Call for Papers: “Rethinking Gamification”

Could be interesting ...

Call for papers for “Rethinking Gamification”

a handbook edited by 
Mathias Fuchs, Niklas Schrape, Sonia Fizek and Paolo Ruffino.

The Gamification Lab at the Centre for Digital Cultures in Lüneburg, Germany,  invites scholars, artists, designers and thinkers to critically question gamification and propose alternatives to the dominant models that have been framing this concept. The project will expand the outcome of the Rethinking Gamification workshop held in May 2013 at the Gamification Lab in Lüneburg, which involved a group of 15 international scholars and artists.
We expect proposals to critically analyse gamification. If interested, please send extended abstracts (1.000 words) for full length papers (8.000 words), to be completed (if accepted) by mid-December 2013. The final papers will be published in Spring 2014.

It is also worth to see the videos on Gamification Lab website and the related papers. They are contributions for the workshop Rethinking Gamification that took place on May 2013.

One of the papers is from Scott Nicholson: Exploring the Endgame of Gamification. He has beem working on meaningful gamification (see this other post) and he has his own RECIPE:

• Reflection – creating situations where users reflect to discover personal connections with the real-world setting;
• Exposition – using narrative and user-created stories to create deeper connections to the real-world setting;
• Choice – allowing the user to select paths and develop goals within the real-worldsetting that are more meaningful to him or her;
• Information – providing the user with information about the connections between the gamification activities and the real-world setting;
• Play – creating a safe space and set of boundaries where the user can choose how he or she wishes to engage with different gamification activities in the real-world setting;
• Engagement – using the gamification system to connect users to a community of practice that surrounds the real-world setting.

 

Meaningful Gamification

Um artigo recente de Scott Nicholson, professor associado na Syracuse University School of Information Studies apresenta uma variante da definição tradicional de gamification, que designa por meaningfull gamification.

Nicholson define meaningfull gamification como "the use of game design elements to help users find meaning in a non-game context". Meaningful gamification "focuses on play to engage participants in a ludic learning space".

Esta variante do conceito surge devido ao facto de muitos sistemas de gamification serem focados apenas em determinados elementos como pontos (points), níveis (levels), tabelas (leaderboards) e badges que são referidos como BLAP Gamification. Kevin Werbach no seu curso sobre gamification no Coursera, usa uma expressão idêntica (BPL - Badges, Points and Leaderboards). 

A meaningful gamification procura ultrapassar as limitações da BLAP Gamification que é sobretudo dirigida a um aumento da motivação extrínseca. Nicholson cita vários estudos e autores que apontam as desvantagens e os perigos desta forma de motivação. 

Por outro lado, a proposta de Nicholson parte do princípio que "... learning is the process of making meaning out of life" e daí que "meaningful gamification is the use of game elements to help someone find meaning in a non-game context, and is therefore a tool to help people learn through changing their perspectives on life". 

Sendo o ato de jogar (play a game) uma forma de brincar (play) de uma maneira estruturada e com um conjunto de objectivos, Nicholson estabelece a equação seguinte:

Game = Play + Goals + Strucuture

A BLAP Gamification aproveita dos jogos os objectivos os objectivos e a estrutura, ficando

BLAP Gamification = Goals + Structure = Game - Play

A meaningful gamification tem como objectivo reintroduzir "play" (no sentido de brincar) na equação anterior de forma a ajudar os participantes no processo a encontrar sentido (meaning) numa dada atividade e de forma a obter uma maior motivação interna que conduza a maior envolvimento com a atividade

A componente social, a personalização dos elementos usados e a possibilidade de cada um escolher livremente de que forma se envolve com o sistema, são apontados como elementos essenciais num modelo de gamification ("... gamification models should allow participants the freedom to choose how to engage, the tools to create their own gamification elements, and the ability to build social connections with other users based upon common interests"). 

No centro do conceito de meaningful gamification está a criação de um espaço lúdico de aprendizagem (information-based learning space) que pode ser físico ou virtual. Nicholson apresenta os museus como exemplos de espaços físicos. A propósito destes espaços lúdicos é focada novamente a necessidade da utilização de elementos de jogos ser opcional por parte dos utilizadores.

Num artigo anterior, A User-Centered Theoretical Framework for Meaningful Gamification, Nicholson apresenta alguns exemplos do conceito.

Referências

Nicholson, S. (2012, October). Strategies for meaningful gamification: Concepts behind transformative playand participatory museums. Presented at Meaningful Play 2012. Lansing, Michigan. Available online at http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/meaningfulstrategies.pdf

Nicholson, S. (2012, June). A User-Centered Theoretical Framework for Meaningful Gamification. Paper Presented at Games+Learning+Society 8.0, Madison, WI.