Online Gamers’ Beneficial Skills at the Workplace

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“Gamers Make Good Employees” by Wally Bahny

It is often the case that gamers are thought of as lazy and underachieving. However, the article “Gamers make good employees” by Bahny (2011) argues against this stereotype by indicating that gamers actually learn a plethora of skills from the massively multiplayer online games that they immerse themselves in. The author points to various examples such as those in the book “The Guild Leader’s Handbook” by Scott F. Andrews that being immersed in an MMORPG as well as its online gaming community actually enables a person to be more ready for change, diversity, learning and subsequent innovation within a variety of job roles and positions. In fact, it is this mental preparedness and versatility that the author emphasizes which actually sets gamers apart from other employees since they would be more likely to be able to tackle challenges that appear due to such traits as opposed to non-gamer employees.

“Teach Your Employees to Think Like Online Gamers” by Jessica Stillman

This article by Stillman (2008) emphasizes that employers should get their employees to think like players of massively multiplayer online games due to the 5 beneficial traits that are attributed to the average online gamer. These consist of being able to thrive on change, the ability to look at learning as a “fun” activity, the innovative and oftentimes radical strategies and views developed in order to overcome challenges, the inherent understanding of gamers of the necessity of diversity as well as their inherent desire to be evaluated and compared to other people. When taking all these factors into consideration, it can be seen that your average online gamer has many mental faculties that companies find desirable in their employees, and as such, it is not surprising that Stillman (2008) advocates that a company teach employees how to think more like gamers.

“Gamers Make Good Company Employees” by Christian Kirkman

This article from Kirkman enterprises emphasizes that gamers make good company employees since they are able to effectively adapt and work within corporate environments with clearly defined rules and objectives (Christian, 2012). This is due to the fact that is in line with the mentality they developed as a result of playing numerous massively multiplayer online role-playing games wherein they are limited to a select set of rules and gaming elements as defined by the game developer. Not only that, gamers, in particular, are described as “driven” to accomplish certain goals and objectives (which is beneficial for a company) since this is how they were taught to think and act within the gaming world.

ABC.net, “Gamers, Make Good Employees”

In this short article from ABC.net, it is shown that gamers make good employers since various massively multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft teach gamers the importance of collaboration and cooperation, which are important characteristics of any employee within a company (ABS, 2012).

“The Strength of Online Gaming Communities” by Cunninghame

In the article “The Strength of Online Gaming Communities,” Cunninghame (2011) explains that while online games and the gaming communities they consist of are considered by society as detrimental towards the development of individuals into “proper young adults,” the communities that develop around video games actually become quite strong over time and actually enable people to better understand and utilize various aspects related to gamification (Cunninghame, 2011). He points to forum discussions of game mechanics (i.e., the principles of gamification embedded into the game itself) in games such as World of Warcraft wherein the very developers of the gamification elements utilized within the MMORPG listen to the comments, suggestions, and often elaborately detailed examinations of the game made by players and how certain aspects of the elements of gamification utilized can be improved or even replaced by even better systems. This shows how people immersed in an environment of gamification over time develop a sense of what works and what does not, as well as which processes lead to better user experiences or which ones actually detract from the experience as a whole.

“Educational Multiuser Online Game, “Debugger” Game for Introductory Computer Science Class” by Yoon et al.

In this study by Yoon et al. (N.I.), the researchers examined the subject of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and how it could be utilized as a new means of teaching students (Yoon et al., N.I.). The research concentrates on an examination of the “CodeGame” application, which is a computer lad based system where students play in a fixed environment with each other and learn various aspects of computer know-how from continuously playing the game. It was discovered by the researchers that aspects related to gamification were more easily internalized, learned, and applied by students who were immersed within an online gaming environment as compared to those who merely learned such concepts through rote learning. From this particular perspective, it can be seen that MMORPGS act as effective learning environments for such concepts, which further enhances an individual’s ability to utilize and know about the elements of gamification through direct experience, which is often far better than merely reading about it from a selection of text.

“Serious Games. Serious Learning” by Bonus

This research report by Bonus (N.I.) examines the use of video games as a way of revitalizing the way in which people learn from textbooks (Bonus, N.I.). In its Bonus (N.I.) explains how video games create a more interesting learning environment from which students can more effectively derive the concepts of various lessons and be able to successfully implement them into actual lessons. The researcher goes onto explain that users exposed to gamification elements through either single-player or massively multiplayer applications are actually capable of better understanding gamification concepts and effectively applying them as compared to their peers who have not been exposed to the same environment.

“Digital Games in Academic Libraries: A Review of Games and Suggested Best Practices” by Broussard

There have been a variety of studies that have explored the use of multiplayer online games as effective methods of teaching students, yet there are few who have examined which features and similarities in the best online learning games actually leads to success. In her examination of online digital games available in the library, Broussard (2012) examined a variety of online games in order to determine which user-related factors led to effective learning programs (Broussard, 2012). It was seen by Broussard (2012) that through the use of user-related input, developers were actually able to enhance the gamification elements within particular multiplayer online games. Such actions resulted in popular learning games, while in instances where no user inputs were utilized, such programs were often considered failures. From this particular study, it can be seen that user-related input from gamers experienced in gamification techniques and effective usage is necessary in order to properly design and implement successful online systems that utilize elements of gamification.

“Games, Gamification, and the Quest for Learner Engagement” by Kapp

The article focuses on the use of the game design in employee learning processes. It states that well-designed games engage players in abstract challenges that are defined by interactivity, rules, and feedback resulting in a quantifiable outcome that can elicit an emotional response and mentions that research has indicated the level of activity of learners indicates what makes a game effective (Kapp, 2012). In line with this particular train of thought, the study emphasizes that identifying what gamification processes and methods to employ in particular instances through user feedback and instruction is one of the best ways to institute employee learning processes. As such, experienced user feedback (i.e., gamers) is often utilized as a means of enabling companies to better understand how to properly implement systems of effective gamification.

“Get in the Game: How Communicators Can Leverage Gamification” by Zuk

The article reports that gamification helps companies in training people for improved job performance, where communicators can leverage gamification to create awareness, carry messages, and affect measurable actions (Zuk, 2012). In this regard, the article explores various methods taken from online players of multiplayer games in order to examine methods and processes that could be utilized to effectively measure actions and determine how particular processes can be implemented. This was done through an examination of particular elements of gamification and how they can be utilized in communicative processes wherein, through a combination of user-generated opinions, effective systems could be created as a result.

Reference List

ABC. 2012. Gamers make good employees. ABC. Web.

Bahny, W. 2011. Gamers make good employees. Techrepublic. Web.

Bonus, J. N.I.. Serious games serious learning. Jamesalexbonus. Web.

Broussard, M. 2012. Digital games in academic libraries: a review of games and suggested best practices. Reference Services Review, Vol. 40 Iss: 1, pp.75 – 89.

Christian.2012.Gamers make good company employees. Kirkman-enterprises. Web.

Cunninghame, I. (2011). The strength of online gaming communities. Network Conference. Web.

Kapp, K. M. 2012. Games, gamification, and the quest for learner engagement. T and D, 66(6), 64.

Stilman, K. 2008.Teach your employees to think like online gamers. CBS. Web.

Yoon et al. N.I.. Educational multiuser online game, “debugger” game for introductory computer science class.World Comp. Web.

Zuk, R. 2012. Get in the game: How communicators can leverage gamification. Public Relations Tactics, 19(2), 7.

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