A Dark Future for Gamification?
Jared Lorince on Oct 10, 2012Gamification can be a powerful tool, but also a locus of debate. Is it the perfect way to help us become better versions of ourselves, making beneficial but uninteresting tasks more engaging? Or is the gamification carrot not as healthy as we think,...
From Bungeling Bay to The Sims
Jared Lorince on Sep 16, 2012The Sims is the immensely popular "life simulation" game that has set itself apart not only by its unique gameplay and commercial success, but by its ability to cross demographic boundaries in way few other videogames have. As such, it's fascinating...
The Origins of Flow
Jared Lorince on Sep 11, 2012As a reader of MP, there's a decent chance that you're already familiar with the concept of "flow" championed by positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced like this, not this). If you aren't up to speed on it, fear not; I'll go into...
SharpBrains - get your brain training fix
Jared Lorince on Aug 28, 2012"Brain training" games have gone mainstream, popularized by big-name offerings like Nintendo's Brain Age. Exactly how much cognitive benefit these game provide is far from clear,though; depending on the study you look at, they're significant (in the...
What do *you* look at when you play Tetris?
Jared Lorince on Jul 15, 2012Well, if you're an expert player it's almost certainly different than what novice players pay attention to, and that's exactly what the psychological literature on expertise would predict. Researchers looking at everything from athletes to burglars...