Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2014 | Page 48
Internet Learning
(Bogost, 2011; Zicherman, 2011). Bogost
(2011) suggests a better name for gamification
in its currently used application,
in many instances, is exploitationware, as
he feels that the best elements of the game
are left out and the rest is left to exploit
the customer through marketing, points,
and badges. For the purpose of identifying
the important elements and traits within
gamifying as related to game-thinking
and game-mechanics, it will be important
to understand the role and importance of
ownership and immersion, narratives and
quests, feedback loop, and crowdsourcing.
Ownership and Immersion
Many game scholars and game developers
agree that the elements
of what makes a game good,
should also be considered and embedded in
a truly gamified experience--be that a formal
school learning experience or a business
and commerce experience. Games are
rule based systems, not free play systems, so
there will always need to be some structure
to the environment in which the gamification
experience is being employed, however,
as stated above it must move beyond the
points and leaderboards and should include
elements that allow gamers to become immersed
in the experience, and take ownership
of what they are doing in the gamified
experience. The ownership and immersion
in gaming situations, through the concept
of situated and embodied learning--learning
that allows one to experience the event
and activity--is also typically tied to the
projective identity that a gamer develops
within a game play experience, which allows
the gamer to interface between his/
her real-world identity (involving morals,
ideals, etc) and the in-game virtual identity
(pre-programmed traits, abilities, and controls)
of the avatar (Gee, 2007) . Ownership
and immersion are important concepts to
consider for those who are examining the
important game elements and mechanics
that they plan to embed in their gamified
experience.
Narrative and Quests
What ownership and immersion
ultimately mean for the gamification
of programs, websites,
and products is that motivation and desire
to participate must be inherent in the design.
Good narratives, quests, and missions
can allow this to come to fruition. Just as
games drop gamers into a quest or a setting
where they immediately feel useful and
motivated to succeed, so too must gamified
experiences. This is often done through
providing a quest or mission to the players,
thus giving them something that they can
immediately begin to experience and work
through. As Gee (2013) mentions, humans
are really good at telling stories and working
through narratives. According to Gee
all life is a story and through story history
gets told.
In gaming, this concept of narrative
and story is tapped into when the gamer
owns his or her experience as the story unfolds
through game play. Salen and Zimmerman
(2004) state the importance of
narrative within gaming environments as,
"Playing a game means interacting within
a representational universe, a space of
possibility with narrative dimensions" (p.
378). These narrative dimensions are directly
tied to the concept of story that Gee
(2013) indicated is so very important to
life and history, which can also be suggestive
of working closely with the concepts of
ownership, immersion, and identity, thus
also indicating that narrative is also tied to
personal experiences and may be different
for different players depending on their
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