Conference “Toward gamification ? Game mechanics outside game” (March the 3rd 2011) Summary Part 2

Josselin Perrus focused his speech on use of badges.
A badge is a social indicator : it’s a way of learning information about people’s type (eg. Top-rated Sellers icon on eBay).

Badges could be organized in hierarchy or in category. Category enables to distinguish users, and if the social indicators are well chosen, there could be a “mirroring effect” ; the user would want to improve his own image. Besides category limits content, only relevant information is displayed. Whereas hierarchy bores users, they grow tired of competition, and to heap badges could trouble reading information.

Good social indicators could be a solution of differentiation, to remind you of yourself rather than to show yourself. The more you could express your own identity, the more you could attempt to get to the identity you want.

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Conference “Toward gamification ? Game mechanics outside game” (March the 3rd 2011) Summary Part 1

Speakers
Nicolas Nova (Lift Lab) : Introduction
Josselin Perrus (eCRM consultant) : Bagdes as social indicators
Philippe Gargov (geographer consultant) : Game and city

“Gamification is the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications, particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications” (Wikipedia), or to encourage desired behaviors (for instance to perform chores that people don’t usually like).

Eg : Chore Wars (ARG) suggests real cleaning-tasks as quests, the players are from the same house or workplace, and each completed chore gives experience points.

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