Applied Gaming
Using Game Mechanics to Get Parents to Watch Test Orientation Videos
I just got done watching six orientation videos for my 4th grader’s upcoming standardized test, which cleverly used game mechanics (perhaps unbeknownst to the school, Keysor Elementary) to make sure we watched them.
You Don’t Need Virtual Worlds When You Can Game Reality
Don’t get me wrong: Virtual worlds can be awesome, and escaping into a good video game is a wonderful thing, and profitable too — just look at the billions of dollars generated by World of Warcraft, Wii/360/PS3 consoles and Zynga Facebook games like Farmville. And the time will come when these games and virtual worlds [...]
Massively Multiplayer Workforce: Natron Baxter’s Take on Reeves & Reads’ Book “Total Engagement”
I’m stoked about the publication of Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete (companion website here) by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read. My excitement is twofold: first, the authors lend additional credibility to using games within a business environment; and second, the book presents an [...]
Coral Cross - Now a Reality Game
As some of you are aware, I have been helping with the design and development of an Alternate Reality Game about Pandemic flu called Coral Cross. In light of the recent outbreak of swine flu we’ve had to adjust our approach. I’m excited to write we are continuing our work, shifting from an “alternate reality game” to a “reality game” - and are exploring methods of engagement and very-near-future-forecasting that can be applied in real-time to this emerging health crisis.
Interaction Design for Signtific Lab
In this post I will outline the interaction design for Signtific Lab, a website for massively multiplayer thought experiments. The marketing material for Signtific Lab reads “the platform provides a mechanism to rapidly generate cutting edge ideas about the future of science and technology.” At its core it is a what-if game that prompts [...]
