The truth is that this process has been around for over a decade, already present within the game book series "Give Yourself Goosebumps" which is a children's book, where the reader can choose the outcome of the story by making choices on what to do relating to the plot line. What the "Give Yourself Goosebumps" series does using Gamification is take away from a "flat and static medium and pushes the reader to read the ... multiple times and reengage and comeback to it"(Aurelio, 2011). Gamification is becoming increasingly relevant over a score of new technologies and innovations, a great example of how Gamification can aid us in discoveries and innovation is a game called Folded. Before this game was released scientist had been struggling to determine the exact protein structure of the aids virus, and so a game designer decide to make it into a game where the user can morph and change the protein at their own will, whilst being given goals and directions. What miraculously happened was that after only "15 days they entire protein structure had been found out using the game"(Chou, 2014).
But can this process still be successfully applied to a publishing market? With the emergence of new technologies such as e-books a whole new realm of possibilities are possible. An Coppens, author and creator of Gamification nation, describes in her short video how we can now choose to make new chapters in e-books unlockable via games and riddles, essentially engaging the reader in a way never done before(Coppens, 2013). But why do we want to add this extra level of tasks to reading? Wont this interrupt the "joy" of reading? This gamification phenomena can actually be explained on a scientific level. When we humans set and accomplish goals our brain naturally release a chemical called dopamine(Zicherman, 2014) which essentially makes us feel good, adding these tasks and giving the reader rewards for completing the tasks can give the reader a sense of accomplishment that just reading the book could ever give them.
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Coppens, A. (2013) Gamified book publishing. Available:http://gamificationnation.com/gamified-book-publishing/. Last accessed: 24th November 2014.
Tedx Talks, 2014. Yu-kai Chou at TEDxLausanne, Gamification to improve our world.[video online]. available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Qjuegtiyc [Accessed on 24th November 2014]
Tedx Talks, 2011. Catherine Aurelio -Gamification, TEDxSantaCruz[video online]. available at : hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jSzwSJmzRY[Accessed on 24th November 2014]
Tedx Talks, 2014. Gabe Zichermann at TEDxVilnius, The Future of Creativity and Innovation is Gamification .[video online]. available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvRw71Slew [Accessed on 24th November 2014]