I’ve written a lot about video games. On the blog, we’ve talked about internet and video game addiction as well as using video games to solve world problems.
Jane McGonigal created Evoke, a game with a focus on solving social problems. Jesse Schell says video games, from Xbox achievements to DARPA’s Red Balloon Challenge to the points-based WeightWatchers program are already invading real life. Economists are using video game data from games like EVE to uncover fundamental truths about decision-making. Foldit – a protein folding game – is another attempt at creative crowdsourcing.
Failcon devoted an entire panel to this topic. In “Increase User Engagement With Gaming Techniques,” moderator Greg Mand from GSM Consulting talked to these panelists about what we can learn from game design.
Greg Mand started out by saying that one of the most cringe-worthy buzzwords is Game Mechanics – every new business strategy apaprently has to incorporate it. Mand provided examples like the aforementioned WeightWatchers program, and the – hilarious, yet apparently real – Ribbon Hero. Ribbon Hero is a game that teaches players how to use Microsoft Office products.
Mand also noted that the most-addictive games are very difficult to fail. On Farmville, your crops may die, but you can still continue to play.
Most of what they talked about has been covered on the blog before. A lot of the panel discussion could almost directly have been drawn from Jesse Schell’s talk on this topic. Most of it wasn’t new for me, but I can see the benefit to entrepreneurs who might not be familiar with the topic.
