At first, I was somewhat skeptic about the master class videos, whether it would be good enough to watch it or would it be that I have made a wrong decision and have to write a review to just get it done. Though, I’m familiar with the apps that use this type of methodology, one way or the other, but the term ‘Gamification’ itself was quite new for me. Well, my first reaction was absolutely wrong and by the end of the videos I was very happy to have taken it.
The first misconception I had about the title (and you must clear this too) is that Gamification is not all about games or gameplay rather it’s using game logic and mechanics to solve problems. In fact many sites/apps/games such as Twitter, Foursquare, Empire Avenue, StackOverflow, CityVille, etc. have some element of Gamification.
Gabe does a very good job at explaining Gamification with real live examples and exercises after each lesson. One of the unique feature I loved about these classes was the audience that kept interacting with Gabe, providing their own product’s goals and objectives, and applying each exercise with them. Furthermore, the master class provides additional free (yes free!) materials to learn more about it.
Apart from all those good things I loved about the master class, however, I wished that he had taken a scenario and applied each element of gamification with every successive class. One more thing that I wanted in this class was the downside of Gamification. He, Gabe, didn’t provide situation where gamification would become a hindrance to a product or business. I even noticed some features of gamification that seemed profitable and even remarked as is but in essence very unethical, e.g. using original cash to buy virtual cash or product that has no original value and the customer can’t even get his money back after he has purchased it.
Overall, the master class is good and I would recommend you to watch them.
More resources:
Altered Perspective 