Excellent presentation on gamification - using game design in non-gaming contexts - from Sebastian Deterding a German UX designer and researcher.
In the presentation, Deterding points to some online services that are using gamification:
Mint - a way to manage your finances
Nike Plus - a way to get you running more
Nissan Leaf driving challenge - a challenge for drivers to drive more efficiently
Play Nice.ly - a game for debugging code
Health Month - set yourself targets to get healthier (over a month)
Club Psych - game based on a hit TV series
Barcode Hero - a shopping game
He also talks through the three big challenges for getting gamification right:
- Creating meaning - connecting with users' passions, interests, goals
- Enabling mastery - how to let the user gets the sense of progressing
- Providing autonomy - how to create a sense of freedom and letting users feel curious
It is a great presentation and well worth 50 mins of your time.
[H/T the Usable Learning Blog]