Applying Video Game Mechanics

I recently receive a question regarding the applications of video games such as Madden or Halo in the workplace. While my response was directed toward video games, I think the "three questions" and "three principles" would be a good starting point for evaluating the usefulness of any types of games for management. Here is my response:

"I was thinking a little bit more about your question, and I think the answer is yes. I think games of all varieties could have applications, but the type of application would vary. There are a couple questions you could ask to get determine the level of application best suited for a game.

The first would be, what are the incentives mechanisms in this game and are there any ways I could model those incentives in management. For example, Madden creates incentive for you to keep playing by keeping detailed statistics of your performance, by increasing difficulty incrementally as the season goes on, and by imitating as closely as possible an actual football game environment. These are principles that could help govern an employee competition or help to facilitate their learning and growth.

Second, you should ask, is there any practical benefit that we could use from incorporating this game in our management structure. If you judge that the employees might like to play Halo, you could create a system of rewards based on performance that apply to the game. For example, employees could earn handicap points by meeting company goals, which could then be applied to a monthly Halo tournament that might result in some sort of monetary bonus or glory.

The last question would be, is there any specific skill I would like employees to develop, and does this game encourage training in this skill. Again, to use Halo as an example, employees could learn better communication by competing in teams to accomplish tasks. The Halo system in particular is well suited to facilitate team competition like this and there are various challenges and game types pre-structured within Halo. With this last type of application the point is education, so there should be some sort of debriefing or lesson segment accompanying it to help employees to evaluate what they experienced.

As with any time you draw from games to accomplish tasks in the workplace, you must pay attention to the three cardinal principles: fun (do employees have reason/incentive to participate in this), fairness (does the system guard against bias and ensure fair reward), and follow-through (does this system accomplish the goals I want it to accomplish)."

There may be more principles that can help aid the use of games in the workplace, but I think these three help reveal potential problems that a system might create. Without fun, employees won't participate, without fairness the system will fail, and without follow-through you will not accomplish what you set out to do. To balance these requires time, effort, and creativity, and most of all trial and error and re-design. It may not be until the third or fourth attempt that you finally realize a system that includes the right balance of the three principles.