Hello all,

I am reading Jane McGonigal’s book Reality is Broken, in which she describes the motivating features of well-designed games and applies them to real-life problems.  I noticed some parallels with TBL, and was wondering if anyone else has noticed this…

1. Games produce ‘fiero’ moments---moments of satisfactory achievement (not necessarily total victory) characterized by emotional release and a sense of a job well done (I see this frequently in TBL)

2. Games have goals with clearly identifiable outcomes and rules, feedback mechanisms that enable participants to know exactly where they are at and how far they have to go to reach the goal (similar to TBL principles based on a single choice, feedback mechanisms that are immediate or at least easily monitored are a strong feature of TBL)

3. Games have social dimensions that enable individuals to contribute to a project greater than themselves, and to know exactly what their contribution is ‘worth’ in the larger goal (definitely a feature of TBL, if not a defining feature)

According to McGonigal, highly motivating games should also include voluntary participation and what she terms ‘unnecessary’ obstacles to maximize their effectiveness.   What do others think…can these motivating features of gaming be incorporated into TBL?  Are there parallels between application exercises and ‘games’?

Dr. Rosalind Warner

Department of Political Science

H122C

Okanagan College

1000 KLO Road

Kelowna BC

V1Y 4X8

250-762-5445 x. 4763

Blog: http://rozwarner.wordpress.com/

Academia.edu page: http://okanagan.academia.edu/RosalindWarner/About