Games the Future for Innovation

What’s the Big Idea?

People in the “gamification” industry forecast that by 2015, more than 50% of organizations that manage innovation will use game-like processes to do so. In fact Gartner goes so far as to predict that, “By 2014, a gamified service for consumer goods marketing and customer retention will become as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon, and more than 70 percent of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application.” Why do we need to simulate a game? Because games can offer: faster feedback cycles, clear goals and rules of play, a compelling narrative, and tasks that are challenging but achievable. 

What’s the Latest Development?

Jeff Lopez mentions the World Bank’s Evoke but says one of the most interesting examples is Idea Street. The latter is an internal project of the U.K. Department of Work and Pensions which lets employees interact and share ideas amid some game mechanics like badges and leader boards. In its first 18 months, the project is said to have generated 1,400 ideas, 63 of which the Department has implemented.