Gamification
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Google ‘Zerg Rush’ and let the game begin
If you head to Google today and search for ‘Zerg Rush,’ you’ll get the appropriate search results and soon find your page bombarded by an onslaught of ‘O’s that will eat away at your results.
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Green gaming for Earth Day
It’s hard to argue about the evils of gamification when it’s being used to inspire people and corporations to act responsibly, whether that’s to improve your waistline, learn basic mathematics or, in the spirit of Earth Day, to go green.
There have been many programs, both online and in the [...] -
Gesture control — from Kinect games to Samsung Smart TV
The first really major consumer hardware application for gesture control was Microsoft’s Kinect. This high-tech camera accessory plugged into an Xbox 360 to add gesture and motion control, as well as voice commands to the popular game console.
What made Kinect interesting, was that it wasn’t pitched as a game-only [...] -
Nike Fuelband’s quest to ‘turn every day into a game’
The Nike+ FuelBand has appeared on my radar several times from several sources over the past few weeks. In each case, this high-tech exercise-tracking wristband has so inspired the people who use it that they’re inventing their own games to play with it. If that’s not an engaging user experience, [...]
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Draw Something seems to be onto, well, something
Unless you’ve been hiding out under a rock (and even then) chances are you’re at least aware of the hit new mobile/social game called Draw Something. From casual game-maker OMGPOP (now officially a part of Zynga), this iOS game is best described as Words With Friends meets Pictionary. Or, put [...]
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Zombies, Run for iOS turns your workout into a real-life action adventure game
It doesn’t matter where you run.
It doesn’t matter how fast you run.
It doesn’t matter how far you run.
Just run.
That’s the slogan for the new Zombies Run app for iOS, an adventure game of sorts designed to encourage people to run like hell. Joggers turn on the app and in addition to listening [...] -
BadgeVille rolls out gamification SDK for iOS, Android
If you’ve been thinking, “Hmm, how can I gamify my mobile apps?” — BadgeVille purports to have the answer. Today, the company officially releases its Mobile Software Development Kit for iOS and Android devices.
“Gamification’s greatest potential is in its ability to track and reward user behavior across any device or application, whether that be on [...] -
It’s game on for iPads in NYC taxis
A recently approved proposal to allow iPads to be installed in NYC taxis offers some very interesting possibilities, putting what may be the world’s most popular game-playing gadget potentially in front of millions of taxi riders. Before getting too excited, note that this is just a year-long pilot program, currently approved for 30 cabs in [...]
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Gamification Summit 2012 promises new ‘inspirational format’
The conference entirely devoted to the topic of using game-like mechanics to enhance real life is back, and will be held in San Francisco June 19-21.
The three-day conference, called The Gamification Summit 2012, will include a new ‘inspirational format’ where there will be no panels. Instead, speakers will deliver an “18-minute, data- and insight-filled talk” [...] -
Game makers play the Kickstarter game
Over the past week we’ve witnessed a fascinating phenomenon in games. Double Fine, a game developer run by lauded game maker Tim Schafer (Secret of Monkey Island, Psychonauts), asked fans to directly invest in its next big project. Just over a week later, this experiment has raised 1.9 million dollars. How did they manage to [...]
