Research into human behavior demonstrates that people are motivated by challenges that feel inherently worthwhile. Both the scholarly literature on games and the real-world experience of game designers demonstrate that people will compete for extraordinarily low-value prizes, or no prizes at all, when the experience itself is the reward. Companies and governments are beginning to use the elements of games and competitions to motivate employees, customers, and communities. This phenomenon has become known as gamification. Gamification is extremely promising, but there are important questions about how to do it effectively, and whether it removes the richness of experience that makes good games successful.
For the Win is a multi-faceted project on gamification, involving both researchers and practitioners. The basic questions we are asking are the following: Why are games engaging, and how can we appropriately use their elements to motivate people in serious areas like business, public policy, and social endeavor?
