Tim Chang, principal at Norwest Venture Partners, spoke about where he wants to put his firm’s venture money in the game business on a panel at the GamesBeat@GDC conference on Wednesday.
Part of the discussion focused on “game-ification,” or using the techniques of game design to get people more interested in non-game applicaitons. Investors aren’t just looking to fund game makers, or even new technologies — they are looking ahead to the application of gaming mechanics in people’s real lives. By making real-life tasks and experiences more like games — adding levels and point or reward earning potential — almost any business can inspire customer loyalty, launch much more engaging marketing campaigns, even change consumer behavior in radical ways, panelists said.
In this video, Chang elaborates more on what he means by helping players “level up in life.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id7FwPt7Ybg&w=480&h=385]