Gamification congress bizplay celebrates its anniversary: sustainability is the main topic
A few weeks ago, Tom Greenwood published the book “Sustainable Web Design” with concepts for the operation of energy-efficient and sustainable websites – with creative ideas on how this can be implemented. On 14 October 2021, the internet expert from London will be one of the speakers at the tenth edition of the bizplay gamification congress at the Tollhaus cultural center in Karlsruhe. “He was at the top of our wish list,” says bizplay curator Prof. Dr. Steffen P. Walz. After all, the sustainable use of resources is also a real topic for the future when it comes to digitalization – and an innovation opportunity. The anniversary edition of bizplay will therefore once again focus on a number of trend topics.
Gamification conference with numerous renowned speakers
The tenth bizplay is organized by K3 Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaftsbüro and Messe Karlsruhe in cooperation with diconium GmbH. Partners include the karlsruhe.digital initiative, the high-tech entrepreneur network CyberForum and MFG Baden-Württemberg. During Tea Time between 3 and 5 p.m., the program includes talks by Greenwood, computer game expert Wolf Lang and behavioural psychologist Dr. Erika Siegel from HP Labs. At the early-late-night session between 7 and 9 p.m., some of the speakers from the past nine editions, such as Dr. Elizabeth F. Churchill, Director of User Experience at Google, will have their say. “We want to offer our guests something very special for our anniversary,” emphasizes Walz. Although there is only room for a few dozen invited visitors in the Tollhaus, all lectures and discussions at the hybrid congress will be broadcast live on the internet.
The complete program is available at: www.bizplay.org
More creativity in the workplace
In addition to sustainability, another key topic is increasing creativity in the workplace through playful access to digital applications. For example, the motivation of the workforce can be increased by recognizing diversity and inclusion as invigorating, work-cultural opportunities and, for example, promoting joint experimentation; or by striving for common goals as an adventure journey like in a computer game – including elements of surprise. “The fact that you can keep employees engaged through a good working environment and at the same time energize teams through creative, playful cooperation has now been accepted by many companies,” says Walz. In the fitness sector, the playful approach to programs has already become part of everyday life. Nevertheless, the possibilities of gamification in Germany are far from exhausted. “We want to provide important impetus here,” emphasizes Walz.
Still plenty of room for improvement
Walz is generally satisfied with the development of bizplay in recent years. “We brought the topic to the public early on,” emphasizes the bizplay founder. In the meantime, however, the focus has clearly shifted from the mere combination of computer games and business applications towards sustainability, including the view of gamification in the sense of high score lists. One reason for this is the “dystopian developments” in other countries and industries. According to Walz, prize games are also used in China to monitor and control the population, while in some industries in the West, gamification is only used to maximize public attention and profits. “That’s why we need to show that such applications can also have benefits for employees, social issues and the environment,” emphasizes Walz. Together with co-organizer MFG I Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, the Creatables movement was created specifically for this purpose. Creatables is an artificial word and consists of the English terms for creativity and sustainability.
Karlsruhe Trade Fair occupies trend topic
For Messe Karlsruhe,
the organization of bizplay is a good opportunity to expand the
portfolio. “Gamification is a real trend topic,” says Frank