IBM recently conducted a study to explore how “enterprises could be rewired to be more like games”, particularly MMORPGs. A survey among IBM’s own MMORPG-playing employees show that nearly half of the more than 200 employees polled believe their game play is improving their leadership ability in the real world and 4 in 10 say they’ve applied MMOG leadership techniques to lead more effectively at work.
As an Eve player who currently manages a corporation (Eve’s equivalent of a clan, or guild) of over 30 members , I can attest to the leadership opportunities Eve offers. Leading a corporation in Eve can indeed be a full time job, as is suggested further on in the article, and the game offers more depth and requires more of a player in a leadership position’s time and attention than someone on the outside looking in could understand.
Eve is a game wherein not only teamwork is required, but long-lasting bonds must be formed. It mirrors the real world in the aspect that while in many video games instant gratification is the primary concept of thought, in Eve Online you are working for long term goals and very little happens instantly.
As video games become more popular, and video gamers grow up and get jobs in the IT industry, I think it would indeed be beneficial to businesses to try to make work more fun and engaging — how could that ever be a bad idea? As video games become more like businesses, maybe businesses should meet them in the middle.
July 13, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I cant see anyone who wouldnt enjoy having work more fun and engaging. That would lead to more productivity. I completely agree that MMORPGs teach us things that we can apply in the real world, not just leadership skills. You learn things like communication skills and logic skills. I know that I have used skills learned in games like EQ and WoW.