Lost Garden: Ribbon Hero turns learning Office into a game

Imagine Microsoft Office turned into a video game. One where learning a productivity app is a delight. One where the core loop of gameplay involves using and gaining skills in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Ribbon Hero, in part, was born from a speech I gave back in October 2007 on applying the design lessons of Super Mario Bros. to application design. I made the following bet:

* If an activity can be learned…

* If the player’s performance can be measured…

* If the player can be rewarded or punished in a timely fashion…

* Then any activity that meets these criteria can be turned into a game.

Not only can you make a game out of the activity, but you can turn tasks traditionally seen as a rote or frustrating into compelling experiences that users find delightful.

via kenyatta:dj

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I’m going to give this a try in the coming weeks. Anyone up for the challenge?