Continuing my Work as Games riff, I was really struck in my reading of Dignan’s, Game Frame, by the characteristics which make games irresistible. Games:
1) demand participation, a thing we all know we want/need more of at work,
2) can be played again and again, without a loss of enthusiasm yet with increased learning,
3) are understood through play, not work, you hear that, not work,
4) can happen anywhere, and I don’t know about you but work happens everywhere for me,
5) give us purpose, and I find more and more of this in my work as I age,
6) allow us to solve problems, that thing I personally live for,
7) give us control, that thing I am trying to live less for but which I still enjoy having,
8) show us progress, especially needful in the “grind”,
9) prompt risk taking, that thing we need to get more comfortable with,
10) let us face our fears, that thing we need to face more and indulge less
11) give us glory, that thing we love, if not live for, and no you don’t have to admit it,
12) shift time, as in “time flies when you are having fun”,
13) bring us together, and what else is work if not “getting together” for better or worse,
14) facilitate transferable development, a too little recognized phenomenon, and
15) represent what could be, that think we are all interested in creating.
On reading this list in Game Frame, I immediately see how a “gameful” approach to work would be transformative for me. I figured, why only play games when I am off work when I could benefit from the enjoyment of such play most all the time, with just a twist of perspective. I think, YES, these are all things that I crave and work for, but if playing a game provides this inherently, what an incentive to play a game, and especially at work where I spend most of my life!
1) demand participation, a thing we all know we want/need more of at work,
2) can be played again and again, without a loss of enthusiasm yet with increased learning,
3) are understood through play, not work, you hear that, not work,
4) can happen anywhere, and I don’t know about you but work happens everywhere for me,
5) give us purpose, and I find more and more of this in my work as I age,
6) allow us to solve problems, that thing I personally live for,
7) give us control, that thing I am trying to live less for but which I still enjoy having,
8) show us progress, especially needful in the “grind”,
9) prompt risk taking, that thing we need to get more comfortable with,
10) let us face our fears, that thing we need to face more and indulge less
11) give us glory, that thing we love, if not live for, and no you don’t have to admit it,
12) shift time, as in “time flies when you are having fun”,
13) bring us together, and what else is work if not “getting together” for better or worse,
14) facilitate transferable development, a too little recognized phenomenon, and
15) represent what could be, that think we are all interested in creating.
On reading this list in Game Frame, I immediately see how a “gameful” approach to work would be transformative for me. I figured, why only play games when I am off work when I could benefit from the enjoyment of such play most all the time, with just a twist of perspective. I think, YES, these are all things that I crave and work for, but if playing a game provides this inherently, what an incentive to play a game, and especially at work where I spend most of my life!
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