Rethinking Gamification and meson press

Mercedes Bunz, Marcus Burkhardt & Andreas Kirchner, who are colleagues of mine in the Hybrid Publishing Lab at Leuphana,  University of Lüneburg, have announed the first publication of their newly founded open access publishing project, meson press:

Rethinking Gamification, edited by Mathias Fuchs, Sonia Fizek, Paolo Ruffino, and Niklas Schrape

'The main task of rethinking gamification today is to rescue it from the gamifiers.'
- Sebastian Deterding

About the Book
The phenomenon of gamification marks a major change to our lives: today, we find game-elements such as awards, rule structures, and interfaces inspired by video games everywhere around us. After corporations, states have started to use gamification as a tool to govern populations more effectively. It promises to fix what is wrong with reality by making every single one of us fitter, happier, and healthier. But is society up for being transformed into one massive game?

The contributions in this book offer a candid assessment of the gamification hype. They explain its novel design practices and methods as well as they trace back the historical roots of the phenomenon. They present artistic tactics for resistance, and critically discuss its social implications.

It is time to rethink gamification!

The pdf edition can be downloaded freely at www.meson-press.com.

Language: English | Publishing Year:  2014 | Softcover | 346 pp. | 6.14 x 9.21" / 23.4 x 15.6 cm
ISBN (Print): 978-3-95796-000-9 | ISBN (PDF): 978-3-95796-001-6
RRP (Print): EUR 15.00 / GPB 12.00 / USD 19.00

Contents
Mathias Fuchs, Sonia Fizek, Paolo Ruffino, and Niklas Schrape: Introduction

Resetting Behaviour
Niklas Schrape: Gamification and Governmentality
Paolo Ruffino: From Engagement to Life, or: How to Do Things with Gamification?
Maxwell Foxman: How to Win Foursquare: Body and Space in a Gamified World
Joost Raessens: The Ludification of Culture

Replaying History
Mathias Fuchs: Predigital Precursors of Gamification
Felix Raczkowski: Making Points the Point: Towards a History of Ideas of Gamification

Reframing Context
Fabrizio Poltronieri: Communicology, Apparatus, and Post-History: Vilém Flusser’s Concepts Applied to Videogames and Gamification
Thibault Philippette: Gamification: Rethinking ‘Playing the Game’ with Jacques Henriot
Gabriele Ferri: To Play Against: Describing Competition in Gamification

Reclaiming Opposition
Daphne Dragona: Counter-Gamification: Emerging Tactics and Practices Against the Rule of Numbers
Matthew Tiessen: Gamed Agencies: Affectively Modulating our Screen and App-Driven Digital Futures

Remodelling Design
Sonia Fizek: Why Fun Matters: In Search of Emergent Playful Experiences
Scott Nicholson: Exploring the Endgame of Gamification
Sebastian Deterding: Eudaimonic Design, or: Six Invitations to Rethink Gamification