Two great posts on Gamification

From TechCrunch’s Tadhg Kell here are two great articles that explain the Gamification concept really well:

• Everything You’ll Ever Need To Know About Gamification
• Real Gamification Mechanics Require Simplicity And, Yes, Game Designers Can Do It

His core idea is that Gamification boilds down one of to three things: validation, completion and prizes
And although he calls this (below) an overheated extrapolation, I think it is quite good:

In the gamification universe,

• a site is not a site, it’s an opportunity to engage with a user through a journey.
• a reward is not a reward, it’s a way of maintaining a complex conversation with your users.
• a level is not a level, it’s a symbol of status within a community that develops into a powerful relationship with your brand.

OWASP, O2 Platform and TeamMentor, are good examples of communities where Gamification would make a massive difference