Gamification - How to play your life better
Introduction to Gamification
Life is a stack of games. Looked at individually, each is simple. Unexamined, it can seem complex and confusing. Looking at each part as a simple game can provide understanding and mastery of so many areas.In this series I will introduce you to Gamification, where we look at parts of life, and break them down into identifiable mini-games that appeal to that part of yourself that loves games.
And you do. You know you do.
So we will look at three key areas of life: health, social life and work, and help you to see how you can break them down into games to give you the clarity and motivation to achieve them.
First, we have to understand what a game is.
What is a game?
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In a game, there is a goal, and obstacles, usually expressed as rules.And the obstacles make a game fun.
Golf would be dull without challenges: we would just pick up the ball and drop in in the nearest hole, ignoring sand traps.
If Scrabble had no rules, we would just grab all the letters, slap them down, and claim victory.The obstacles, the rules, make a game interesting and enjoyable, and often give it a point (though do try to keep your mind on the goal, not the obstacle - another trap).In life, we have laws as obstacles, mostly so we don't unfairly harm others. Other soft limits are merely unethical, which may cost you social standing or opportunities.Our first task is to identify what our personal goal is, and we may be mistaken. We often think we know what we want: to amass a fortune or start a family, but if that turns out to not be what you were after to score that life goal, then it eventually stops being fun and lose motivation.And we’re all about fun.
Just a game?
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Why is a game considered fun and life ‘serious’? What is stopping me from enjoying life as I would playing a game? Why do many approach it differently, without as much humour?
First, we all have different starting positions, and a different set of attributes, yet the television and well-meaning people tell us that we can each achieve greatness the same as everyone else no matter who you are.
This notion demotivates us by getting us to compare ourselves to the most successful people in the world - even those who started rich - and that the only reason they aren't on the same strata of success is some fault in their minds.But take heart! If you see it as a game where you can set your own goals, you can achieve greater happiness by scoring goals that are denied to the already successful.
Delicious struggle
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The classic structure of film has the protagonist struggling against odds. A goal is identified, an obstacle presented, resources gained to overcome the obstacles that you couldn’t have done when you started.
The same in games. The great video game Max Payne has you amassing weaponry and getting stronger. The start is fun as he gains strength and starts getting on top, where the fun plateaus.
However, there is a mid-game turnaround – the second chapter starts with Max strapped to a chair with nothing but a baseball bat against guards on patrol with automatic weapons. The struggle is refreshed.
Farmville, like other sims, starts humbly – one tiny plot of farmland, with which you can afford another, then a granary, more farms, a wagon, and so on. The goals expand to keep you interested in the next stage, then the next.If you were given a large plot of land already producing a cornucopia of food, and were continually told you that you had won, there would be no struggle, no interesting decisions to make, so it wouldn’t be very interesting as a game, and you would lose interest quickly.
In life, people who have ‘won’ in some venture often become disheartened at the lack of goals ahead of them. Top athletes don’t know where to go from the top, and need to be counselled in how to set new goals for themselves, new struggles in which to be interested.And those born into riches need loftier goals to keep them interested in life. No matter how we might imagine a goal-free life to be, it really doesn't hit all the buttons in our psyche. Setting a goal, then setting about achieving it, is key.Understanding this as a game makes this easier. So let's get to it:
The elements of gameplay.
Games have a goal and obstacles. To achieve them, you have attributes and resources.
A young, ambitious soccer player has plenty of resources, but very little currency. Time, mostly. Money is he is lucky.He has the attributes of youth and athleticism, with which he must gain the chief attribute of skill.The game that this soccer player engages in is to trade one resource for another until he has the required skill to make it into a better team while still young. So, all other resources are traded for time spent in training, hopefully of the best standard that he can afford.Other attributes such as his parents' connections or his own personality may gain access to better coaches or teams, otherwise it's down to as much kicking time as he can fit in in those early years.And much of this comes down to the person's own mind.
Games and psychology
The biggest obstacle to your goal is usually found inside your own head, mostly because we think we can force the brain to enjoy striving for a goal that it isn't interested in. We haven't identified our goal.The more you recognise each goal and its importance - how much it resonates with your values - the easier it is to see how to get there, and the more your brain will join the game to get you there.I recommend a book by Sir Ken Robertson: Finding Your Element to help you have a good look at your own motives.Take a look at the talk he gives for a good introduction to his philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAqSBMZDY8
Sorting out your goals, the ones you are interested in, as opposed to those we just assume are our goals, is an important first step.Next post: How to win at social life.