State of Gamification pt. 1

Kaczynski’s actions, though unforgivable, can teach us as much about gamification as his philosophy. His red herrings lured people away from what they actually sought, and, as we shall see, this is the greatest danger of gamification.

What offends me as a game designer, however, is how so much gamification made by corporations simply isn’t fun. Instead, it’s the thinnest, most thoughtless layering of aesthetics and mechanics from game design onto an unappealing activity.

“But when we try to gamify ordinary life,” said Nguyen, “we’re trying to impose clear values on a preexisting thicket of values, on a system that is very uncertain and complex.” We abide by silly rules in the name of arbitrary points for parts of life that aren’t silly and arbitrary. Nguyen continued: “So instead of figuring out why you care about