On Serious Gamification

Podcast on the evolution of serious gamification.   We used it to some extent in the enterprise, but never to my satisfaction.  It requires a change in business user behavior.  There is much opportunity here.

Podcast:

‘For the Win’ authors Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter discuss the revised and updated edition of their book and how gamification has changed the way we work toward goals.

The story of gamification isn’t fun and games. It’s serious.

Authors Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter have been at the forefront of the development of gamification tools in business. In a revised and updated edition of their book, For the Win: The Power of Gamification and Game Thinking in Business, Education, Government, and Social Impact, they explain that when used carefully and thoughtfully, gamification produces great outcomes for users, in ways that are hard to replicate through other methods. Other times, companies misuse the “guided missile” of gamification to have people work and do things in ways that are against their self-interest.

The authors recently sat down with Brett LoGiurato, senior editor at Wharton School Press, to discuss their revised and updated book.

An edited transcript of the conversation follows:

Brett LoGiurato: I wanted to talk first about your initial interest in gamification and what drew you together. I understand it started as a shared interest in World of Warcraft, so how did you develop it from there?

Kevin Werbach: It was a shared interest in games and the power of games. We were originally both faculty at Wharton, and we were both studying what was then called “cyberspace”—virtual worlds. Dan actually did this work before I did, but he and others started looking at virtual worlds of games and comparing that to the virtual world that was getting built with the internet in cyberspace. I found that incredibly fascinating, and I found Dan to be a really brilliant guy, as well. So we became friends, and one of the things that we did was with a group of researchers, journalists and others who studied games in virtual worlds — we got together and started playing a game, World of Warcraft, back when it originally launched, now 15-plus years ago.

That experience of seeing what it was actually like in this incredibly sophisticated virtual world really further kindled our interest. Then when this phenomenon of gamification started to develop a couple of years later, people were saying, “We can learn from games and take insights from developing effective games and apply that to business and apply that to the things in the real world that we are studying.” I think that’s really the point where both of us jumped and said, “Yes, we really think this is something significant, and we can contribute to the understanding.”  ....  '

John Horton Conway Simulates Life

In the most recent Quanta Magazine, a obituary of John Horton Conway, who inspired many of us  to take up his 'game of life' to simulate life-like things, called cellular automata,  in a computer.  Some of my earliest programming implemented his simulation models.


A Life in Games
John Horton Conway claims to have never worked a day in his life. This adaptation from the biography Genius at Play shows how serious advances such as the surreal numbers can spring out of fun and games. ... "

  ... " Conway’s contributions to the mathematical canon include innumerable games. He is perhaps most famous for inventing the Game of Life in the late 1960s. The Scientific American columnist Martin Gardner called it “Conway’s most famous brainchild.” This is not Life the family board game, but Life the cellular automaton. A cellular automaton is a little machine with groups of cells that evolve from iteration to iteration in discrete rather than continuous time — in seconds, say, each tick of the clock advances the next iteration, and over time, behaving a bit like a transformer or a shape-shifter, the cells evolve into something, anything, everything else. Life is played on a grid, like tic-tac-toe, where its proliferating cells resemble skittering microorganisms viewed under a 
microscope..   ... "

A Game of life Pulsar:





The wikipedia has a good 'technical' overvew:    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life

Games for Education

Will games work for this purpose?  Look forward to see a report on how well.  A very quick look at this makes me wonder, but look forward to seeing more details.  Gamification can provide a means of engagement, but must also have the best possible goals.    Thats why its very useful to emphasize recognized fundamentals in education.   Will this address these fundamentals?

 With Coronavirus Closing Schools, Here’s How Video Games are Helping Teachers
The Washington Post
By Elise Favis

The quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted teachers to utilize popular video games like Assassin's Creed, Minecraft, and Roblox to conduct lessons on a range of topics. Game publishers are facilitating this trend by making their platforms as accessible as possible to educators during the crisis. In 2018, Ubisoft added a new mode to Assassin's Creed: Origins, which is set in ancient Egypt, called Discovery Tour. This mode lets players embark on guided tours through famous historical sites and cities. This mode was recently adapted for Assassin's Creed: Odyssey—set in ancient Greece—complete with additional content like quizzes. Minecraft also comes with an education mode, which Microsoft has made free for educators and students through June 2020 due to the pandemic. Roblox is a platform that lets players create their own video games from scratch. The company has partnered with more than 170 educators from 35 countries to discuss applications for the game. ... "

Game Based Learning and the Power of the Human Element

Of interest to my readers,  following up:

Franz,

My new, co-authored book has been launched and may be of interest to members of your community.

Emotify!: The Power of the Human Element in Game-Based Learning, Serious Games and Experiential Education,

 is available at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1704604680/
or AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/product/1704604680/

You may find the following links of interest:

• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/death-lecture-michael-sutton-phd-cmc-fbei-mit/
• https://www.seriousgamemarket.com/2019/11/new-book-emotify-dynamics-of-successful.html
• https://www.shortsims.com/single-post/2019/11/29/Episode-29-With-Dr-Michael-Sutton-on-The-Use-of-Quests-and-Other-Activities-to-Develop-Emotional-Intelligence-from-the-New-Book-Emotify

Please contact me at michaeljdsutton@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or constructive criticism.   Have fun reading!         Michael Sutton

Personalized Games

Much like the general idea,   Could it be applied to other kinds of tasks.   Could it be used to allocate resources to problems.   Connect with the right kinds of assistants?

Researchers Create 'Player Trait Model' Allowing for Personalized Games
University of Waterloo News
September 25, 2019

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a tool that will enable user-experience designers to create more effective, personalized video games and marketing campaigns. The "player traits model," when used in conjunction with a 25-item survey, can evaluate the kinds of video games different people will enjoy. The model is based on five traits: social, aesthetic, challenge, goal, and narrative. The survey questions were developed by a multidisciplinary team of four researchers in the HCI Games Group of Waterloo's Games Institute. Said Waterloo researcher Gustavo Tondello, "It is important to understand the relationship between personality, playing preferences, and enjoyment of game elements because this knowledge has uses in the design of targeted and adaptive games, as well as gameful applications and advertising campaigns." ...

Serious Games

Have long looked for games that were serious enough, and fun enough.   Here at least the data is serious enough.  But how do we connect very different goals?  Perhaps in the creative space.

Google Maps adds a city-themed 'Snake' game

Elements of serious games?  Probably not, but looking for that angle.    Ideas?

Game Builder to Build Your Serious Games?

Took a quick look, and the approach is set up for non-serious games.  But could such a method be used to construct special purpose games that would interact with their context to achieve serious goals?  Always thought you needed much better control of the context and meta-game and goals to make that happen.  Is that here?

Google's Game Builder Turns Building Multiplayer Games into a Game 
in TechCrunch
By Frederic Lardinois

Google's Area 120 team has developed Game Builder, a free tool for PC and macOS users who want to build their own 3D games without having to learn to code. The overall design aesthetic is at least partially inspired by Minecraft, but users are free to create whatever kind of game they want. Game Builder can create first-person shooter games, a platformer, and a demo of the tool's card system for programming more complex interactions. Building a 3D level is like playing a game itself, and users can build multiplayer games and even create games in real time with other users. In addition, players can use JavaScript to go beyond some of the pre-programmed features. Google is also relying on Poly, its library of 3D objects, to give users lots of options for creating and designing different levels. ... '

Serious Games Grad Program

Key areas mentioned are of interest.  Good to follow for new developments.

UC Santa Cruz Launches First Graduate Program in Serious Games
University of California, Santa Cruz
Tim Stephens; James McGirk

The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) Baskin School of Engineering is launching the first professional master's degree program in serious games offered in the U.S. Serious games are designed to accomplish a purpose other than pure entertainment, aiming to impact measurable social goals. The serious games program, which will begin accepting students this fall, builds on existing expertise at UC Santa Cruz in assistive technologies, games and playable media, digital art and new media, psychology, and other related disciplines. The new program will train students over five academic quarters in six key areas: game design, game technology, eliciting and integrating subject matter knowledge, designing and conducting efficacy measures, effective teamwork, and career planning.  ... " 

AI Creates a Sport

Always been interested in creativity from AI.   Here an AI 'observes' sports  and creates a new one.   Is this creative, predictive, adaptive?  Is the idea useful for other kinds or contexts of human behavior?  Could this be redone for serious games?

Speedgate is based on data from hundreds of existing sports.

Jon Fingas, @jonfingas
12h ago in Personal Computing in Engadget

Many existing sports have their roots in hundreds (if not thousands) of years of human tradition. But what if you asked computers to create a sport? You now know how that can turn out. The design agency AKQA has introduced Speedgate, reportedly the first sport envisioned by an AI. The event has six-player teams competing on a field with three open-ended gates. Once you've kicked the ball through a center gate (which you can't step through), your team can score on one of the end gates -- complete with an extra point if you ricochet the ball through the gate. You can't stay still, either, as the ball has to move every three seconds.   .... " 

Engaging Voice-First Games

In the Alexa Dev Blog, a number of downloads on the creation and delivery and monetizing of online games.    While some may think this is not serious enough, the exercise can be rewarding, in that games have well defined goals.   Might also get more kids involved.   I like their direction.

Guide: Qualities of Engaging Voice-First Games

Voice is the next game controller, enabling developers to add voice to their wildest gaming ideas and re-imagine new ways to engage players. Download our guide to join the pioneers building voice-first games. You'll learn what makes a voice game engaging, steps to build a voice game from scratch, and how to monetize your game skills with in-skill purchasing (ISP).

Download Guide

Tips for Monetizing Voice Games

Developers are using in-skill purchasing in game skills to offer premium content to players and build voice businesses. Learn how Gal Shenar monetized his game skills to help his players extend their play and engage more deeply with the experience.

Learn More

Live Streaming at GDC

Alexa is streaming live from GDC to bring the GDC experience to developers at home. Join us for three days of live streaming, where we'll cover updates from the conference, live coding sessions, and best practices for building engaging Alexa game skills.  ... "

Serious Games, AI and Training?

So can we train via AI in complex world environments, and can those environments be mapped into the real world to become 'Serious'?   Open AI takes a look.

OpenAI Launches Neural MMO to Train AI in Complex, Open-World Environments  By Joel Hruska  in Extremetech

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a number of AI projects demonstrate how effectively artificial intelligences can play certain games, from classics like chess to the Chinese game Go and even DOTA 2 and Starcraft 2. Now, the non-profit OpenAI has released what it calls Neural MMO. The look is heavily reminiscent of Minecraft, but the long-term impact of the idea could be considerable.

We’ve actually touched on some of these topics in a discussion of in-game AI and how DirectX 12 might lead to improvements by freeing system resources to be spent on AI instead of handling GPU rendering requests. (Spoiler alert: Nothing of the sort has happened yet). Nonetheless, this article should be considered a primer on the kinds of issues game developers often face when implementing AI systems.  .... "

CIA Releases Operational Board Games

Intriguing.   How useful these might be is unclear.  I recall seeing a board-style game with supposed espionage related origins that utilized game theory.   We edited some of the player parameters to get something that might be useful for real-life business.    It was suggested that the game could be used to set operational and strategic approaches for competitive activity. 

CIA’s in-house board games can now be yours thanks to FOIA request
After SXSW 2017 reveal, CIA releases buckets of marked-up board game design notes.  By Sam Machkovech  in ArsTechnica

Last year, the CIA used a South By Southwest festival event to reveal one of its weirdest training exercises: a series of globe-trotting, espionage-filled board games. If you're wondering why we're circling back to this news almost exactly one year later, we have four letters for you: FOIA.

A series of Freedom of Information Act requests, filed last June by Southern California tech entrepreneur Doug Palmer, finally bore fruit last week. The CIA has now released rules, art, and design documents for the two board games we played at last year's SXSW.  .... " 

Echo Buttons for Games

The somewhat mysterious Echo 'buttons' and now more clearly assigned to game playing.    Have yet to see a very engaging game there.   Now think about how these might be used for gamification, aka 'serious games'?   Or crowd sourcing by low effort voting or signaling?  By colleagues or customers.  Given to key customers to build their engagement?   A reminder of the 'Easy Button'.   I like the open ended aspect of these.  Just add creativity.

Revisiting Virtual Worlds

As I have chronicled here, we looked closely at the Virtual World Idea, with the support of some management.   But it never stuck well enough, had too many problems involved with just getting things done.  And the older generations rolled their eyes.  But now that is turning over, and changes are underway, does it have a place?

    Its not augmenting reality, but replacing it with one that's potentially built for the job at hand.   A piece about changes being considered.  More closely connected to an effort called Sansar, which appears to bring it closer to game environments, which we also sought to make this useful for business.   Note that IEEE has a Virtual Worlds Standards Group, but a quick look at it shows the work is still thin. 

Lego Extends into Games

Been a longer follower of Lego, its toys and its use as a thinking tool, for adults and children.    This new piece  In Knowledge@Wharton looks at the move forward in its business model.   Good detailed piece.  Lets continue to see applications beyond toys and onto serious thinking value.

Crowdsourcing Science with Foldit

I recall reading about this some time ago, and wondering about the value of such methods.  Our own R&D groups had looked at solving related problems.  Here is an update I caught.  Perhaps the best example of value from gamification.

Gamers beat scientists to making a protein discovery
It's proof that crowdsourced science can solve problems quickly.

It's no great shock to see citizen scientists make discoveries that professionals miss, but making it through a video game? That's different. Gamers playing Foldit, a puzzle title that has teams trying to fold the best protein, have identified the shape of a protein before scientists (including two trained experts and 61 University of Michigan undergrads) could manage the feat. And it's not as if there were legions of contributors, either, as it took a relatively modest 469 players to help out.

The protein in question may be particularly significant. It prevents plaque formation, hinting that it might help fight Alzheimer's if and when the medical community develops a practical use for it.  ... " 

On the Science of Foldit.

Foldit in Wikipedia.

Game that Speeds Language Learning

In the CACM:   Always the kind of gamification that should be of most value, one that turns a difficult, lengthy and tedious effort into obsessive fun.    But how often does this work well?   Where do the game mechanics make the most sense?

" ... In an effort to streamline the process of learning a second language, Cornell University researchers first created a "fun" aspect by adopting a video game format, then boosted the speed of learning by incorporating a social media "chat" function.

The researchers' most recent paper, Social Situational Language Learning through an Online 3D Game, was presented at the recent ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction conference (CHI 2016).

Mark Riedl, associate professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) School of Interactive Computing and director of the university's Entertainment Intelligence Lab, said the Cornell work "parallels my own studies of 'games with a purpose.' While we work with games that crowdsource common-sense knowledge data sets instead of education, we are trying to identify which game mechanics increase player enjoyment and also increase the accuracy of data produced by humans."  .... '   

Game Based Learning

An obvious space for the idea, would like to see it taken further.  See my long term coverage of gamification and serious games at the links below.  We even had some successes in the otherwise somber enterprise.   Still following.

The rise of game-based learning by Alice Savage meets the children taking gamification to the next level by learning to code through their own games  ... 

With many affordable products on the market, game-based learning is becoming a recognisable feature of the British classroom. Learning subjects through games can greatly improve pupil engagement in a subject and provide teachers with instant feedback, analytics and other teaching tools that can tailor a learning programme for each individual student. The rise of game-based learning has now paved the way for a new level of engagement from students with new opportunities arising for them to learn to make their own games  ... " 

Games that Teach Coding

In the CACM:   Games that teach coding.

' ... "Research with computer programming interventions in early childhood settings has shown that children as young as five years old can master fundamental programming concepts of sequencing, logical ordering, and cause-and-effect relationships,’’ according to a report by Tufts University educators that looked specifically at the game ScratchJr.

Games that teach coding have been used successfully both in the classroom and independently, says Alice Steinglass, vice president of Product & Marketing at Code.org. Games like those found at https://code.org/learn "teach the foundational concepts of computer science and are great ways to get students to learn concepts in a way that’s friendly and motivating,’’ she says. ... " 

Playful City Designs

Not only practical design, but how about playful design?  Here a UK effort on the idea.  Not gamification dynamics in the sense of competition, but promoting curiosity and even innovation. Too often forgotten.   Also with a strong element of cognitive language interaction. " ... Hello Lamp Post and the idea of playful cities ...  A new project that allows city dwellers to converse with urban objects begins in Bristol this July. We speak to the creators about this fascinating collision of Smart Cities and location-based gaming  ... "