Gamification of Reality Television

In a blog post by Greg Luterbach (February 1, 2013), he suggested that gamification has permeated many aspects of popular society including professional sports, consumer goods, entertainment and social relationships.  Since this infiltration of gamification was not as obvious to me, I decided to challenge myself to look for examples of gamification in aspects of society other than the context of formal education.  Within just a few days, I had recognized the presence of gamification in all of the domains that Michael had suggested; the sports channel TSN promoted an online challenge for viewers to predict the winning outcomes of hockey games (TSN Game Predictor Hockey Edition), Hasbro sponsored a contest where the public could help decide on a new playing piece, and a commercial was broadcast highlighting the tasks performed by the contestants on an upcoming episode of the Bachelor.

It was the latter example that really got me thinking about how gamification had changed the paradigm of prime-time television programming.  When Survivor made its debut in 2000 it immediately appealed to the public viewing audience as it featured regular Americans facing-off against one another in a variety of tasks towards the ultimate quest of being the Sole Survivor and the winner of a million dollars.  Since then a host of reality television shows have come to dominate the airwaves, including The Amazing Race, Fear Factor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, America’s Got Talent, Wipe Out, Big Brother, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette. 

While these programs are all games in their own right, there are many other social dynamics at play; finding love, co-habitating with a diverse group of people, following ones’ dreams to achieve stardom, overcoming personal fears, and participating in world-wide cultural practices.  The shows contain many of the elements of ‘good games’ such as separate tasks, increased difficulty with the progression of each level, collaborative play, feedback, reward and working toward the ultimate quest.  Each week the participants engage in a number of tasks, often working in a team, with the winner(s) receiving a reward.  The players receive feedback on their performance either from other participants or the host, or engage in self-reflection (often given as a monologue to the camera), discussing their strategies and identifying the consequences of their choices.  Players are eliminated until there is an ultimate winner at the end of the quest. Viewers are also involved in the game play of these reality shows.  For many shows there are Twitter feeds and Facebook groups, and the public is often involved in voting for their favourite players or participants.

While the participants in many of these shows may not view their experience as a player within a game, they are in fact, part of an ultimate example of gamification.   As I watch the Bachelor or Bachelorette (yes, I admit that I watch these shows) and hope that my favourite choice truly finds love (hokey, I know) I will not be able to sit back and enjoy them in the same way without analyzing the design of the game and how the participants engage in this ultimate gaming experience.   

My First Gaming Success

For the past three weeks, I have been reading many interesting articles, blogs, websites and discussion forums on topics associated with Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL), and I must admit that I have become quite intrigued by the potential that games have for teaching and learning.  What I thought was just an entertaining (for some) pastime that resulted in ‘mushy-brain’ after too many hours of screen-time, it seems that well-designed games offer the player an experience in which they can develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, the ability to self-assess their strengths and areas for improvement, and gain factual geographical, historical, political and social information.  With this new understanding, I have been motivated to delve deeper into the theory and literature around the topic of DGBL and to thoughtfully consider how this can impact my own teaching and learning practice (in my classroom and at home).

Of course, this means that I have to actually access and engage in playing games myself.   For me, however, this is where the challenge began.  I am a very logical, methodical and analytical person.  When I get a new appliance, product, or toy, I read the instructions.  When I learn a new skill, I refer to the text and diagrams, make notes and work through the process step-by-step.  If there is a tutorial, I am the person that actually watches it just to make sure that I haven’t missed anything that I might need to know.  I am good at researching information, considering various perspectives, making meaning, and applying what I have learned.  So in my initial foray into game-playing I became quickly frustrated as I realized that digital game-playing doesn’t naturally fit with my personal learning style.

The first game I decided to play was MineCraft, with the intention to use it to teach students about the concept of building communities.  Given that my four-year old son seems to easily navigate through this game on my iPad and his dad’s iPhone, I figured that it would be fairly easy for me to figure out.  Only five minutes in, however, I was already frustrated trying to build my community.  I was able to put blocks on the screen but I couldn’t move them around to construct my vision of a functional building.  When my son informed me that zombies come out and “attack you and eat you and kill you” when night falls, I wasn’t confident in the educational application of this game (or perhaps that should be the teacher) to teach Grade 2 students about communities. 

I decided to search for another game that might be more applicable for teaching about communities.  Through a search of iTunes, I found two Apps that looked like they might fit the bill.  The first one was called Pioneers.  Surely this would work for teaching about the historical settlement of communities in Canada.  Again, however, this was a bust.  There appeared to be quests like building a fire, constructing a bridge and harvesting crops, but there was nothing to guide me on how to accomplish any of these tasks.  The little man walked around on the screen and while I touched, resized and searched all over the screen, I just couldn’t figure out how to get him to go where I wanted him to go or to engage in the task that the game was prompting me to do.   I was almost in tears and when my husband came to help me out.  I just became more embarrassed and frustrated that I couldn’t seem to make sense of what was seemingly, a simple game.

I didn’t give up, however, and decided to give Cityville Hometown a try.  The premise of this game was immediately clear to me and I quickly learned how to navigate the game, using the tool bars and menus.  The characters in this game gave me suggestions regarding strategies and ‘next moves’ that provided me with the confidence that motivated me to continue play.  The logic of the game was revealed and I and actually began to start thinking about my choices in the game.  I even started to have fun.  I have since asked for the App to be loaded on the iPads at our school and am looking forward to introducing it to my Grade 2 class.  My first success with gaming!