If you are exploring gamification here’s some useful links.

Remember games are optional, challenging and fun. As soon as you lose any of these facets beware the impact on your project. Beware the lipstickifcation of gamification.

Gamification is hot according to Gartner Group – almost at the peak of the Hype-Cycle

Here’s a slidedeck of some research done boy Ipsos for Saatchi & Saatchi to test consumer reaction to the concepts

Before you embark on a gamification project make sure you and your team do the following;

1. Familiarize yourselves with current thinking on the gaming space
2. Experience games first hand (both online and off), noticing how the game mechanics are being applied (and the resulting emotion/behavior)
3. Agree and share your understanding with your team. Agree what is a game, why you are doing a gamification project and what you expect to achieve. Sense check this against current thinking and your hands-on experience

I’ll try and update it as I come across stuff that I’ve missed. Let me know of any omissions or corrections.

Thanks

Gamification Thought Leaders

• Jane McGonigal

  Twitter : @avantgame
  Book : Reality is Broken
  Link(s) : Blog, G+, Slides
  Video :
  
  

  Video :
  Stance : Hacks real world to be more like a game. Thinks about future. Goal is to reduce human suffering – hence games for good.

• Raph Koster

  Twitter : @raphkoster
  Book : Theory of Fun
  Link(s) : Raphkoster.com/
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Father of fun

• Amy Jo Kim

  Twitter : @AmyJoKim
  Book : Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities
  Link(s) : Slides, shufflebrain.com, G+
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Deeply entrenched in the space. Fun, authentic designer of social games and architecture. Lives and breathes games.

• Seth Priebatsch

  Twitter : @sethpriebatsch
  Link(s) : SCVNGR, G+, Slides

  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Add the game layer to the world

• Sebastian Deterding

  Twitter : @dingstweets
  Link(s) : Slides , Blog , G+
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Thought provoking academic/UX designer. Keeps us all grounded in his role as grumpy german scholar

• Jesse Schell

  Twitter : @jesseschell
  Book : Books of Lenses
  Link(s) : Slideshare, Blog , G+
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Master of the lenses.

• Gabe Zicherman

  Twitter : @gzicherm
  Books : Game-Based Marketing: Inspire Customer Loyalty Through Rewards, Challenges, and Contests, Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps
  Link(s) : GSummit, G+, Slides
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Leading the commodization of Gamification.

• Ian Bogost

  Twitter : @ibogost
  Book : PERSUASIVE GAMES : The Expressive Power of Videogames
  Link(s) : Blog , G+
  Video :
  
  

  Stance : Highly vocal. Burster of bubbles.

• Jon Radoff
  Twitter : @jradoff
  Book : Game on
  Link(s) : Slides Blog, G+
  Video :
  
  

  Stance :

• Tom Chatfield
  Twitter : @TomChatfield
  Book : Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century
  Link(s) : G+, Blog
  Video :
  

  Stance :

• Michael Wu Ph.D.

  Twitter : @mich8elwu
  Link(s) : G+, Blog, Slides
  Video :
  
  Stance :

Other Books

Alfie Kohn – Punished by Rewards
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi -Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life

Gamification Toolkits/Platforms
These tools allow you to easily add game scoring/badges/leaderboards etc

• Bunchball
• Badgeville
• Playgen
• Bigdoor
• Reputely
• iactionable
• Gamify
• Gametize

Game Building Platforms

• Game Salad
• Gamestar Mechanic

Other Links

• Gamification.org
• GameStudies.org
• Gameful.org
• Game for Change