Putting the Fun in Functional: Applying Game Mechanics to Functional Software

Google Tech Talks January 29, 2009 ABSTRACT In this session, we'll review the psychology and system thinking behind game design, and learn how to use game mechanics to create an experience that's fun, compelling, and addictive on the Web and mobile. We'll conclude by showcasing some cutting-edge services that incorporate these ideas and show us what future of social and applications will look like. "It's one of my absolute favorite discussions on user engagement & how to think about app / web design & user engagement by using strategy from game mechanics." - Dave McClure (http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2008/03/putting-the-fun.html) A lot of our services here at Google can benefit from simple ways to make them more engaging by applying lessons from game mechanics. Amy Jo Kim's company Shufflebrain builds smart games for social networks, starting with Facebook. (For an example of how Facebook is using Game design to drive user engagement, see: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2008/12/07/facebook-using-game-design-to-drive-new-user-engagement/) Speaker: Amy Jo Kim Amy Jo Kim, CEO of Shufflebrain, is an internationally known expert in online community architecture. She has helped design social games and social architecture for such companies as Electronic Arts, Digital Chocolate, Viacom, eBay and Yahoo! Her book Community Building on the Web was published in 2000, and has been translated into 6 languages.