Business Simulation or Business Gamification

Hello World- Yup, once again, its been awhile since a post. Again, very busy, but there will be more soon.

You've probably heard the fancy term: Business Gamification. It's all the rage, very catchy, and marketing managers just LOVE it. But what is it exactly? First of all, don't be overwhelmed. It's simply a very fancy term for turning something into a game.

Let's look at an example: Online forums. Ya know, those places you go to ask questions and get answers. You've probably noticed that certain people get points or prizes, or 'badges'. That's it! That's a game. What they've done is turned the use of a forum into a game via points and/or rewards. The goal is to get people to come back more and increase engagement. We're back in a technology boom so it's all about eye balls once again. Thus, if a company can keep people on their web site, the idea is this means they are an 'engaged' customer. This is gamification.

But, how does this relate to simulations or serious games? Great question. As has been repeated many times here, for simplicity purposes, don't get too caught up on the fancy terms. In many cases (not all) a business simulation is a form of game theory. Gamification is based on game theory. Serious Games are based on game theory. They aren't necessarily 100% all the same, but they share 98% of the same DNA.

A Business Simulation is going to be used to simulate a business or a function of a business. Serious games or gamification may not (but certainly could). This is why you shouldn't get too caught up on the terminology. If you are looking to simulate something in your business, call it a business simulation. If you're looking to engage people around a specific topic, maybe call it gamification. It's up to you, but don't get too caught up in it. You probably have much better things to worry about.

Hope this helps!