Our friends at Urban Times recently solicited us for our expert perspective on how gaming is affecting the planning world. Of course, we were more than happy to oblige. Our response was published on June 16th: Gaming For Better Communities. 

“Gamification” has become a full-fledged movement.  It started with social media, then spread across industries as marketers discovered the allure of points, badges, challenges, and rewards as mediums to making almost anything seem like more fun.  These efforts to attract users met with varying degrees of success, but critics worried that such “funware” was just glorified “bling” that delivered little in terms of value.  Then Jane McGonigal gave her much-circulated TED talk on how “Gaming Can Make A Better World”, and the concept of gamification began to enjoy new-found respect as a driver for community-building and a motivator for real-life change.

Really, gamification doesn’t have to mean making a game out of everything, nor does it mean that reward schemes must be slapped onto every product and pursuit.  In its simplest form, applying a “gaming mentality” to a project involves simplifying the real world into a distinct cause-and-effect structure within a certain realm, making it easier for people to interact, share, and problem-solve.  Community enthusiasts would be wise to examine the possibilities inherent in gaming, in order to discover ways that its effectiveness could be applied in place-building.

Read the full article at: http://www.theurbn.com/2011/06/gaming-for-better-communities/

• Printer-friendly version
• challer's blog
• Send to friend