Thanks to everyone who came out for the discussion last night! It was equal parts educational and engaging. I have here some follow-up articles on Jane McGonigal and gamification, mostly critiques, from a friend of mine who works as Program Coordinator at the NYU Game Center. (He couldn't make the discussion and so has provided these helpful readings in lieu of his presence.)

http://janemcgonigalf...
http://www.slate.com/...
http://en.wikipedia.o...
http://www.gamasutra....
http://www.bogost.com...

Lastly, this quote from my conversatin with him on the subject. It seemed relevant.

"Game designers are not 'funengineers' that know how to make complicated systems fun and therefore should be tapped to explain to people how to make complicated systems fun. Game designers are the architects of challenge, of uncertainty, of problematic unknowns. So I don't necessarily want game designers redesigning the way that I interact with the government or with my healthcare because that's about clear systems and direct impact. So even at it's most sophisticated, gameification is operating under a flawed assumption about what game designers can do."

This topic proves more contentious and fascinating the more I learn about it. I look forward to continuing the discussion with all y'alls.

Thanks for this!
Here's a slidedeck on gaming that an acquaintance gave recently:
http://www.slideshare...

@ Yasmin - Did you make those slides on Why, How, and Hacks yourself? Or can the main concepts be found somewhere online?

Merry Weekend everyone!

Awesome, thanks for sharing the slides! I'll post mine on slideshare shortly and link to them here.

Also, just in response to Brian's friend at NYU...

I don't think people in government want to use game design to re-engineer critical govt processes. Its more about getting people engaged in thinking about the problems that government faces on a daily basis, to get individuals more engaged in the policy making process, and helping them make informed decisions about their lives.

I'm thinking about something like world without oil.

I like the quote "Game designers are the architects of challenge, of uncertainty, of problematic unknowns" - those are exactly the things that policy makers deal with - challenges with uncertainty and problematic unknowns. Giving people insight into what it takes to operate within that context could be super valuable not only in giving policy makers new ideas about how to solve problems, but in giving the "players" a better understanding of the process, and hopefully helping us deal with some of societies most intractable problems.