Abstract
Many aspects of handling the COVID-19 pandemic bear a resemblance to patterns found in games. We observe point displays and leader boards, the visible assumption of roles, classic archetypes, the collection of resources, and spatial awareness. We argue that these patterns manifest spontaneously as a form of analogical reasoning, because people lack cultural and individual norms as well as cognitive scripts for a pandemic. Trying to find systematic similarities between a novel and a familiar situation is an essential cognitive strategy and a cultural tool, resulting in a spontaneous ludification of this crisis. Unfortunately, most institutions, the media and policymakers focus on attributes that are easy to communicate, not on relations and causal chains. This results in shallow analogies, where the mechanisms and dynamics of COVID-19 are not addressed. This can cause a sense of helplessness, where many people remain passive viewers. A pandemic, however, calls for cooperative action of people who understand the relations between different factors and stakeholders in order to mitigate several negative effects linked to such a crisis. We propose a psychologically founded “Strategic gamification” (here in the context of a pandemic), a form of sense-making that builds on spontaneously emerging ludic elements. By extending upon those elements through the lens of game design, we can shape the mechanics, dynamics and esthetics of a serious context in a more meaningful way. The resulting analogies have better predictive power and are suited to utilize positive aspects of gamification like engagement, elaboration and collaboration.
Highlights
With a death toll of three million, and over 130 million infected people (WHO, 2021), the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a devastating effect on families, communities and nations all around the globe
We understand ludification here as a phenomenon where people pick up narrations, game metaphors and game elements to construct identity and to better understand culture and society. This builds on the idea of Johan Huizinga’s Homo Ludens (Huizinga, 1949). Connecting this observation of the spontaneous application of game elements to COVID-19, this paper offers a perspective on how to capitalize on this phenomenon by a strategic gamification
What is driving people’s behavior in the absence of scripts, concerning the pandemic? We suggest applying the framework of a homo ludens as initially described by Huizinga (1949)
Summary
We observe point displays and leader boards, the visible assumption of roles, classic archetypes, the collection of resources, and spatial awareness We argue that these patterns manifest spontaneously as a form of analogical reasoning, because people lack cultural and individual norms as well as cognitive scripts for a pandemic. Most institutions, the media and policymakers focus on attributes that are easy to communicate, not on relations and causal chains This results in shallow analogies, where the mechanisms and dynamics of COVID-19 are not addressed. We propose a psychologically founded “Strategic gamification” (here in the context of a pandemic), a form of sense-making that builds on spontaneously emerging ludic elements By extending upon those elements through the lens of game design, we can shape the mechanics, dynamics and esthetics of a serious context in a more meaningful way.
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