We keep on going back in time and modifying our truths, so finally we have only lies to show. That my friend is Reality. Virtual Reality doesn’t allow changes and would become the accepted Reality (the reality currency).
Can you make work look like a Game?
Does Gamification work? Can you make work look like a Game? Game is about having fun, and Gamification is about making work look like fun. A beautiful concept on paper. Looks like those one lines that wow you. But, wait! Is this a new concept? Can a daily chore, of 8 hours, be converted into fun just by adding some decorations? The answer is NO!
Army elevates the ability to take risk with one’s life as an achievement.
In the modern world, Army uses this to a large effect, and also allows a lot of wine to flow under the bridge to keep the Gamification induced stresses in check. And why do they use it? Well they have to elevate the ability to take risk with one’s life as an achievement. So how do you do that? Make it look like a game.
Religion is a game where God gives you points every time you endorse Him.
In the archaic world, Religion was Gamified to keep people returning at regular specified intervals (sunday mass and so on). So you seem to be playing a game with an imaginary character God, who gives you points for each time you endorse him/ her.
Currency was one of the first methods of storing value and start of the Gamification.
In the medieval times, Currency was one of the first methods of storing value and start of the Gamification. You could store points that could be used later (like when you are sick, or infirm). It was a wonderful way to ease the troubles of life.
Marriage! is Game where you stored a human for permanent use, by giving up the freedom to mate with anyone else.
They also applied the concept to mating and came up with a game – Marriage! where you stored a human for permanent use, by giving up the freedom to mate with anyone else. Some of these game models allowed you to store more than a mate, and in other models it depended on your badges/ status and monetary value – not bad!
Employment! is a game where you can throw in badges and points and get a NeoSlave!
Then they went ahead, and created another game called Employment (when slavery was going down – initially you could capture and use a human from another community and keep as slave). Again came some badges and points (points like money were already an accepted system). Again, human living was Gamified.
Now coming back to Gamification, well, if job/ employment is already Gamified, then why the hullabaloo around it? After employment, few people claimed that they can improve the experience (better Gamification) and they studied HR and became HR Managers. This gave them huge clout within the company.
Now, some people understood the secret, that Job/ Employment is a Game (not yet openly calling the bluff) and thought that the open acceptance of this fact, allows them to apply the principles unashamedly. But does that remove the chore/ drudgery from it? Does it add to the already long Gamified structure of the system?
Democracy Gamified the Kingdom!
A few centuries ago, came the biggest Gamification of all – Democracy! Well, it looked more attractive than the earlier game – Kingdom! (some people still did not give up, they still play Kingdom to a wonderful level)
Any attempt to Gamify Work! can belittle the employee or hurt his intelligence.
As I understand Gamification, it must be applied to stuff that is largely one time or irregular work. Regular work, whichever way it is cloaked, looks like work, even if at the end we give a huge badge like a Nobel Prize! And any attempt to Gamify it can belittle the employee or hurt his intelligence. Hence the need to go with people who have a huge understanding of human psychology.
NeoReality is a better term than Gamification. Gamification! It means restructuring Reality and removing the system defects from it
Aah! and now we come to the question of the name Gamification! Well, I think a more apt name is “NeoReality”. It means restructuring Reality and removing the system defects from it (more can be read about it in an earlier article I wrote – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/neoreal-reconstruction-reality-vineet-kapoor