#jit8

[gloriak14]

Will You Get Your Extra 7 Minutes?

The type of video games that I usually play, tend to be on my phone such as Temple Run, Fruit Ninja, and Bejewled. I wouldn't say that I play these games that often (max 15 minutes a day). Also from time to time I have played Call of Duty, or NBA 2K with my boyfriend. For the most part my motivation for playing these games are to pass the time. However I have found that when I play video games that it allowss me to mentally escape from the stresses that burden my everyday life. One way that I think that would be interesting to incorporate a gameful experience would be the education system. I think it would help students become more engaged in school and help them see and understand a purpose. For example if they had a challenge that they had to meet by the end of the school year and mini quests along the way, it might allow students to see school as fun rather than merely a chore or requirement. I think Second Life (http://secondlife.com/) is an example of successful gamification. The company allows you to create a virtual identity and play games and compete in quests and make money. It also allows you to spend money (unfortunately real money) on your avatar. The main type of resilience that it builds up is staying connected with friends and allows you to live your life how you truly want to live it not how others say you should. I think a way to gamify the course would be to focus on personal connections building long lasting and strong relationships with customers and how to promote friendships amoung customers as well. We already do some of this but I think focussing on it even more would be interesting and make the course more gamified.

[maryjfischer]

Online Gaming: Bringing Success to a Past Time

1) As for online games, I have played Family Feud through Facebook, Draw Something, Flappy Bird and Candy Crush. My activities and interest in online gaming has always been rooted in the sense it was something to do if I was bored, on a long car ride or to check it out when everyone is talking about it. Depending on the formation and basis of the game I believe a game can be more engaging. If you incorporate a more educational, social, physical or prize aspect people will enjoy a non-game context. People like engaging activities that they obtain some sort of benefit from it. As can be seen with my reasoning, i would agree with McGonigal's point that games increase social aspects, it is another way friend's can come together and connect.

2) A good example, of a gaming activity that would match with business objectives is what Domino's did with Pizza hero. A short video can be watched here to learn more about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QzWEeOoFMfU#t=5s. Ultimately pizza hero came in the form of an application that could be downloaded for free on an iPad, IPhone, etc and it basically was a creative and innovative way you can make a pizza you want and then it will be delivered right to your door. If Domino's was pleased with your pizza making abilities based on this app, they would then offer you to join their team. This was Domino's way of trying to bring more employees to their team that are passionate about pizza and also have the appropriate skills. While this app does not perfectly fit into any of McGonigal's 4 areas, i think it is most definitely related to social because you are in contact with a company that is interested in bringing you on. You are also competing again 300,000 other users. It also can be mental resistance because you have to follow a certain order and certain steps. http://dominospizzahero.com/

3) Anything related to competition is always fun for teenagers and young adults, when you add competition with learning you are about to have a good time and a lot of learning opportunities. From what we learned above, people will reach out to games if there is something for them. Like the example above, you are in a way making your own pizza, but you are also able to pursue a job if you so wish. Also, with this app you are learning the business objectives of Domino's pizza. You are learning the history behind their pizzas and the fresh ingredients they use every day. It just broaden's Domino's customer's knowledge about their product and their service.

[clementinepiau]

April 1st: Google launched a worldwide game based on Pokemon

1) Usually, I do not play a lot of social games because I quickly feel bored about a game. The only one I keep playing is Candy Crush. I also began to use Duolingo but I stopped. We can definitely design Duolingo in order to make it more engaging. In fact, Duolingo is a game that allows the user to learn a new language step by step, that is why it has more an educational purpose that we could make even more important. As for Candy Crush, I do not think it is possible to design it in a non-game contexts for it is a game that aims to provide entertainment. When I play a game, my motivations are not completely different from the ones cited in McGonical's talk that is to say to "tackle tough challenges for more creativity, more determination, more optimism and we are more likely to reach out others for help". Actually I play a game to tackle challenges but also to have entertainment.

2) For April 1st, Google launched a game on its Google Maps App on iPhone and Android. The game refers to the game Pokemon. Actually, the users can find more than 150 Pokemons all around the world. When I first learnt aout this game, I was very curious, so I downloaded the app and started playing. Even if it happened today, we already know that this ramification was a success. By looking on the social media, we can see many positives comments, or articles shared about the topic. Plus, I have seen many people playing this game today and enjoying it. Some of my friends who tried were completely addicted. Here is the link of the video presenting the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k This game, which will end on April 2 at 2 PDT, aims to first make the users download the app, and then look for the best player and offer him a job starting on September 2014. The Google Maps Game actually refers to several types of resilience that McGonigal identified in her talk such as Mental Resilience, Emotional Resilience and Social Resilience. This game allows the users to review their geography by looking for Pokemons all around the world. Besides, it allows the users to share their experiences with their friends, that is the reason why it also refers to Social Resilience. As for the Emotional Resilience, many users or "gamers" have known Pokemon for years and this game reminds them of their childhood or their hobbies after a day at work.

3) As we could have seen in the Google Map example, in order to be successful, a game needs to be entertaining and needs to provide good content. It needs to refer to the Social and the Mental Resilience in the meantime. This way, the students can learn from the game, while sharing with their classmates. I do not think that the Physical Resilience is needed in this game, but I do believe that the Emotional Resilience should also be included. In order to be involved in the game, the students need to find  something that will entails an emotional reaction, such as a souvenir or something else.

[pantasticwonder]

Increasing Social Awareness – One Online Game at a Time

1.) To be honest, I do not know if I participate in online social gaming. I know that I used to be into the gaming online stint back in high school and early college, but it has been dwindling lately. If I can give one example of an online social game that I used to play but stopped, I think my best bet would be Words With Friends – or WWF for short. WWF is a lot like Scrabble, only played online or on your phone, and you can go against your friends or a random opponent to see who can create words that generate the highest number of points to win.

Explaining what WWF is, I can see where this design would work in a non-game context environment. Within WWF, there is a feature to message your friend / opponent. Now, if there was a way to reverse these roles and enhance them – a little computer app similar to WWF while using Google+ or Skype – then this idea could function properly. Talking about strategy within your normal conversation while you’re playing the game can be engaging.

My motivation for playing WWF comes from the simple notion that I am bored, and that I want to kill some time throughout the day. I do not see any similarities for my motivation to play in relation with what McGonigal had to say.

2.) As a consumer, the one good example of successful gamification that I see is FarmVille (https://www.facebook.com/FarmVille -- here is the fan page, since I have the actual gaming site blocked). The game, which can be found on Facebook, was created by Zynga. The gameplay is simple; you run a virtual farm, which you can share with your friends, and ask them for help to achieve points to increase your farm. The goal is simple; create a farm and maintain it by all means necessary. You do this by incorporating your friends – if they too play this game – into giving you gifts to help your farm.

In my opinion, this game creates an experience that illustrates social resilience. By getting your family or friends to help you achieve a task such as maintaining a virtual farm, they are showing their gratitude towards you; if you choose to return the favor, you as well are building social resilience.

3.) From the example that I used above, if my professor was to “gamify” this course to improve students’ learning experience, the one thing that would come out of this in terms of relevance would be that social resilience is an important gain to achieve, and that we would benefit from that gain to use in the real world. From McGonigal’s TED Talk, she claims that gratitude and touch are great ways to boost social resilience – along with getting the strength from your family and close friends. With these qualities, you can begin to build trust within colleagues, and cam be motivated to help each other out. With all that explained, I would welcome the “gamify” change in the course with open arms, knowing that an important life aspect can be grown and harnessed through simple gaming.