Gamification | Research on Gamification, User Experience (UX), Digital Signage Canadian Companies Can Use

A gamification tip, and a challenge for 2014

There’s a location only a few steps from my house and I go there primarily to grab an Americano, but there’s one thing I look forward to at Red Rocket far more than the coffee, and it’s something I do not especially look forward to anywhere else: the giving of gratuities. It’s not that the […]

By Shane Schick — Jan 6 '14

Understanding the importance of gamification for Millennials

This article is part of the CommerceLab Reference Library, a set of online business tools that provide introductory and background information to help educate those new to the areas we cover. I’ve heard of Gamification, but what is it? Gamification is a relatively new term. It was coined in the early 2000s but has reached […]

By The CommerceLab — Dec 23 '13

What the Goldilocks principle can teach Canadian gamification researchers

Yaniv Corem is the CEO & Founder of Playful Meme, a gamification design & consultancy firm with offices in Boston & Israel. Corem is also a co-author of the research paper, Got Skillz? Player Matching, Mastery, and Engagement in Skill-Based Games, which was featured at the recent Gamification 2013 conference in Stratford, Ont. Corem, a […]

By Shane Schick — Dec 11 '13

Gamification rewards that resonate: Some points about point systems

There is a difference between a question like “What’s the point?” and “What are the points for?” but either way, they are one of the worst signs a gamification initiative may not resonate with users. At the Gamification 2013 conference in Stratford, Ont. a few months ago, University of Basel researcher Elisa Mekler discussed a […]

By The CommerceLab — Dec 10 '13

An Alberta researcher offers object lessons in the gamification of learning

When Geoffrey Rockwell plays games, it’s a serious business. Rockwell, Director of the Canadian Institute for Research in Computing and the Arts at the University of Alberta, is co-leader of Digital Games for Learning and Training (DIGLT), a project that focuses on researching the mechanics of good game design. DIGLT is part of the GRAND […]

By Danny Bradbury — Dec 5 '13

A&W Canada digs into the Hawthorne effect to gamify food service

Thanks to a new gamified app, food isn’t the only thing that’s fast at A&W restaurants in Canada. In as little as three seconds, burger and root beer lovers can now rate their dining experience using Loop, a mobile app designed to improve customer service at 50 A&W Canada locations across the country. “Businesses want […]

By Christine Wong — Nov 29 '13

GSummit Global 2013: Key Points from Jesse Schell, United Capital and more

We learned a ton from GSummit Global 2013 last week. For example, World of Warcraft isn’t necessarily the best template for teaching database administration; some accountants despise video games; and pairing chocolate with cottage cheese is just wrong. Alas, we can’t possibly cram this story with all the goodies we gleaned from the gamification conference, […]

By Christine Wong — Nov 27 '13

Dr. Who, gamification pioneer

It has been years – almost decades, I’m embarrassed to say – since I regularly watched the show, but I’ll admit that the moment I came across the Google doodle this past weekend, I was immediately sucked back into the world of Dr. Who. In celebration of the British series’ 50th anniversary, Google’s homepage featured […]

By Shane Schick — Nov 25 '13

Game design experts explain the essential skills to keep players engaged

As organizations of every kind learn more about the concept of gamification, what do the game designers of the future need to learn to succeed? CommerceLab caught up with Amy Jo Kim, Lennart Nacke, Stephen P. Anderson and Neil Randall at the Gamification 2013 conference last month to discuss what the ideal education of next-generation […]

By The CommerceLab — Nov 20 '13

Why financial firms must bring their ‘A’ game to online education

Firms such as Visa Canada are applying basic gamification techniques to financial literacy education, but most have a long way to go before they score big. Earlier this month, for example, the credit card firm rolled out the latest version of Financial Soccer, a website using an online soccer game to teach people financial literacy, […]

By Danny Bradbury — Nov 15 '13