As we grow older, we are taught that games are distractions, a playful break from serious
activities. Thirty-something consultant Aaron Dignan, part of a generation that
has been raised on constantly changing games and gadgets, disagrees. In Game Frame:
Using Games as a Strategy for Success, Dignan
persuasively argues that games can lead the way to success, achievement and
fulfillment in business and in life.

This book reminds me of a situation I faced while planning to build a new factory in
Monterrey, Mexico in the late 90s, I recall the advice of the Senior Manager of
Manufacturing.  “Land is inexpensive”, he
said.  “So we should build a soccer field
and a barbeque pit as well as a pavilion for outdoor parties”.  At first, I couldn’t believe it would make
much of a difference.  I later realized
that taking these steps would be a major factor in attracting and obtaining the
workers needed to meet our goals.  It was
one of the reasons that employee turnover was less than 9% yearly in our
factory when most maquiladora operations faced more than 30%.  I learned that playing, in a way, is inseparable
from work and completely agree with the assertions in Dignan’s book.  Well, it’s not just about what employees do
outside of the pace of the manufacturing floor.
Dignan also touches on a methodology to make work more interesting.

Rather than being time-wasters, Dignan writes, games can offer opportunities to
resolve two basic issues that undermine our efforts to achieve: lack of
volition (I don’t want to do it) and lack of faculty (I don’t know how to do
it).

With lack of volition, people are unmotivated, disinterested and disconnected,
Dignan writes. They don’t see the value in an activity or behavior. They refuse
to become involved. Games address lack of volition because they are designed to
engage people, to interest them, and to offer the promise of fun and
excitement. Games also offer autonomy and control, Dignan notes. When you play
a game, you are in charge. What happens depends on you. Fun, control, autonomy
— these are the types of elements that engage and motivate people.

Games also put us in a learning mode, Dignan writes. When you first play a
game, you are not very good. You make mistakes. The more you play the game, the
better you become. Eventually, you master the game and are ready to move on to
the next level.

How Grokking Leads to Flow

Dignan quotes game designer Raph Koster, who uses the term “grok”
when talking about the game learning process. “To grok something,”
Dignan explains, “means to understand it so thoroughly that it becomes a
part of you.” Grokking applies to the workplace, too. For example, a
cashier who has been on the job for five years probably knows everything there
is to know about the job. The problem is that once you’ve grokked something,
you become bored. There is no more learning or discovery involved.

In his seminal book, Flow,
author and professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi illuminates why games are so
attractive, Dignan writes. Csikszentmihalyi shows that people are most
effective and happy when they have the exact right level of skills to meet the
challenges they face. If they don’t have enough skills, they will be anxious.
If their skill level is above the challenge, they will be bored. To progress in
an activity, people need to have challenges that are just beyond the level of
their skills and abilities. They will be motivated to grow just a bit to enjoy
the perfect balance of skill and challenge, which gives them a feeling of
exhilaration and achievement. Games, notes Dignan, “provide us with what
we crave: a set of escalating challenges, feedback on our progress and the
thrill of victory.”

Designing Games

In 10 chapters (called levels, an echo of the learning process of a game),
Dignan explores the multifaceted implications of games in today’s society.
Topics include the rise of interactive technology, the misunderstood concept of
play and the future of games. In one chapter, Dignan shows readers how to
design behavioral games for success based on 10 building blocks, among them:
objectives, skills, resistance (the opposing force that creates tension in the
game), resources, actions, feedback (some kind of response to the action taken)
and outcomes.

Game Frame is a unique and insightful read. Dignan not only successfully advocates on
behalf of games, he offers his readers an actionable tool for designing games
that readers will want to use for the next major challenge that they face.