游戏邦注：本文作者为Steve Curran，文章中他就游戏化模式发表了自己的相关看法。

Steve Curran表示，思考“游戏化”议题缺失部分的时候，他想起伍迪·艾伦（游戏邦注：其为美国著名喜剧导演）曾说过：“做爱要名正言顺，否则就是生活不检点。”

近来营销领域的一大热门话题就是“游戏化”。营销者受新兴社交游戏和奖励机制应用的启发，发现了游戏用户粘性和用户忠诚度的必杀技。

Gamification

游戏化是指通过添加游戏机制，将平凡的体验变得不平凡，变得更令人享受，更具魅力，能够有效强化用户的体验欲望。游戏化除了是个耀眼的新词外，其背后的含义也激发了营销者的想象力。

Curran称他最近刚拜读了简·麦戈尼格尔（Jane McGonigal）的杰作《破碎的现实》（游戏邦注：该书概述了游戏价值及游戏动力学如何应用于日常生活），这让他开始回想以前曾碰到过的游戏机制。

Jane McGonigal

Curran称他日渐长大后，开始和家人一起体验热门大型多玩家游戏，从游戏化试金石的角度来看，这是一款非常成功的游戏。游戏有相应的任命机制及一组清晰的规则和目标。游戏鼓励社交互动及雇佣游戏新手，此外，游戏还有非常有趣的背景故事。如果玩家违法了某项规则，那么等级较高的玩家将给他布置新任务，玩家可以通过完成任务来恢复自己的身份。如果玩家无法完成任务，结果将会十分糟糕，玩家将再也不会想要回到游戏中（游戏邦注：这在游戏理论中称为“损失厌恶”）。当然游戏设有终极目标，终极目标的回报相当丰厚。如果玩家最终达到终极目标，将获得相应的奖励，即同游戏开发者单独见面和外出闲逛。

这一经历被称为 “Being Catholic”，Curran表示他从未有幸荣登榜单之首。

他表示自己不是在告解，相反他只是想说明，要一语道破游戏机制颇有难度。嵌入游戏机制的体验虽然能够称为游戏，但并不一定有趣；好的设计才是游戏趣味的所在。

Curran（游戏邦注：其为一家互动设计公司创始人，该公司长期致力于挖掘游戏和营销之间的切合点）表示，游戏价值和效力得到显著提高，这是个可喜的发展。游戏逐渐被人们视为交流、教育和营销工具。

影响商业、通讯和创新世界形成的这代人，他们即将成年，他们是首批同游戏共同成长的用户，游戏是他们日常生活中不可或缺的部分。社交平台、手机技术及移动控制掌机将每个人都打造成游戏玩家。从幼儿园到疗养院，游戏如今已经成为我们生活的组成部分。

营销者对于游戏威力的顿悟，不足为奇。游戏体验或者浏览网站与被动观看电视不同。游戏是主动、社交的，他们激发玩家的智慧，提升他们的自我意识，且对于品牌公司来说，又具有理想的用户粘性。但品牌公司如果想要跨足游戏领域，首先得对该领域的利弊有充分了解。

Curran表示，游戏并非万能钥匙，他并不认为世界希望自己被游戏层笼罩。但游戏及游戏机制的应用依旧不容小视，游戏成功帮助人们过上更为健康的生活，更有效率地学习，更频繁地参与实践，具有更持久的毅力，甚至连消费都更专一。

就拿最近的例子来说：

    * 《Ford Fusion》玩家如果节约燃料，游戏中的树木就会“生长”，游戏以此来转变用户的驾车习惯。

    * MeYou Health的Daily Challenge网站帮助无数玩家过上更为健康、幸福的生活，每天都获得进步。

    * DevHub网站用户可以创建自己的博客和网站，借助游戏技术取得骄人成绩。在还没有采用游戏化模式之前，只有10%的用户完成网址的创建，如今成功比例接近80%。

    * FreeRice.com自2007年创建以来，就将贫穷教育融入游戏中，问题答对者将获得网站捐赠的大米，至今，他们已经捐赠850亿粒大米。

Curran表示，他并不希望牙医行业也融入游戏化模式，牙医因为拔了很多的臼齿就可以获得奖励经验值。如果有人认为应该将户外活动游戏化，这样孩子们才会更愿意到户外，变得更活跃，那么应该提醒他们，我们已经有这的活动（游戏邦注：这里指的是体育运动）。

Curran的有些观点可能是围绕游戏化的名称本身。“游戏化”让用户觉得自己拥有魔杖，拥有无数的徽章和积分，而且Mayor头衔也会神奇涌现，同时将用户的网站或应用变得更加迷人和成功。游戏远比游戏化复杂。游戏没有通用模式，设计好的游戏用体验和游戏背景向来颇具挑战性。

目前，游戏颇受追捧，许多营销者也想加入该行列。虽然此刻他们承受并且未来可能再次承受重大挫折，但这都不会阻止他们前进的步伐。聪明的公司将会把游戏化当作公司文化的组成部分，游戏化真实存在并将继续存在。

用户喜欢有趣的游戏，开发商如果能够开发好游戏，那么游戏也会趣味盎然。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

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 “loss 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）