Bing Gordon’s passions have driven him quite far. He has a keen eye for what works, and a humbleness and soft-spoken disposition that is enviable. TechCrunch had a short interview here.
What sets Bing apart for me is that he’s been able to make a business out of pioneering games. He talks about how people thought he was crazy that gaming could be a mass market. He made it happen with Electronic Arts. He then went and pioneered social games with Mark Pincus. I would recommend this old podcast from the early days of Zynga.
And now he’s talking about gamification. I have been vocal about what I thought about gamification: its a lame buzzword. Occasionally people think I might have a unique perspective about gamification. I unfortunately don’t. But Bing is a visionary who sees something there. He’s not always right, but what is it that he sees? I think its time to realign my thinking now that the gamification buzzword is not as hot as it used to be.
Sad I missed that panel, it was on my list but we didn’t get here in time that day to go.
Too bad! Still, I’m sure you’re having a lot of fun!