Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutes
This came across my feed today. I can’t leave this unanswered, because I’m really getting tired of this sort of unfounded sales drivel.
7 Key Learning Points on Gamification | Axonify.
Now, I do not know these people or this company, and I have no personal beef. I’m using this article as a way to highlight some of what’s really wrong with the corporate gamification ‘scene’, and why, if they continue pushing this stuff, they will be responsible for yet another failed fad.
I actually think gamification done right ISN’T a fad. Some of it is indeed new, but a lot of it is simply good teaching, and gamification is a handy umbrella term for a collection of ideas that didn’t have anything to unify them till now.
Let’s go through them in order:
Learning Point #1: Game Popularity is a Formula
Yeah. Right. The idea that you can guarantee success by following a formula is the kind of magical thinking that gave us software engineering. You know the kind that believes that hiring dozens of mediocre programmers and making them follow a formal “process” will result in well designed, bug-free software.
Making a good game is HARD. There is no simple formula.
The author claims that their company has figured out the formula as a result of testing and releasing 100’s of games. The formula, they say, is to make the game multi-level, challenging and fun. I suppose 30+ years of research into games and game design isn’t worth mentioning. This is NOT new, and they sure as heck didn’t invent it.
Learning Point #2: Game Play Variety is Critical
Of course. We’ve known for decades that this kind of variety is critical in learning. Also not new, nor did they uncover any special secret here.
Learning Point #3: Leaderboards Drive Competition & Community
Maybe in marketing, but NOT, I repeat NOT true in learning generally. In fact more and more we are realizing that competition is counter productive when it comes to learning. It also tends to destroy community.
Learning Point #4: Physical Rewards are Key to Participation
Also not true. What IS key to participation is that the rewards be meaningful. Now I suppose if you can only think in terms of material stuff, then, sure, physical rewards are better than virtual ones. By the word physical is not the opposite of virtual. Real Life is (sort of – I’m not convinced that all words have opposites, but this comes closer).
Learning Point #5: Learners Prefer the Term “Coach” Over “Avatar”
Whatever.
Learning Point #6: Employees Like to See Their Progress
Everyone likes to get feedback and see that they are progressing. This isn’t news.
Learning Point #7: Social
What? The first 6 “points” were actually statements of some sort, and now we get a single word as if we’re supposed to know exactly what it is about “social” that’s key. A lot of people actually DON’T like to socialize in the way that most salespeople think. I suspect most salespeople are extroverts and can’t even begin to imagine that there might be people who don’t think exactly like they do. The article says that 15% of their users engage socially every day. That actually doesn’t sound like a lot to me.
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