Apr 4, 2019
After spending thousands of hours mastering video games, young Yu Kai Chou realized that he felt a deep sense of emptiness. That epiphany inspired his research that has now affected more than 1 BILLION people worldwide. In a quest to make real life more appealing than video games, he began studying the science of how developers create virtual worlds that satisfy our needs & make us want to spend time there. He has spent decades learning how to apply the core drives found in games to real life. In this episode we talk about why most gamers are actually women, core drives, how games can help solve real world problems & meet real world needs (like learning algebra) and how parents can apply these strategies to tap into core drives of our children to teach them effectively.
When I started this episode, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but by the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was one of my most informative & insightful podcast episodes ever. It opened up my world to an entirely new field of study & I hope it will do the same for you!
Some other topics we touched on are:
-Why governments & big organizations are calling on Yu kai
-Why women make up a huge percentage of gamers
-Origin of the “typical” gamer stereotype
-What is gamification?
-Why habits don’t need motivation
-Everyone plays a real life game
-Search for epic meaning & calling
-Lowest hanging fruit in making an experience enjoyable
-The human need for social interaction
-Best applications of gamification in real world
-Our search for something rare drives us
-2nd graders learning algebra
-Applying gamification to parenting
-Understanding core drives of our children
-What are you rewarding?
-The power of family identity - Lex Luther, Game of Thrones
-Teaching the important things
-How outspoken faith has impacted his journey
-Message on his heart
-Next Interview
Resources mentioned:
“Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges & Leaderboards” by Yu Kai Chou
Octalysis Prime education platform by Yu Kai Chou
“Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better & How they Can Change the World” by Jane McGonigal
“SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully” by Jane McGonigal
Follow Yu Kai’s journey on FB or IG @yudashkai