Game-ification of LIfe

I have seen a few TED videos and all of them have been pretty interesting but one that I want to discuss is the video by Gabe Zichermann where he talks about how video games make kids smarter and how game-ification is becoming implemented into some everyday activities. He defines game-ification as using game thinking and function as a way to come up with solutions to problems. Video games have become an intricate part of our society no matter how some people may feel about them. Rather then pushing against this fact, some businesses have accepted this and are developing ways to get people more involved with their products or services by attaching some sort of game element to it.

When Mr. Zichermann started to talk about how a teacher by the name of Ananth Pai implemented a video game based curriculum of his own design into his class of 3^rd graders, it caught my attention. Mr. Pai used video game consoles you can purchase right off the shelf so that nothing had to be custom made and used these games to teach his math and language classes. In the span of eighteen weeks, his class went from a below 3^rd grade level in reading and math to a mid-4^th grade level in those two areas.

What made this curriculum a success was what the kids thought of it. When asked about Mr. Pai’s class, the kids responded with two recurring themes; the learning was fun and that it was multiplayer, meaning they were able to interact with other kids in completely different locations in the country or world. If there are more classes that can be taught in this fashion, why not utilize it? I’m sure that there are plenty of kids out there who would greatly benefit from this style of education that are not succeeding in traditional teaching methods.

Game-ification has crossed over into the automobile industry as well.  There is a hybrid vehicle out there that has a plant that grows when you are being more environmentally conscious with your driving and withers when you are being less. They have also incorporated game-ification into speed cameras. These are the devices that cops set up in certain hot spots and take pictures of speeders and send them a ticket. Ken Richardson came up with Speed Camera Lottery, a game that uses those cameras a type of lottery system. He took his idea to Sweden where those cameras are used and also where they send you a ticket not based on how fast you were going but how much money you make. Well if you are driving under the speed limit, you are entered into a lottery for some of the money from the fines of the less fortunate drivers.

I can imagine that this line of thinking will begin to filter into many areas of life as time progresses. If a person can harness a way to make mundane tasks fun and interesting, they would have a very valuable service or product on their hands. The less people think they are working, the more likely they will be to donate their time and engage in what you are trying to accomplish.