Interview with our Gamification Europe 2017 speaker - Sylvester Arnab
To prepare for Gamification Europe 2017, we asked all our speakers 4 questions about gamification. These are Sylvester's answers!
1) When and how did you first hear about gamification
I started working on game-based research and innovation in 2009, which included Serious Games and Game-Based Learning (GBL). I first encountered the term ‘Gamification’ in 2010 during one of the project workshops carried out under the EU Framework 7 Games and Learning Alliance – a network of 31 institutions involved in serious games research.
2) Why and when did you decide that you want to use gamification?
I believe in the power of gameful and playful approaches in engaging individuals with beneficial and purposeful activities. Gamification as a tool is very useful for informing experiences that we would like to create for our target groups. I started to emphasise on gamification in 2013, when we were setting up a new lab for exploring disruptive technologies and methodologies within the context of teaching and learning. But essentially, I am an advocate for gameful and playful methodologies.
3) What is the main takeaway someone will take after attending your session at Gamification Europe?
Gamification is not a single solution to solving real problems. Gamification as a design tool, framework and best practice should not be restricted by one technology. A hybrid approach for combining digital and analogue interventions could prove to be highly effective and could lead to a more rounded solution. The talk will also imply crossovers between different game-based approaches based on a pragmatic and holistic perspective when it comes to needs-driven design.
4) What other session of Gamification Europe are you excited about and want to attend?
Looking forward to the different sessions on both days, especially the sessions on The 8 Archetypes of Gamification Failure, Escape Rooms, The power of play in Higher Education and Theory vs. Practice in Implementing Successful Gamification.