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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   2643 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Can MMORPG design principles be applied to real life in order to promote theoretically-ideal outcomes?

The daily grind in World of Warcraft may be more boring than another game, but it’s still a lot more ‘fun’ (or less painful) than running a 10k for most people, for example.

That said, I’d argue many things in real life employ gamification principles - whether it’s job boards / ticket systems like in software engineering, or fitness apps like Apple health with streaks and tracking and scores and medals etc etc. Clearly it works for some people - although I’d guess they all like the game a little before the gamification is applied.

Maybe that’s the best way to look at it, MMOs have dailies to get players coming back every day which promotes retention. I know many gym apps that have essentially the same dailies for small rewards (a coffee, a protein shake), so in that sense it works.

Gamification is a hard thing to get right. But the principle at play has already been known for a long time. AP chemistry in high school wouldn’t have been so hard for some people if you taught kids using black powder explosives and chemicals with energetic properties, as an example. Young boys love letting off fireworks and things that go boom boom.

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