I decided to re-post an article which I read on "For the Win-Serious Gamification" Blog having the title "The Science of Gamification" because except of being to the point it definitely reflects what Gamification is by "linking" "cooking" with a business oriented scientific field...
Gamification, game mechanics added upon behavioral mechanics, game
design, however you want to talk about the “g” word, one thing is
clear—we are entering a new era of gaming. Players are shifting away
from zero-sum games, opting for more social gaming counterparts that
include elements of collaboration, altruism, and meaning beyond the big
“W” or just as big “L”. To study the behavior of gamers, we need more
than just subjective accounts as to why the world is seeing a change in
gamer demographics. By understanding the ebb and flow of gamer
demographics, designers will be able to design better-engaging gamified
apps for the digital native world.
Flipping the point of focus, designers need to know more than just
the psyche of gamers to be able to build successful gamified solutions.
Basing implementation off of science and iterative design, designers
constantly refer back to academic textbooks and research publications to
find new, cutting edge ideas that potentially could hook the entire
world on games. The following is an example of what a designers’
cookbook of scientific ingredients used in gamification looks like
today. These sciences range in focus on the end user to the designer,
including topics such as anthropology to computer science.
Gamification Cookbook
1. Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity and its interaction under many
different social contexts. It is important to remember that play is a
natural state of learning. From play, games are created from rule-based
logic. Sports are a great example of great games that have stood the
test of time because they incorporate both play and game elements.
Studying humanity as a whole gives us insight as to how we globally like
to play and game.
2. Sociology
Sociology is the study of a society. Similar to the study of humanity
except this looks at a smaller subset of people, typically specific
cultures, cities, etc. Great design principles come from understanding
cultural gamification. Each culture views games differently in relation
to their use, so it would be important to understand a culture before
designing for its members. The cultural dimensions provide a great place to start.
3. Psychology
Gamification is already a huge proponent of psychology. Psychology,
the study of behavior, has made great strides to be able to explain
human behavior and cognition. To be more specific, positive psychology
has proven to be a great academic resource for being able to find ways
to bring bliss to people’s lives.
4. Mathematics
Mathematics has no general accepted definition. For practical
reasons, math is the study of numbers and functions. All of science is
fueled by math in some way, shape, or form, thus it also fuels
gamification.
5. Computer Science
Computer Science is the study of more scientific approaches to
computation. Similar to math, computer science theory provides strong
frameworks upon which user-interfaces and algorithms provide the best
gamified solutions when working together.
6. Human Computer Interaction
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is the study, planning, and design
of the interaction between humans and technology. This field is heavily
rooted in interdisciplinary connections between theoretical and
behavioral sciences. A great technique learned from HCI is interviewing.
Interviewing is the process of learning more about a potential end-user
by asking non-binary questions that require thoughtful and personable
responses. This helps identify wants from needs. Another great use of
HCI is human computation—the ability to solve tough problems with the
use of human and computer intellects.
7. Biology
Biology is the natural science of life. The greatest combination of
gamification and biology is biofeedback—technological sensors that
provide feedback on the status of bodily functions. The rise in
biotechnology is allowing gamification to create successful services
such as Re-Mission—the popular game that has shown to fight cancer effectively.
8. Education
Gamification and Education is a no-brainer. Games stem from play, and
both elements are crucial to learning—education’s primary goal.
Educational pedagogies should look to use gamification as a way to
promote additive learning and collaboration of knowledge
creation/management. As further proof, Prof. Kevin Werbach has
successfully taught a gamification course at UPenn which in the class
itself is gamified. Accounts from students at UPenn claim that the class
is AWESOME!
9. Economics
Economics is the study of the scarcity and allocation of resources.
Economic theory coupled with the above-mentioned sciences can help
create virtual currencies that could potentially solve many real world
economical problems. Gamification would bring forth great interaction
principles to make a virtual currency enticing enough to use as a
secondary currency that could be used for digital property creation and
distribution.
Dimitra Zervaki
Source: http://gamifyforthewin.com
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