Social networks are a great way to get lots of people interested in games of all sorts. Facebook has shown just how popular some games can be when you add the element of friendly competition. For instance, the game of Tetris, everybody has probably played or seen Tetris. The game of Tetris by itself is entertaining. However, you haven't really played Tetris until you are in a heated battle with some of your closest friends for the highest score. The added element of competition between others can make the simplest games into exciting battles.
Video game makers have figured out and capitalized on how much more exciting a game can be when played with others. One would be hard pressed to find a big new title game coming out of the industry that doesn't offer some sort of multiplayer dimension. Just look at the popularity of World of Warcraft, with around eleven million people playing every month. The environment, the story, and the action are all important parts of what makes WoW so addicting. Although, I'll argue that what really set WoW apart in terms of popularity was that it gave the opportunity for people to compete in an endless struggle for better and stronger characters. Players in WoW are constantly bettering themselves with higher levels and better gear (armor, weapons, etc…). The attractiveness of the game arises in that everybody is working hard to make themselves better than the next player.
A whole paper could probably be written about WoW and its own social dynamic but I'll try and get back on track. The point is that games are more fun when you can play to make yourself better and then compete to compare yourself versus others. When Tetris Friends was launched on Facebook literally millions of people jumped on board and started competing with each other. And it's not alone there are hundreds of different games on Facebook.
It turns out that Facebook is great platform for socially interactive based games. For instance the Facebook based game FarmVille has over 80 million users every month. That's eight times the amount of users that WoW has. Another game called Mafia Wars has 24 million users. With a bit of research it turns out that Facebook has eight different games with more monthly users than WoW.
So in conclusion socially based games are popular and Facebook provides an amazingly effective platform to manifest these games to people. What does this have to do with Brain Training software? Well most brain training software consists of a collection of games. The point of these games is for people to get better at them. The idea is that the better users are at the game the smarter they will become. Facebook and social networks in general, seem like a great platform to create this drive to be better and better at the games Brain Training software provides.
Just as there are the stand-alone games, like WoW, and the Facebook based games in the video game industry the divide remains in the Brain Training software industry. Companies like Luminosity offer their own attempt at social communities to try and drive social competition in their games. Luminosity offers features such as communicating with people that play the same games and the ability to make friends in the community, just as WoW offers its own similar social features.
An example of Brain Training on Facebook is an application called Who has the biggest brain. The company that makes it, Playfish, does not have the same scientific experience and makes none of the impressive claims that many of the big Brain Training companies do. But the socially based brain training concept is something that should be paid attention to. The application allows you to play four different games with each one supposedly measuring some dimension of intelligence. Once the assessment is complete it takes the results of each game and gives you a reading on the size of your brain. Your brain size can be seen by friends who joined the application. The idea is that you can keep playing and get better at all of the games which would increase your "brain size" allowing you to win prizes for having the biggest brain among your friends. This is a pretty cool concept. It certainly creates competition and a desire to get better at the games in order to overcome your friends.
The real downside to the application is that it's not really made with any scientifically based research. If you could take all the science from Luminosity and combine it with the intense competition provided by Playfish then a pretty sweet brain training application could be made.
I believe that there is a strong future for socially based brain training games. It is only a matter of time before programs like these pop up all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't constrained to the Facebook platform either. Brain Training games like these may see their way into classrooms where students in school will compete to achieve high scores in games that will increase their intelligence. Just as grades are proudly flaunted in today's schools brain training games high scores may be the true measure of success in the schools of the future. I believe that brain training games will make a huge impact in our society very soon.
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