‘Everyone will be a gamer by 2020’

Analysts have predicted that every consumer will be a gamer within the next six years, as virtual concepts progress a ‘gamification’ of real life.

Members of IEEE, an organisation “dedicated to advancing technology for humanity”, predicted that 85 percent of everyday tasks will feature an integrated concept of gaming by 2020.

“While video games are seen mainly for their entertainment value in today’s society, industries like healthcare, business and education will be integrating gaming elements into standard tasks and activities, making us all gamers,” an IEEE statement explained.

“People will accrue points for regular tasks and each person’s point cache will influence their position in society, and compliment their monetary wealth.”

"Social networks that encourage check-ins and stores with loyalty point programs are already utilizing gamification to grow their customer bases. Soon, game-like activities similar to these will be part of almost everything we do," commented Richard Garriott, an IEEE member who coined the term ‘massively multiplayer online role-playing game’ – or ‘MMORPG’.

"Our mobile devices will be the hub for all of the ‘games’ we’ll be playing throughout a normal day by tracking the data we submit and using it to connect everything."

Examples suggested include the measurement of an individual’s business success in ‘game points’, with promotions rewarded by accruing a certain amount of points, encouraging health check-ups and vaccinations by using the concept of real-life ‘hit points’ and integrating gaming systems into schools to provide positive reinforcement.

"A lot of technologies start in other industries and slip their way into gaming, which makes sense for the future of businesses," added Tom Coughlin, an IEEE senior member and technology consultant.

"By 2020, however many points you have at work will help determine the kind of raise you get or which office you sit in. Outside factors will still be important, but those that can be quantified numerically will increasingly be tracked with ‘game points’."

"Humans, as mammals, learn more efficiently through play in which they are rewarded rather than other tests in which they are given demerits for mistakes," concluded Elena Bertozzi, another IEEE member and professor of digital game design and Development at Quinnipiac University.

"It is a natural fit to teach through gaming, especially in areas of the world where literacy levels vary and human instinct can help people learn."

Image of game status bars courtesy of Shutterstock.co.uk