about a half-hour, yes. (Some of us aren't as young as we used to be!)
Re:Achievements... (Score:5, Informative)
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 [wikipedia.org]. 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.
Re: (Score:1)
"Congratulations! You survived a bird looking at you! Achievement unlocked, 10 points!"
Congratulations! I see your slashdot achievements are:
* Got a Score:5 Comment
* Days Read in a Row
* Days Metamoderated in a Row
+1 Flamebait!
Re: (Score:1)
This reminds me of a manager at one of the places that I once worked. He wasn't the best manager. One day he started sending out praise for accomplishments, something he had never done before. This was somewhat surprising and, we thought, somewhat nice of him. That was until we noticed that he was sending out praise for every little thing, no matter what it was or how un-important. Then it meant nothing, just more spam in the inbox. Something to make it look, to his boss, like he actually cared. Gami
Re: (Score:2)
Damn fine post!
I'm proud of you.
you get paid ? (Score:2)
the numbers in your bank account . Points for being a good boy .
Re: (Score:2)
I have lots of many! What a good boy am I!
- Black hat
Jajaja you are small fries to me, ese!
- Drug cartel boss
What's that? I can't hear you from my money castle on top of my money mountain on my private money island. Hold on while I sail over there on my yacht...which is also made of money. BTW you guys better have my cocaine and ultra-secure computers ready when I get over there.
- Former US bank executive
Re:Achievements... (Score:5, Insightful)
Be honest, you've been checking back every five minutes to see if your post is +5 Insightful yet...
Mod Parent Up (Score:2)
That post deserves a pat on the back.
Gamify Wall Street trading... (Score:4, Insightful)
then they can run around stealing gold instead of whatever it is they do now to fleece the public
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
then they can run around stealing gold instead of whatever it is they do now to fleece the public
In the same context, what about: "You died! Game over! Play again?"?
Re: (Score:1)
then they can run around stealing gold instead of whatever it is they do now to fleece the public
In the same context, what about: "You died! Game over! Play again?"?
That's pretty much how it is now, isn't it? With the bail-out and all?
Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)
then they can run around stealing gold instead of whatever it is they do now to fleece the public
They hate gold, it can't be magically multiplied on a computer*.
* excepting people who think it's a good idea to buy unaudited paper gold, sigh.
Pedometer? (Score:1, Funny)
I don't want to know what Pedobear uses it for.
Gams? (Score:2)
What's legs got to do with?
Re: (Score:2)
Don't bother. The drops suck.
Best Guess (Score:2)
Say what you want about (ab)using this for commercial gain, but at least Nike has found a way where this can have a positive benefit on someone's real world existence. If
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, why it works is there's two types of motivation:
1) Intrinsic, where you feel good because you did something, and take pride in the accomplishment.
2) Extrinsic, where someone else has placed value on the thing you did, and you take away that value, rather than the simple act of accomplishment.
Neither is inherently better than the other, and usually a combination of both is why people end up doing things. A paycheque is an example of extrinsic motivation, for instance.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Baseless conjecture? Sure, but it's a reasonable starting place for a hypothesis.
Coaching advice from your tennis shoes? (Score:2)
I personally do not need that. My tennis shoes do communicate with me, through a stench interface. When they smell like something that would knock out a hard-boiled coroner, I know that they want to be placed out in the sun.
Actually, the whole thing reminds me of ELIZA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA [wikipedia.org] , a program written to mimic a psychotherapist. It just really picked up some keywords that the user typed in, and formulated something to spit back at the user. However, some folks started thinking that
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'd say the real question is, if the program is indistinguishable from a "real" psychotherapist, what does that say about real psychotherapist?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
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).
Re: (Score:2)
Paying employees with farmville bucks... (Score:2)
Probably better for the employee because US Dollars are so worthless these days anyways.
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdotters as a whole never consider ease of use as a feature. In fact, the more obtuse and hard to use an interface is, the more they will extoll it as the next best thing and something sure to make this year the year of Linux on the desktop.
Re: (Score:1)
That's not true. There are a large number of Slashdotters who value ease of use. Though, it is a feature that we only look for in certain areas of our lives.
It's just that most of us like to tinker with things. You can't do that with a buttoned down product.
So, while we may play with things that are less than user friendly, I'm willing to bet that the majority of Slashdotters have tech devices and software in their lives that are very user friendly, if for no other reason than to make it easy for the sig
Re: (Score:2)
I don't disagree, but I would point out that I thought my "Slashdotters as a whole" term would imply the group think of members of the site, not individuals, or large but non-vocal-majority groups within the site. The other caveat I would offer is that what is 'user friendly' with a 'good interface' to a user of slashdot is not the same to a large chunk of the general population of the US (or developed world).
oblig. xkcd (Score:4, Funny)
Relevant (Score:2)
Games are just one form of engagement. (Score:2)
What you need to sell is to create an emotional connection between the product and the consumer. Games and rewards are one way to do that. Exploration and discovery also engage people, as do video content (ie traditional commercials), contests, surveys, build your own tools, etc. Each of these methods is a way to get the user to self identify with the product or the community it is perceived to be used by. Once someone has said to themselves, this product is something I value - even if the value was created
Ribbon Hero (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re: (Score:2)
Why? Does the challenge mode enables Clippy?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
So THAT explains the PowerPoint hellholes that are corporate meetings. They're going for the high score!
Do sound effects and animations award additional points?
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, but your score resets to zero if you mention words like "synergy" or "monetize".
oh... (Score:1)
Buzzwordification complete (Score:2)
Who'd have thought that taking a leisure product and making it into a game would take off?! What will they think of next? Special shoes for recreational activities like basketball and running? I'm truly in awe of Nike's prowess!
This 'gamification' is shiny and new like monetization, as if the concept of making money only occurred to some tween in the mid noughties.
"Your honour, my milk stool is complete"
Think bigger... (Score:1)
Copyright (Score:2)
So this would be? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
In Capitalist America, business games you!
Gold Star for Auto Lykos!(sorry, no mod points today)
I guess if a meme is repeated enough times it will eventually intersect reality.
Misused 'Addiction' (Score:1)
Oh, I know, lets label it addictive so we can treat them for a disorder ...
Penny Drop (Score:2)
I don't really have a point with this, I just find the strange combination of advertising plus discounting amusing, and somewha
Engrossing = Interactive (Score:2)
Not to make psychological (or ludological) research sound trite, but it's not too terribly complicated...
What's the appeal of a book? Or the appeal of a movie? Now add interaction.
You get to decide what happens to the character between the start and the finish.
Video games offer the potential to recreate facets of the human condition in a more engrossing way than almost any other form of entertainment.
We all start and finish the same way (birth and death), the interesting part is what happens along the way
Re: (Score:2)
Failed to mention Employee of the Month? (Score:1)
paradigm is shifting.... (Score:1)