How can we apply gamification in real life scenarios? Well, Nike already does it with Nike+ in one of their specialization environments: running. Nike wants people to move, so they have created a system where people can track their accomplishments. For example, you challenge yourself to run for 2 kilometers. And then comes the end of the week…
There are two possible outcomes:
– You did it! Awesome, now you can aim higher in next week’s challenge and get that rush from accomplishing something you have considered difficult. It’s a great feeling, and you know it!
– You have failed! Well, no need to feel bad about it! It means you must try harder next week because you know how awesome it will feel when you beat the challenge!
In both cases you are looking for that feeling of accomplishment, the choir of angels inside your head praising the hero who crossed the bottomless pit to the other side. Something you considered as impossible before.
But in any case you still keep running. And you do it not because it is good for your health, but mainly because you have a challenge to beat. Of course it continues to be good for your health, but now that is a positive collateral. Your mind is set to beat the challenge, and that desire gets even stronger if someone else, maybe someone you know, proposes the challenge. That brings the concept of multiplayer to the equation. Playing is most fun with others; life is always most fun with other people as well. OK, not always! But it is, most of the time.
If the challenge was issued by a friend wouldn’t it be more defying?
Wouldn’t you feel a greater desire to beat the challenge that way? There is someone asking you to accomplish something and they are going to judge you by your effort. Well, if they are your friends, they probably will not judge you, but in your mind, even if subconsciously, you believe they will. And that fuels everything in your body to concentrate in the task at hand. You want everyone, or at least your judgmental friend, to recognize you as the “king of the hill”. But we will explore this approach later on.
We have now in this article a real example of an application of the concept of gamification that is already used in real life. A lot more can be done though, and you can help us reach that level.
Next week we will delve in the multiplayer subject, by creating a gamification plan to apply on a specific real life scenario. So, if you have any suggestion on what this scenario could be, please give us your feedback in the comments section of this post or use the form in the Contact Us area of the website. We follow the basic principle that “all ideas are worth considering” so do not hesitate to speak with us. Tell us what you have on your mind, we will be glad to know about it.
Awesome people have awesome ideas!
And for us, everyone is awesome until proven otherwise.
