I agree that the onus is on us, the consumer, to be wary of this type of trap. I think it's much more insiduous than normal, more passive marketing. As gamers, we are going to be much more sensitive to this, but many in th egeneral public, without context, and indeed, without even a proper understanding of how to use the internet, will fall prey to these machinations.

What I didn't touch on in the article, as it was a little beyond the scope, gaming is seeing the application of  "gamification," specifically in Facebook games, etc. They are little more than convining mechanics and reward systems, without any benefit of a much more complete game. While something like Mass Effect 2 is certainly very mechanic heavy, as I've argued before, there is a lot more meat on the bones, so to speak - the world, the story, the meaning. A Farmville is completely devoid of such notions.

I think that some less game savvy people use these mechanics but does that really mean they've been fooled. If they enjoy there 5 mins of farmville a day and want to spend a few pence/ cents a day then I doubt they feel swindled. We would only feel swindled because we are used to so much more. You can't really compare the two groups and their spending habits.

I think you've under-estimated how much these games are played. I've seen someone literally spend tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook gaming. I've seen others spend hours a day avoiding spending money (I was one of these people for a period). Of those I am friends with in Facebook, just about all of them play much more than 5 minutes a day. 

Facebook gaming aside, I have also seen instances were people were using websites to get badges and have no idea that they were being subjected to ideas lifted from video games, so that exists as well.

That said, I agree that they probably don't feel swindled, which is the saddest part, because that's what's actually happening.

Ceartainly some people play for too long but you can level that at most things. People can get addicted to anything. Being swindled is a subjective item in this situation I think. If casual gamers are enjoying themselves with whatever they are playing then more power to them. I'm sure the vast majority of people spend a little bit on these games and enjoy them as a nice distraction. It doesn't matter where the mechanics that keep them interested came from. 

Ultimately, exercise is a lifestyle decision, and fake rewards can overshadow, even diminish, real rewards such as health, self-confidence, and the myriad of ways exercise can benefit a person. I suspect that if reward systems are necessary beyond the actual rewards, it isn't a very strong lifestyle decision, and that exercise regimes will last as long as interest in the motivation. Devices die and evolve, leaving apps behind, and websites change and shut down, so leaving your health subject to the whims of techonology and financial decisions of those quite beyond the scope of your own health, is, I suspect a terrible plan.

That said, if the rewards system is used as a feedback loop, that should be fine. Although many more straight forward feedback systems exist without gamification, and ultimately, the positive reinforcement should tie back to the real-life results, as opposed to the fake rewards as delivered through arbitrary levels in that feedback system.

Ahh, you've really thought this through, thanks for the insight sir. But what about more "tangible" achievements, a boy scout's badge system is something physical they wear or show off making it more real than say a twitter or facebook icon, but do you think it suffers from the same arbitrary and ultimately meaningless reward system? Is it a little bit better?

In the specific example of the Boy Scout badge, I suggest that is indeed more real and certainly not meaningless. It's about context. The principle is the same: attempting to promote desired behaviors. However, unlike a website where the actions are ultimately meaningless, boy scouts promotes learning and the adoption of skills and acts that are, more and less, useful or moral. Given society's move towards information technology based economy, perhaps tying a knot or starting a fire or learning the ham radio are not as useful as they perhaps once were, but I have been on boats, I spend time at my cabin, and...well I don't use ham radios, but the type of acts rewarded by boy scouts are generally pretty good things to know.

Funny you should mention boy scouts. I had a co-worker who was a web-developer, and constantly came up with ideas for websites. He liked the idea of gamification, and understood the elements, but never thought about it as a video game. He would always use the example of boy scout badges or passport stamps.

I've been earnestly reading the last few comments. I actually think of this "gamification" in two ways. It can act as a lamesauce way to get people to continue to use a service. For instance, I still don't understand why the crunchyroll.com anime video service still gives me that badge for subscribing to their service. It's as if they want to sucker me into feeling good for handing money over to "the man."

In more Internet-exclusive types of goods, though, it can act as a way to congratulate people for doing things that no one else has ever done, like a badge for the exclusive pro club. It also congratulates them for finding many of the amusing secrets inside a certain game. For example, I don't think I would have enjoyed playing Catherine if it didn't include such a crafty achievement system. I've gladly earned badges for finding all the hidden alcoholic beverage trivia dialogue, just for making my character drink as much as possible.

There's only a certain amount of badges that a person can earn, though. That's what limits the use of badges in a fitness game. It might work more effectively in, say, a Jenny Craig regimen. However, video games and Internet services just don't have to flexible capacity for providing rewards in every activity. Services such as GetGlue come somewhat close, but even that service usually limits most of the achievements for reality television and popular American TV shows.

I certainly wish that I could earn achievements for attending my yoga class, but that's never going to happen. It has to do with the unforseeable benefits of fitness and whatnot. It's too bad that this daily achievement system never takes place in real-time. Sigh...

At this point, I'll point out that boy scout badges are for children, and they are designed as teaching aids.

For children.

Haha. I have no clue about the fine line as of yet. All I know is that GetGlue has a ridiculous number of badges that I'll never even try to get. I know that the line exists though.

Nintendo actually came the closest to a "walking" achievement system. I still have my DS Personal Walking Assistant. I actually finished quite a few of the walking achievements, until I started thinking about silly it was.

I might try playing it again, though. I usually walk at the mall next door. I think my walking assistant pedometer is the only thing that reminds me that I should fulfill my walkng workout before buying anything else.

Seriously, Shigeru Miyamoto should consider adding a "Dog Whisperer" achievement of some sort.

I suspect that the best route is to make a commitment to yourself to define your own values and desired behaviors, and not let anyone with a buck (or stock price) riding on it dictate that for you.

It's not universally evil; we use it in video games to begin with.

Charity's have their own inherent reward systems, and any sort of game mechanics would not be appropriate, as they would be soliciting donations on a timeline from individuals that would be unseemingly.  I also suspect implementation would not be cost effective: charities are cash strapped enough as is, and it is difficult to justify any sort iof expense that isn't related directly to their mandate or beneficiaries.