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The casual gamification of the world as investment opportunity

Posted: January 21st, 2010 | Author: Gregory Trefry | Filed under: Casual, Game Design | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment »

Dean Takahashi had a good talk with a number of venture capitalists over at Venture Beat. The most interesting point I thought came from Tim Chang who had this to say:

Gaming 3.0 is about leveraging game mechanics and models to re-invigorate other markets: humans are inherently geared towards addictive behaviors and biases that can be exploited through game mechanics like points, achievements, and leveling up. Gaming + Commerce = Swoopo. Gaming + Music = Red Octane, Harmonix. Gaming + Healthcare = Lumos Labs. Gaming + Local Search/LBS = FourSquare. I often joke that “gaming will rescue us all.” I don’t mean that we all become hardcore WoW players, but that we can utilize game constructs to perhaps revive other industries which no longer monetize as effectively via macro-transaction or advertising.

It’s definitely something I kept thinking about while writing Casual Game Design. More and more I think the lessons of casual game will make a greater impact outside of the game industry than in it. Now I wish I had chapters in the book looking at the “game” mechanics of things like collecting friends on Facebook or bidding on eBay auctions.

Listen up game designers

Posted: January 8th, 2010 | Author: Gregory Trefry | Filed under: Game Design | Tags: , , | No Comments »

Another Castle (art by Rachel Morris)


Charles Pratt has been conducting a series of great podcasts with different game designers and academics under the name Another Castle. He’s interviewed everyone from Eric Zimmerman to Jesper Juul to Heather Chaplin. He even interviewed yours truly–giving me the chance to expound on the Come Out & Play Festival, my definition of “casual” games and the design process and style taxonomy behind Jojo’s Fashion Show.

I highly recommend checking them out. They’re great listens for anyone thinking about games. Here’s the list of all of the shows.