In my first semester MP presentation, my team discussed about Gamification and how the Carlos Museum can use those tactics to drive engagement.  In the grand scheme of things, gamification can be used for so much more.

In the article “You Play World of Warcraft? You’re Hired!“, the author discusses the gamification of management.  So, maybe he doesn’t use the word “gamification”, but effectively what he is describing fits into the gamification model.  The primary gamification driver in the MMORPG is competition.  A committed player always wants to have the best items possible to maximize all aspects of their avatar (or “character”).  In World of Warcraft, to acquire the best items you need to work together in a tightly coordinated effort with 25 teammates to attempt to slay giant monsters to gain the chance to acquire powerful items to enhance your character’s capabilities.

A long time go, when I played World of Warcraft, I was a Guild Master.  Thinking back, I realize that I was effectively a company manager.  I was responsible for “hiring” players to the guild — which included an application process, interview process, and trial process.  I was responsible for ensuring that on any given “Raid Night” (of which there were 3 per week) that we would have at least 25 people that properly equipped and specialized into the 3 different roles needed to perform the tasks  needed to slay the monsters.  Then on those nights, I was responsible for ensuring that each and every team member was doing their job well (for 4 hours).

Thinking back, there were many more aspects of Guild Management that are more in line with the tasks that a small business owner would perform.  After reading this article, maybe playing World of Warcraft was not as much a waste of time as I thought when I stopped playing!

-Fawad