Trending Topics: Earn Gamerscore for Life

Posted 11/24/2009 at 2:15pm | by Veronica Belmont

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I was at the Game Developers Conference a couple of years ago, and Jane McGonigal, who has done a lot of work with alternate-reality gaming, was giving a keynote speech about how game designers should be using their work to make a difference in the real world (Listen to a similar discussion here). In the time since then, I’ve thought a lot about how the line between our (meatspace) world and the virtual gaming space is blurring.

A new crop of Internet properties have emerged that offer point and achievement-driven interactions (not unlike what we earn on Xbox Live or Steam) as rewards for completing real world activities. Though these points aren’t always transferable for physical goods, they do often give people a sense of accomplishment, not unlike finishing a boss fight in your favorite video game. And while these sites may not save the world, they might just encourage you to try something new or get out of the house for a bit! Here are four of these online services worth checking out.

OpenTable, a reservation service (that also doubles as seating and guest management for restaurants), combines several features that are very relevant to my interests: eating out, not talking to people on the telephone, and the acquisition of real-world goods. Claiming a reservation only takes a few clicks, and each completed seating earns the diner 100 points in the OpenTable system. Making special reservations at selected restaurants and during certain times earns the diner 1,000 points. These points can be redeemed for “dining cheque” certificates which can be used to help pay for your meals.

However, if you really want to eat at a participating restaurant that appears to have no available seating on the site, make sure you call to double check before you give up hope. Most places only reserve a certain number of spots for OpenTable users so as to have enough seats for walk-in customers. And if you’re going to be late for your date, let the restaurant know! Four no-shows and OpenTable will deactivate your account. Game over!

In the “see all the fun your friends are having / feel guilted into going out” category, we have FourSquare. Available on the web, but best used on iPhone, Blackberry, and Android as an app, FourSquare allows you to “check in” to venues and alert your friends to your location. As you visit a venue, you’re given points to update your location, with the potential of unlocking certain achievements (called badges) based on what you’re doing, such as: “Bender” (for going out 4+ nights in a row), “Photogenic” (visiting three venues with photo booths) and “Player Please!” (checking in to a location with multiple members of the opposite sex). It’s especially great for seeing what parties you weren’t invited to that all your friends happen to be attending. Oh, is that just me?

Another point-centric site that’s been making waves lately is The Sixty One, a music discovery service that gives you reputation points for playing and “hearting” artists and songs, bringing new users to the site, or completing quests based on your listening habits. This one always keeps me coming back time and time again -- I can spend an entire afternoon with one tab opened to The Sixty One, listening to music and completing these quests. From listening to the various “moods” on the site, to checking out songs in “under-explored” genres, there’s always a new track around the bend to catch your ear.

Finally, for the competitive household or office, there’s ChoreWars. Proving that you can sucker people into cleaning the toilet or taking out the trash just by incentivizing with XP, ChoreWars follows the typical MMORPG or Dungeons & Dragons style of leveling up and gaining new gear and rewards for the chores that you finish. You can invite family members and office mates onto your team, and your characters will bulk up (or get smarter) depending on how physically or mentally challenging the chores you complete are.

Granted, these kinds of services raise a few questions:, for example: when did just living life suddenly become not enough? Have we sunk so deep into the rabbit hole that we basically need to be bribed by virtual currencies to leave the comfort of our computers? Okay, we’re not quite there yet, but judging by these trends we might not be too far off. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean the litter box to finish this armor set I’ve been saving for

Veronica Belmont is the co-host of Tekzilla and the host of PlayStation Network's Qore. Follow her on Twitter @veronica.