Video Games Turn Serious Business into Fun Activity

It is common knowledge that video games are very popular in the entertainment industry for the obvious reason that they are entertaining. In the past few years, marketing professionals took up the gaming industry and changed its course by monetizing through game application on social media. They are used for advertising and marketing campaigns with a high success rate, a new way to understand their consumers through social tags such as ‘share,’ ‘like’ and ‘comments.’ Different methods are applied by companies to use games to their advantage. Running a contest is a very powerful marketing tool. Game designs may either be classic or offer reward incentives in the form of challenges. Third- party Facebook developers are usually hired for the purpose as they not only use creative design elements but cover all ground of social gamification. But there are some other unusual ways where it has been incorporated into professional programs and interestingly, entertainment is not the sole purpose.

For social services

Players have been actively involved in donating to charitable causes through online games. ‘WeTopia’ is a city-building game application. Reviews have mostly been more favorable towards the purpose more than the user experience, which is rated ‘average.’ Actions in the game result in some form of donation to improve children’s lives in poverty stricken areas within the US and other countries.

For the medical profession

A few years ago, the Associated Press reported on a research study by the Iowa State University of how video games can improve surgeons’ performances during surgical procedures. The four month study required these surgeons to play video games involving hand and eye coordination, a skill necessary for surgeons. It was proven that surgeons who spend three hours of video gaming on a weekly basis tend to perform ‘faster’ tasks and make ‘fewer mistakes.’ Although this specifically referred to laparoscopic surgery, which requires finger dexterity, another research center has implemented video game as part of general surgical training.

For military training

Texas’ Times Record News reported on an ongoing experiment at Sheppard Air Force Base to prove that video games positively impact military officers. If the hypothesis proves true, then video games will become part of military training. But not just any games. The genre will be selective to games that require brainwork, such as the puzzle and logic genre similar to those used in the study. The reason is that such games improve cognitive adaptability to situations, an essential trait that proves useful during wartime.

This trend has been picked by numerous other professions as well. Consequently, social media is spurred into becoming more active in creating game apps to help make the world not just more connected, but contribute to social and scientific development.

Salman Ghaznavi Originally Found this on Avenuesocial

Salman Ghaznavi is the founder of Avenuesocial Inc. a company focused on social media marketing and tool design & development. Avenuesocial is one of the premium Facebook App Consultants, and My role is to actively pursue a global strategy, create and help roll-out Avenuesocial social tool, the AS Pathways. The AS Pathways tool offers social media marketing and analytics with integrated campaign management (on Facebook and Twitter), multi-channel execution, engagement reports and user management.