Is there a pre-Internet term for "gamification"?

Question

Gamification is a relatively new term which was coined and has been made highly popular in the Internet era. From the related Wikipedia article:

Though the term "gamification" was coined in 2002 by Nick Pelling, a British-born computer programmer and inventor, it did not gain popularity until 2010.

The term has made it into recognized English Dictionaries. Oxford Online Dictionary defines it as:

The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service

However, the concept of "gamification" itself is not new. Our parents and teachers, for instance, have constantly been rewarding or trying to recognize our useful participation and constructive contribution in one way or the other.

That said, it is implied that if you fail to perform up to the mark, you risk not getting the rewards or worse, having the rewards taken away from you.

Consider a few examples of gains and loses,

• You gain if

  • You are the first to complete an assignment and win a certificate/extra grade points.

  • You assist you mother in maintaining the garden / walk your dog and get extra pocket money.

• You lose if

  • You fail to complete and submit the assignment, lose some ranks in the Class Leader board and have your name added to the "Defaulters" list.

  • Your sibling perfectly completes a household task and pockets all the cash even those earmarked for you!

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Today, Gamification would be THE term. But...

Is there a proper term that conveys the concept of "gamification"/"gamifying something" before it became popular? (thanks to the Internet).

Could incentivize be that term? Or are there other terms that aptly preceded gamification? (may be in the last few decades of 20^th century)

Usage Sentence:

Our parents and teachers used to __________ our routines , rewarding every useful contribution and penalizing unproductive actions. Today, it's known as gamification!

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Clarification on the Usage Sentence above:

The above usage sentence is tentative and please let it not mislead or restrict you. Answerers can give any example that fits this context.

Answer 1

I love the word gamify. Before that we used to have to use the set phrase, "Turn it into a game". My mom would say, "Okay kids. Let's turn it into a game." Then she would gamify our chores with little tiles for points and score cards for the week, with minimum number of tiles to earn for a popsicle, etc.

Your example sentence:

Our parents and teachers used to turn our routines into a game , rewarding every useful contribution and penalizing unproductive actions. Today, it's known as gamification!

Answer 2

In the UK, the term "Brownie points" had pretty much the same meaning since the 1960s and was quite widely used. I always assumed the origin was from the "points and badges" awards in the junior division (Brownies) of the Girl Guide movement.

Wikipedia has some alternative etymological conjectures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_points

(But it doesn't quite fit the OP's "usage sentence", since the noun "Brownie points" never got verbed.)

Answer 3

Jean-Francois Lyotard wrote about the "sportification" (presumably the verb he used would have been sportifier) of society, in which things are stripped of their traditional character in the name of points, competition, and winners. Consider the way that "sports" themselves evolved from activities with a distinctly moral character (compare German academic fencing with sport fencing, for example, or English public-school ball games before and after the creation of the Football Association). It's a slightly different phenomenon though, and at least in Lyotard's eyes, strongly pejorative.

The Lyotard book in question is The Postmodern Condition, French edition 1979/English translation 1984, but it's been many years since college and I can no longer say how much of the above reflects Lyotard and how much reflects secondary literature on him (not to mention my own thoughts on the matter). But the word does appear there.

Answer 4

You could consider using inducement which means:

something that gives you a reason for doing something and makes you want to do it

a motive or consideration that leads one to action or to additional or more effective actions

Example:

English Language and Usage offers reputation points and badges as an inducement for users to keep visiting the site.

[Merriam-Webster]

Edit: Your example makes me wonder if inducement is the right word. In that case, you could consider using reinforcement which means:

a strengthening of a specific behavior due to its association with a stimulus. Reinforcement is an important part of operant or instrumental conditioning. A reinforcer is the stimulus that strengthens the behavior, in contrast to punishment that weakens the behavior.

Your new example:

Our parents and teachers used reinforcement to reinforce our routines, rewarding every useful contribution (as positive reinforcement or reinforcer) and penalizing unproductive actions (as punishment).

Answer 5

I think the word you need is 'fun'. To make something 'fun' to do, is by implication turning it into play, or a game.