Earlier this week I attended an event organised by UKIE, the interactive entertainment organisation in the UK. The topic was around blockchain, crypto currencies and ICO. Two games studios gave examples of how they had used in game resources, aids and virtual currency to provide value to their investors.

By asking for real world money through cryptocurrency exchange Etherium, they made the virtual currency they created have actual real world value too. Investors by virtue of buying into their crypto-currency or tokens, gained access to special resources created for the game. Reality Clash combined the fundraising with an active campaign to promote the augmented reality role playing game as well as how their tokens could buy great tools to perform better in their game.

Typically virtual currencies are mainly used to unlock resources and tools in a game environment. They tend to have little significance outside of the game environment. But it is in fact this very game mechanic that allowed both Reality Games and Skara to raise funds to build their game and expand their business. Special boosters, cards, in-game currency is what attracted the investment with maybe also a bit of added hype around ICO’s – the cryptocurrency way of raising funds.

In my view the line between real and virtual is truly blurring. Most of the time we get told in gamification that games may be too frivolous to enter the workplace environment. Now here is a great example of how games and certain game mechanics can also impact on a business in a reverse engineering sort of way.

Currencies are powerful tools to give value to the actions of the players and the resources within a game. In gamification in the employee engagement space, we have used it to allow employees to earn in-house rewards ranging from additional benefits to branded corporate goodies.