游戲邦注：本文作者為Steve Curran，文章中他就游戲化模式發(fā)表了自己的相關(guān)看法。

Steve Curran表示，思考“游戲化”議題缺失部分的時候，他想起伍迪·艾倫（游戲邦注：其為美國著名喜劇導(dǎo)演）曾說過：“做愛要名正言順，否則就是生活不檢點(diǎn)。”

近來營銷領(lǐng)域的一大熱門話題就是“游戲化”。營銷者受新興社交游戲和獎勵機(jī)制應(yīng)用的啟發(fā)，發(fā)現(xiàn)了游戲用戶粘性和用戶忠誠度的必殺技。

Gamification

游戲化是指通過添加游戲機(jī)制，將平凡的體驗(yàn)變得不平凡，變得更令人享受，更具魅力，能夠有效強(qiáng)化用戶的體驗(yàn)欲望。游戲化除了是個耀眼的新詞外，其背后的含義也激發(fā)了營銷者的想象力。

Curran稱他最近剛拜讀了簡·麥戈尼格爾（Jane McGonigal）的杰作《破碎的現(xiàn)實(shí)》（游戲邦注：該書概述了游戲價值及游戲動力學(xué)如何應(yīng)用于日常生活），這讓他開始回想以前曾碰到過的游戲機(jī)制。

Jane McGonigal

Curran稱他日漸長大后，開始和家人一起體驗(yàn)熱門大型多玩家游戲，從游戲化試金石的角度來看，這是一款非常成功的游戲。游戲有相應(yīng)的任命機(jī)制及一組清晰的規(guī)則和目標(biāo)。游戲鼓勵社交互動及雇傭游戲新手，此外，游戲還有非常有趣的背景故事。如果玩家違法了某項(xiàng)規(guī)則，那么等級較高的玩家將給他布置新任務(wù)，玩家可以通過完成任務(wù)來恢復(fù)自己的身份。如果玩家無法完成任務(wù)，結(jié)果將會十分糟糕，玩家將再也不會想要回到游戲中（游戲邦注：這在游戲理論中稱為“損失厭惡”）。當(dāng)然游戲設(shè)有終極目標(biāo)，終極目標(biāo)的回報(bào)相當(dāng)豐厚。如果玩家最終達(dá)到終極目標(biāo)，將獲得相應(yīng)的獎勵，即同游戲開發(fā)者單獨(dú)見面和外出閑逛。

這一經(jīng)歷被稱為 “Being Catholic”，Curran表示他從未有幸榮登榜單之首。

他表示自己不是在告解，相反他只是想說明，要一語道破游戲機(jī)制頗有難度。嵌入游戲機(jī)制的體驗(yàn)雖然能夠稱為游戲，但并不一定有趣；好的設(shè)計(jì)才是游戲趣味的所在。

Curran（游戲邦注：其為一家互動設(shè)計(jì)公司創(chuàng)始人，該公司長期致力于挖掘游戲和營銷之間的切合點(diǎn)）表示，游戲價值和效力得到顯著提高，這是個可喜的發(fā)展。游戲逐漸被人們視為交流、教育和營銷工具。

影響商業(yè)、通訊和創(chuàng)新世界形成的這代人，他們即將成年，他們是首批同游戲共同成長的用戶，游戲是他們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪胁豢苫蛉钡牟糠?。社交平臺、手機(jī)技術(shù)及移動控制掌機(jī)將每個人都打造成游戲玩家。從幼兒園到療養(yǎng)院，游戲如今已經(jīng)成為我們生活的組成部分。

營銷者對于游戲威力的頓悟，不足為奇。游戲體驗(yàn)或者瀏覽網(wǎng)站與被動觀看電視不同。游戲是主動、社交的，他們激發(fā)玩家的智慧，提升他們的自我意識，且對于品牌公司來說，又具有理想的用戶粘性。但品牌公司如果想要跨足游戲領(lǐng)域，首先得對該領(lǐng)域的利弊有充分了解。

Curran表示，游戲并非萬能鑰匙，他并不認(rèn)為世界希望自己被游戲?qū)踊\罩。但游戲及游戲機(jī)制的應(yīng)用依舊不容小視，游戲成功幫助人們過上更為健康的生活，更有效率地學(xué)習(xí)，更頻繁地參與實(shí)踐，具有更持久的毅力，甚至連消費(fèi)都更專一。

就拿最近的例子來說：

    * 《Ford Fusion》玩家如果節(jié)約燃料，游戲中的樹木就會“生長”，游戲以此來轉(zhuǎn)變用戶的駕車習(xí)慣。

    * MeYou Health的Daily Challenge網(wǎng)站幫助無數(shù)玩家過上更為健康、幸福的生活，每天都獲得進(jìn)步。

    * DevHub網(wǎng)站用戶可以創(chuàng)建自己的博客和網(wǎng)站，借助游戲技術(shù)取得驕人成績。在還沒有采用游戲化模式之前，只有10%的用戶完成網(wǎng)址的創(chuàng)建，如今成功比例接近80%。

    * FreeRice.com自2007年創(chuàng)建以來，就將貧窮教育融入游戲中，問題答對者將獲得網(wǎng)站捐贈的大米，至今，他們已經(jīng)捐贈850億粒大米。

Curran表示，他并不希望牙醫(yī)行業(yè)也融入游戲化模式，牙醫(yī)因?yàn)榘瘟撕芏嗟木数X就可以獲得獎勵經(jīng)驗(yàn)值。如果有人認(rèn)為應(yīng)該將戶外活動游戲化，這樣孩子們才會更愿意到戶外，變得更活躍，那么應(yīng)該提醒他們，我們已經(jīng)有這的活動（游戲邦注：這里指的是體育運(yùn)動）。

Curran的有些觀點(diǎn)可能是圍繞游戲化的名稱本身?！坝螒蚧弊層脩粲X得自己擁有魔杖，擁有無數(shù)的徽章和積分，而且Mayor頭銜也會神奇涌現(xiàn)，同時將用戶的網(wǎng)站或應(yīng)用變得更加迷人和成功。游戲遠(yuǎn)比游戲化復(fù)雜。游戲沒有通用模式，設(shè)計(jì)好的游戲用體驗(yàn)和游戲背景向來頗具挑戰(zhàn)性。

目前，游戲頗受追捧，許多營銷者也想加入該行列。雖然此刻他們承受并且未來可能再次承受重大挫折，但這都不會阻止他們前進(jìn)的步伐。聰明的公司將會把游戲化當(dāng)作公司文化的組成部分，游戲化真實(shí)存在并將繼續(xù)存在。

用戶喜歡有趣的游戲，開發(fā)商如果能夠開發(fā)好游戲，那么游戲也會趣味盎然。（本文為游戲邦/gamerboom.com編譯，轉(zhuǎn)載請注明來源：游戲邦）

Marketers Should Know the Rules Before They Get in the Game

One of my favorite Woody Allen’s quotes comes to mind when I think about what’s missing in a lot of discussions about “gamification”: “Is sex dirty? Only when it’s done right.”

One of the hottest areas of marketing these days is “gamification.” Marketers, inspired by the rise of social-gaming and reward-base applications, see in games the potential for the holy grail of customer engagement and loyalty.

Gamification is a process by which the ordinary is made extraordinary, more enjoyable and engaging, positively reinforcing desired behavior through the addition of game mechanics. And in spite of the somewhat cringe-worthy neologism, the concept behind it has captured the imagination of marketers.

Recently, I was reading Jane McGonigal’s excellent book “Reality Is Broken,” an overview on the value of games and how game dynamics can be applied to everyday life. It got me thinking of where else I have encountered game mechanics in the past.

When I was growing up, my family and I participated in a popular massively multiplayer experience that, judging by what is being described as the litmus tests for gamification, was a very successful game. It had appointment dynamics (once a week), and a clear set of rules and goals. It encouraged social interaction and the recruitment of new players. It had a very compelling back-story. If you broke any of the rules, you would meet with a player of a higher status, and he would give you tasks to perform that would repair your standing. If you failed, the consequences were very bad, you would not want to go there, which in game theory is known as “l(fā)oss aversion.” Of course, there was an ultimate end goal, and in this case the payoff was awesome. If and when you finally succeeded you would earn the ultimate reward, the opportunity to meet personally with the game creator and hang out! Forever!

The experience was called “Being Catholic” and let’s just say I never made it to the leader board.

My point is not confession, but rather to illustrate how slippery it can be to point to where game dynamics exist and call it a game. Or fun. Calling something with game mechanics a game does not mean it will be fun; good design is what makes a game fun.

As a founder of an interactive design firm that has been working at the intersection of games and marketing for many years, it’s a welcome development to a see a sudden and hyperbolic excitement surrounding the value and effectiveness of games. Games are increasingly being embraced as tools for communication, education and marketing.

The generation that is coming of age and shaping the world of commerce, communications, and innovation is the first to have grown up with games as an important part of their everyday lives. Social platforms, mobile technology and motion-control game consoles have made gamers out of everyone. They are now part of our life, from nursery school to nursing home.

It’s not surprising that marketers have caught on to the power of games. Compare the experience of games to the passive act of watching TV — or viewing most websites for that matter. Games are active, they are social, they challenge your brain and reward your ego. This is ideal engagement for brands. But before diving in, know what they do well and what they don’t.

Games are not the solution to every problem as some promise, and I am not convinced we want or need a “game layer on the world.” But the potential for the application of games and game mechanics is undeniable. Games have successfully been used help people lead healthier lives, learn more effectively, participate more frequently, engage in activities for a longer period of time, and yes, even shop more loyally.

Take some recent examples:

The Ford Fusion has a graphical plant that “grows” as you conserve fuel, changing the way people drive.

MeYou Health’s Daily Challenge helps thousands of players lead healthier, happier lives, one goal at a time.

DevHub, a site that lets users create their own blogs and web sites, adopted game techniques with impressive results. Before gamification, about 10% of users finished building their sites. Now, almost 80% of them do.

Since It’s launch in 2007, FreeRice.com turned educating people about poverty into a game, donating grains of rice for each right answer. To date, they have donated over 85 billion grains of rice. All of that said, I would not want to find out my dentist is rewarded with bonus experience points in some gamification of dentistry for pulling more molars (sometimes, the status that games reward is more powerful than money). And if somebody suggests we should gamify outdoor play so kids will go outside and be active, remind them we already have: It’s called sports.

Maybe some of the concerns that I have may simply come down to the name itself. The term “gamification” sounds as if you can wave a wand and badges, points and mayorships magically appear, instantly transforming your site or application into something more engaging and successful. Games are lot more complex than that. There is no generic solution. Designing them well is a custom challenge, for every audience and context.

Right now, games are hot, and most marketers want in on the action. That won’t stop them from moving on to the next trend the second there are some sensational failures, and there will be. Smart companies will recognize and accept Gamification as an integral part of our culture. It’s real and not going away.

People like fun, and games are fun, but only if you are doing it right. （Source：Adage）