Page 9
In the
computing
world,
however,
gamifcation
elements actually
add quite a bit
of warmth and
candor to any online
experience. It’s really
about creating another
layer of engagement that is
meant to guide users toward
both a fuller experience and greater
opportunities.
But it’s not just sales and/or entertainment
that have something to gain from gamifcation;
the entire feld of education (particularly online
learning) can beneft as well. It’s no secret that we
humans often learn more when we’re having fun,
but that’s not the only beneft. By allowing learning
and entertainment to intermingle, we can also begin
to train ourselves to accumulate data and use it in
ever-increasingly abstract ways. In many regards, a
true measure of intelligence (as far as accumulated
information is concerned) might be in how a person
creatively reorganizes what they’ve discovered so that
new solutions can be created (and progress can
occur).
But gamifcation is all around us in many
other forms as well. It may be employed on work
sites, in healthcare-centric situations or used to create
environmental protection solutions/initiatives. There’s
no reason why gamifcation cannot be implemented
in real-world scenarios; it’s just that the possibilities
really open up when you apply it to web-based
services.
The big move toward gamifcation in the computing
industry is literally forcing product manufacturers and
designers to re-evaluate their products and fgure
out exactly what their customers want in terms of
features (and design). For example, many of today’s
smartphones come equipped with the hardware that
actually allows them to play popular video game
titles. Products like tablets, smart-phones, and other
touch-screen devices are tailored toward gamifcation
concepts as well, most of which allow users to run a
wide selection of fash-based games and apps that
were basically custom-designed for their machines.
This is a great example of gamifcation infuencing
not only hardware/machine design but also software
development as well.
From the businessman’s point-of-view, gamifcation
is a god-send. It allows any business to drive sales
while at the same time to creatively engage their
customer(s) and generate sustainable incentives. In
the computing world, however, it takes on a whole
new existence and, in many cases, instances of
gamifcation may actually transcend the popularity
of the product/service that they’re promoting.
Gamifcation is a staple of social media, and social
media literally dominates the internet. As the
parameters of social media and networking continue
to expand and break down the barriers between
what is considered to be hardware and software,
gamifcation will, in turn, continue to facilitate its
processes. This, of course, means that gamifcation is
actively assisting in the transformation of our notion
of what computing is and/or entails.