

Too cool to play: the gamification backlash - bootload
http://www.microtask.com/blog/2011/04/too-cool-to-play-the-gamification-backlash/

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randrews
> Good games, they say, are like art: engaging players deeply and emotionally
> (not sure how Grand Theft Auto fits in here).

A lot of people have had very emotional reactions to Grand Theft Auto...

At the risk of oversimplifying something I'm not an expert on, I think games
fall into two general types: the kind you win by being very good at one skill,
and the kind you win by balancing several skills.

The first kind isn't that interesting in the long run because either you're no
good at it so you stop playing because you always lose, or you're really good
at it so you stop playing because you're better than the game is.

If you want to gamify something, make it a game that requires balance. Maybe
every time you check in somewhere, you raise your potential score for that
place by one point. When you check in with a large group, your permanent score
gets increased by your potential score times the number of people who checked
in with you, so, you get a lot of points by going to a place a lot _and_
bringing your friends there.

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Derbasti
I wouldn't say that games rely on skill too much. Games are meant to be won
regardless of skill. They are meant to provide challenges, but never
roadblocks. This possibly excludes arcade style games.

Also, managing my bank account requires a serious amount of computer skills
already, so maybe we don't need to artificially enhance that. Any action that
would trigger my XBox to display some "achievement", would trigger a barrage
of swearwords if it occurred while I was trying get work done. Without
rewards, there is no need for artificial challenges.

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xiaoma
_I wouldn't say that games rely on skill too much. Games are meant to be won
regardless of skill._

Try Starcraft. Seat time alone won't carry you very far in that game.

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Derbasti
That is true. What I meant was single player games. Multiplayer games are of
course competitive by nature and very much skill-dependent. Then again, I
would not want to call my banks website _MMO_. Facebook though, maybe.

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ares2012
I find it very ironic that this is posted on a news site where people award
points to stories to rank them higher and earn karma while doing it. =)

