Gamify Your Life!

[Rualani]

Gamification uses those fun things in video games and attaches them to other products, services.

What's most interesting to me is how this tool could be used to further someone's own development. Here's a video showing it with some examples if you want the long version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Qjuegtiyc

With my search into gamification I ran accross a web service/app called Habitica. Habitica is treated as an old school rpg but instead of clicking <fight> <magic> with a controller you check off to-do's/habits/dailies.

It sounds cheesy at first but I've felt the motivating effects personally.
There's something different about motivating yourself to exercise when failing to do so will result in being assaulted by feral dust bunnies. It's not a panacea for motivation by any mean but it's another useful tool.

I've been combining it with omnifocus to try and stay on top of life. Habitica is best for... habits.

Still, back to the main point, Habitica is just one example of how gamification can be used to improve the lives of others. I wonder if it could play a role in the K-12 setting.

Thoughts?

 

[Auburn]

I love the model! (then again, i'm a fan of models)

While his talk was about gaming, I think his octalysis concept is less about gaming and more an approaching/description of human psychology and human motivation in general.

It begs the question.... what is gaming? ...if not just humans executing on their primary motivations directly, just for their own sake without thinking about practical impact. It's an exercise in mental and emotional stimulation --via a simulation of what it would aspire life to be like, or what scenarios evoke engagement with life.

And looked at this way, gaming becomes a sort of phenomenon, a case-study or hypothetical simulation for human aspiration in general. A window into how the psyche as a whole wants life to flow, and how it bests engages with life meaningfully and powerfully.

edit: I think he actually said this in different words. And I bet his book covers it, so this is redundant. ....c.c

[bimgx=400]http://imgur.com/1ZG8RpD.jpg[/bimgx]


on the topic of redundant observations, I noticed that his octagon is arranged so that there's a type of Maslow's hierarchy going on if you divide it up this way. I'd wager this is intentional and part of one of the other "levels."

Really neat.

 

[Pyropyro]

Im using the Zombies Run app for motivating me to jog. Its quite useful and it helped me run my first race last December after years of inactivity.

 

[The Gopher]

Still, back to the main point, Habitica is just one example of how gamification can be used to improve the lives of others. I wonder if it could play a role in the K-12 setting.

Thoughts?

What does Habitica do? I am probably missing something because I haven't found any bunnies. I mean it looks like you level up but isn't that pointless without err game play.?

 

[Rualani]

You get quest scrolls that you can do with a party. First rule is you have to party up, though. This is found in the social tab, where most of the fun stuff is as combat is party oriented in this game. Most of the quest scrolls unlock just by logging in a certain number of days.

When you fight something, tasks completed go towards damaging to the enemy while dailies missed or negative habits hurt the party or just you.

Stats modify how much your productivity hurts the enemy and limits the amount of damage you take due to laziness. Also, some stats effect gear pick-up and gold.

Finally, As you level up more options are opened up to you. I just hit level-3 and that unlocked the ability to pick up items from completing habits. Kinda weird but I think they've designed it where more of the game opens up based on you leveling up.

Also, there are challenges which, essentially, fill up your task lists with dailies and to-do's of the creators choice. An example would be the plank-a-day challenge. You do a plank everyday and get an extra reward.

I use Zombies Run as well. I made a mistake and tried to RUN the whole first mission. It was ugly. I, actually, did most mission running but I think I damaged something...

Back to Octalysis.

I like the guys vision. Use Octalysis to make it so that everyone is having more fun while working. Heck, that's small-fry talk. The guy dreams of a world where no one even "works" and it's all fun and games.

I have a feeling his vision doesn't mean I can stay home and play Skyrim all day xD.

 

[QuickTwist]

The thing about making a game in everything is that it has to work for everyone based on the theory and I don't think it does.

For "normal" or healthy minded individuals it can work really well. But take someone who is a bit... disturbed, and I don't think it will have the same effect. For example, those dealing with depression are very susceptible to apathy and as such are not inclined to be proactive in making things entertaining for themselves.

 

[Rualani]

That's an interesting point. Then again, could a vision ever cover all of humanity in general?

Personally, I come from the side where people with depression and apathy find themselves sinking tons of time in video gaming. It's led me to believe that there is probably a way to hook everybody in some way or form. Once again, probably, a generalization too far.

On the point about Octalysis being a way to model human aspiration in general. It makes me wonder what other possible uses it could work for. I chose gamification because I felt like that's the appearance the model takes upon application. In other words, when human aspiration is maximized it looks like a game.

I don't think I can, currently, imagine what form it would take at the maximum though, so gaming could still be an immature form from the idea.

 

[bookscoffeepadthai]

Gaming based off of real life motivations and desires being repackaged and reapplied to real life. I like it. But I think I would be bored if everyone was playing the same game. Which is how life sort of feels to me right now. I want a quest. I want to feel like I have a special purpose even when all the evidence is proving otherwise. I don't need that purpose to mean anything to anyone but me since there are facts I can't escape. I am going to die. I do not have time to learn everything. Even if I learned everything I cannot remember everything. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Im am so completely incomplete

 

[Potion Purple]

Gaming as because everyone wants to be part of something big is interesting. I can honestly say the time I gamed the most was for escape from both reality and boredom. And then there's the fact that eventually, a game just gets old.

For something like habitica, I tried it and felt it was a little too unstructured and left it because I couldn't manage it too well--and that made me lose motivation for it. Someone should write a guide on how they play it XD

The octalysis reminds me of those stat model things in games, but with my limited knowledge it's probably just a way that people use diagrams..is it?

 

[Black Rose]

When I still had my facebook password I received tons of requests for candy crush saga. I spend way to much time online to care about that type of game anymore. I visit too many forums and watch too much YouTube for all that. In 2009 I played several Wii games and they were fun and did more physical activities building things and inventing things but now I spend all my time online. My tabs bar has over 200 bookmarks.

I think gamification is a good idea but different people have different profiles. I like some games and not others. I like some people and not others. To effectively gamify we need an interface. This interface could be an A.I. - It all depend on your profile and sorting you values hierarchy. I would do more activities if I found people to do them with. Some people already love their work so do not need to play certain games. The job and the person determine the fun level if we gamify work because after work different games need to be played.

If people are learning something new then a game is successful. If a game is too hard people are not learning and rage quite. If a game is too easy or too simple people may quite. I would like to play candy crush saga but other things are more engaging to me because I like complex challenges. I played many games like it on my Gameboy but I do not have a cellphone but a PC so I do not play it. The interface matters. Computers need this information to become a better interface with A.I. - Games need to be fun and not isolate people so much, social networking can be fun, it is why I come to INTP forum. This place is fun, I learn stuff and can contribute. Engagement is key to gamification.