“Gameification” is a hot topic right now. From business to health care to life itself, the idea of using the techniques of game design (especially meta game design) to get consumers more interested in non-game products and services has taken on a life of its own.

Image source: Gameify

It’s easy to see why. Good games are highly engaging, with the potential of helping you connect with players in meaningful and lucrative ways.

But the gamification of everything is a bad thing.

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In 2009, a total of around $600.5 million was raised by game startups — that’s down 36% from the year previous, but is still a Lot Of Money. And venture capitalists remain bullish on the future of game funding.

How do you get a piece of that action? What’s it like to work with a venture capital firm? What do VCs look for in an investment?

The MIT Enterprise Forum’s New England Games SiG and the New England Venture Capital Association co-hosted an event last night titled “A Meeting Of The Minds: Game Companies And The VCs That Fund Them” to help answer those questions. Here’s my summary…

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Last year I made some predictions about casual gaming in 2009. Let’s grade my precog skills, then gaze once again into the crystal ball to conjure predictions for casual gaming in 2010.

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A couple weeks ago, I attended a business conference on casual games. There have been many good reports on key findings. Here’s my summary of interesting trends, plus a VC’s perspective on where things are heading.

I’m particularly interested in the idea of meta gaming, and how that could be applied to businesses outside of gaming to drive engagement and reap benefits…

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Yesterday, we shamelessly self-promoted my company’s first-ever iPhone game: Ninja Rally.

Today, we’re pulling the curtain back a bit to look at lessons learned from the development and release of the game.

Ninja daggers can’t solve every business problem. Many, yes. But not all.

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