33voices interview with Gabe Zichermann. Insights on how to levegare gamification in marketing of products and service.
Gamification by Design
I’m a big believer in the power of video and online gaming – not only are they social, fun and engaging; but perhaps more importantly, they’re purposefully designed to ignite human achievement. This past Labor day, my son picked up the latest version of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 13′ and for three hours, he and I were enthralled by the real life replica of stadiums, players and plays. We played under the lights, in a driving snow storm and even tried our hands at the legends game; but what kept us glued for those three hours was the quest to beat the pros. In gaming terminology, that’s the constant progression to mastery and it’s the genius behind the design of the best video games. This concept is framed after Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow – which is a state of mind when you’re fully immersed in a challenging activity, but one you know you can conquer. It’s a sense of serenity where you have no worries, just the inspiration to grow beyond your preconceived boundaries. After my experience with my son that day, I wanted to learn how I could apply game thinking and mechanics to the work I am doing, so I turned to gamification founder Gabe Zichermann. As he did in his latest book – Gamification by Design – Gabe shares the starting points with me here ……