Lecture

Gamification: Origins and Critiques

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In course

HUM-380: Video games and gamification

Ce cours propose d'acquérir des compétences en création de jeux vidéo, en invitant les étudiant·e·s à mettre leurs connaissances au service d'un projet collectif de recherche-création centré sur la ludification (gamification) d'un contenu scientifique. ...

Description

This lecture explores the origins of gamification in commercial contexts, tracing its evolution from productivity games to applied gaming. It delves into the professionalization of digital games in esports, the economy of gaming, and the blurring lines between work and play. The concept of gamification is defined as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, with a critical examination of its implications. The lecture also discusses the dissonant voices in the field, highlighting critiques that question the true nature and intentions behind gamification. Additionally, it covers common design patterns, game design principles, and evaluation methods used in gamification projects.

Instructor

Yannick Rochat

Expertise Digital Humanities, graph theory, social network analysis, character networks, centrality, datavisualisation, social media studies, maritime networks, game studies. Current work I successfully defended a Ph.D. thesis called "Character networks and centrality" in September 2014. It was co-directed by Prof. Henri Volken (UNIL) and Prof. Frédéric Kaplan (EPFL) for a doctoral degree in Applied Mathematics to Humanities and Social Sciences. This research was focused on Les Confessions from Jean-Jacques

Official source

Related concepts (31)

Game design

Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, and rules of a game. Games can be created for entertainment, education, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification.

Consonance and dissonance

In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpleasantness, or unacceptability, although there is broad acknowledgement that this depends also on familiarity and musical expertise. The terms form a structural dichotomy in which they define each other by mutual exclusion: a consonance is what is not dissonant, and a dissonance is what is not consonant.

Design pattern

A design pattern is the re-usable form of a solution to a design problem. The idea was introduced by the architect Christopher Alexander and has been adapted for various other disciplines, particularly software engineering. An organized collection of design patterns that relate to a particular field is called a pattern language. This language gives a common terminology for discussing the situations designers are faced with. The elements of this language are entities called patterns.

Game

A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games). Games are sometimes played purely for enjoyment, sometimes for achievement or reward as well. They can be played alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs or by professionals.

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradition, strongly developing during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period, especially in the Baroque period. The term originates from the Latin punctus contra punctum meaning "point against point", i.e. "note against note".

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