The idea of using games and such to help engage people with learning a product or idea appeals to me. On of my favourite apps on my iPhone is Mind Snacks (http://mindsnacks.com/), a fun application that aids learning Spanish through a series of games.
It was interesting that the blogger review program is it’s own game. Completing a level in this game is doing a review. I have to complete levels to be able to do more reviews.
Gamification by Design is well written and easy to understand. It does a good job of presenting the key ideas of Gamification. The use of real world examples showing what people have done is great. There’s even some real code showing how a forum being enhanced with Gamification. The code examples and examples of interactions with gamification services complete a good book. It was an exciting eye opening read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was able to get a good introduction to the theories and principles behind gamification, and ground these in reality with the code and examples.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to someone technical wanting to learn about gamification.
[this book was reviewed as a part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program]
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