As a follow-up to Jesse Schell's presentation at DICE 2010 where he outlines the potential of persuasive games to alter our behaviors because we know we're being measured (and want the points to level up), Mathias Crawford offers a different benefit of persuasive games:
"...reliance on External Rewards obviates the true potential of persuasive games: namely, that they can be used to help people think about themselves, the world, and life in new and empowering ways. Rather than relying on persuasive games to provoke or impede certain behaviors, what if they were used to open up a world of previously inaccessible experiences? What if games were used to get people thinking about why they acted in particular ways? If they helped them identify if these behaviors were in line with who they believe they are and how they ought to be? If they helped people think through the steps they needed to take to improve themselves from within, rather than from without? "
"Ends vs. Means and Persuasion", Mathias Crawford, Institute for the Future
Whether focused on changing our behaviors from within or without, I believe we'll see an increase in game mechanics being embedded in enterprise communication and collaboration solutions.
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