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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1611 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.

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