This challenge is over! This challenge is brought to you by the Gameful Creators. THE CHALLENGE: ”If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” — Lord Kelvin Pick something good that can [...]

This challenge is over!

This challenge is brought to you by the Gameful Creators.

THE CHALLENGE:
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” — Lord Kelvin
Pick something good that can be measured.
Make a game to improve it.

BACKGROUND:
Gameful is all about games that make a positive impact on the real world, or on real lives. But how will we know if our games are, in fact, having a positive impact?

As the great scientist Lord Kelvin once said, “”If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” We challenge you to think of something good that can be measured, and make a game to improve it.

To submit results to this challenge, you should measure your something good before and after the game is played to demonstrate a real positive impact.

It doesn’t have to be a scientific study — personal experience, friends and family, co-workers or neighbors… anecdotal evidence is a very good start to explore how we can make a real positive impact with games.

Of course, not everything that matters can be measured… or can it? In order to make your game, you may need to invent a new way to measure something that matters to you. We think game designers can play an important role in helping the world invent new ways to measure what matters — whether it has to do with positive emotions and engagement, relationships or community, meaning and service, or accomplishments and positive impacts on the world around us.

RULES:
- New games, please. Only games invented after October 28, 2010 are eligible.
- ALL game genres are eligible, including high-tech, low-tech or no-tech.
- Original games only, please. (E.g., don’t measure the positive impacts of Halo or Peggle — even though we know they have lots and lots!)
- Solo entries or teams are both fine. All team members must be Gameful members!
- Special attention will be paid to entries that explicitly identify their “something good” that they are measuring and improving within the gameful PERMA framework: Positive Emotion, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
- Judging for this reward is by the founders of Gameful with input from the Awesome Board.

REWARDS
- $1000 USD (no strings attached) for the most awe-inspiring game and improvement.
– 100,000 monster treats for each approved entry. (Entries will be checked to see that they meet the criteria above.)
- The top 5 entries will be invited to join the Awesome Board.
- Runner-up will receive an hour of video Skype mentoring/brain picking from your choice of Gameful founders.

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Join this Group.
2. Discuss what you’re up to!
3. When you’re ready, but BEFORE February 12, 2011, start a new forum topic for YOUR entry. Describe what you’ve done. Include a link to a blog post, or photos, or videos, or a PDF, or a download, or a website, or anything else that can help us see your game in action, or play it ourselves!
4. Await glorious feedback from your fellow Gameful monsters.
5. Winners will be announced by February 26, 2011.

INSPIRATION:
Here’s a video about a project that measures something good (climbing stairs vs. taking the elevator)… and uses play to improve it! (it’s not *exactly* a game, but it’s definitely in the spirit of gamefulness…) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw