What does “Gamification” mean?

zrYou’re running with your headphones in when a voice says: “the zombies are 100 metres behind you! Run faster!”

I bought this app for my eleven year old yesterday, and he’s completely addicted: to running! What a massive win!

He’s come home and tells me that he’s “picked up” these resources and saved some lives or something.

This is what gamification is. It’s when a game turns something boring into a fun activity by diverting your attention from the hard bit.

Zombies, Run! is not a freebee at $10NZ, but it’s great gift for someone who needs some help getting started.

One Comment to “What does “Gamification” mean?”

  1. Fleur Coleman 28 December 2012 at 8:33 am #

    Yep, when the kid who couldn’t do maths knew that he needs another 250,000 points (for example) to get the next weapon in Runescape, that’s when I became a gamification convert. He was 9 at the time, now he’s 18 and working out contextual problems everyday in his working environment. I’m a pro-gaming teacher.


Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.