Proposal: Gamification
Why is this proposal created under technology? From my (admittedly minimal) understanding, gamification is about the process of using game-like mechanics to induce further involvement/engagement from the public/user community in a certain activity.
Offering a free ticket for the next game to the fan that cheers loudest in a football match would also be a (limited) form of gamification. Is this proposal misplaced, or am I completely missing the point?
In reviewing the main categories on the Area 51 home page [Arts, Business, Culture, Life, Professional, Recreation, Science, Technology] I think Technology would have been quite low on my list as well.
Since the basis of Gamification (or Game-Play integration as I like to call it, avoiding the overly used and sometimes watered-down "buzzworthy" term) is to apply gaming techniques to a non-game situation, I think Recreation could lead the way, but Life would be a high candidate for the proposal's classification as well.
However, many levels of Game-play integration have taken the forefront of business and marketing avenues helping to entice consumers to engage more with the company (Four Square) so Business seems to get high marks in that sense, or possibly Professional would also fit.
Then again, as an educator and scholar writing a thesis on the integration of game-play within a classroom to teach grade-school students advanced mathematics earlier, I would think that Culture would also have a foot hold in the categorization too.
I am not certain which one of these four would be better suited for the primary candidate for classification, however, I am certain that Technology would be lower on the list since this SE site seems to discuss the theory and principals surrounding the idea of Game-Play integration...not the tools used to design the games themselves.
I honestly think a fair case could be made for putting it under any of the topical areas. People looking at it under Technology would likely be most interested in its implementation in software programs or hardware systems. In other areas, it might attract more interest as theory or as performance art.
I was thinking this as well. I refer Gamification under Economics, as it has strong ties with game theory...
But whatever we put it under, does that categorization narrow the scope of questions? For instance, can I ask a (relevant) business or economic question if it's filed under technology?
Why not under technology? People don't understand it if they are born more than 30 years ago so it fits under the technology catagory
