Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business

Part I Introduction

Many of our friends like to tease us about our work and research. “Getting paid to play games,” they say with a laugh, and it’s hard not to smile when they do. There’s no question that we love our work, and we don’t mind the jabs. But what our friends don’t realize, and what we hope to demonstrate through this book, is that work and games are not actually an unusual or antagonistic combination. In fact, companies of all shapes and sizes have begun to use games to revolutionize the way they interact with customers and employees, becoming more competitive and more profitable as a result.

From our vantage points in academia and within the game industry, we have watched as games have become a powerful tool through which organizations ...