/* ---- Google Analytics Code Below */

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Chore Wars: An Alternate Reality Game

I am doing some research in the area of 'gamification' and the use of games to improve serious work processes. That and some emerging project work has led me to start reading: Reality Is Broken: What Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World:
by Jane McGonigal. 

One of the areas I am interested in is how to use games to promote the performance of relatively tedious tasks that are still important, such as recording learnings for knowledge management.  McGonigal gives a good example, the use of an alternate reality game called Chore Wars.  This to promote performance of simple, but often painful household tasks.  Nicely described in her book pp120-   More about it here.


Without experience with it I would think that this is kind of game would work best with people that already have a positive experience with multiplayer games that use avatars.  Still a useful example of what can be done with games to address less than fun tasks.

See also Jane McGonigal's blog.


2 comments:

Karen said...

Franz - LOVE your blog, it's a diamond in the rough. I recently led a strategy workshop around gamification. In addition to McGonigal's book (and delighted TED talk), also see:
- Sebastian Deterding's talk at Google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZGCPap7GkY

and
- Prof. Jesse Schell's talk at DICE
http://fury.com/2010/02/jesse-shells-mindblowing-talk-on-the-future-of-games-dice-2010/

- Karen Hillis-Skipper, Ipsos

Franz Dill said...

Great links Karen, thanks very much for the comments and information. Will pass along.
Franz