Harnessing the Power of Play
Yu-Kai Chou sees the world very differently from the rest of us. But similar to all of us, he thought about what his typical day was like and realized it was divided into two parts: what he had to do (work) and what he wanted to do (play).
His vision was to play all day and to help the world harness the power of play. That is how he invented the concept of Gamification pronounced (game-i-fication). He defines Gamification as: “the craft of taking from the exciting elements of games and putting those elements into non-game context.” For example, he worked with children’s cancer researchers and hospitals to create a game app that would give child cancer patients the ability to describe their symptoms and pain on a game app. They “play” with other children with cancer in other parts of the world.
The children, through gamification, are able to assist cancer researchers in their fight against the causes of cancer in children. According to his research on “gamers” the average age of gamers is 35, but at least 70% are over the age of 18. “That means everyone could be a gamer,” he says. “Our clients, employees, children are potential gamers or could already be one.”
Chou will be speaking at the AFSA’s 22nd annual Vehicle Finance Conference and Expo on Tuesday, March 20. There is still time to register for the conference.
March 6th, 2018 by Dan Bucherer
