Chopsticks Would Break Your Neck

This video is getting linkage lately, and it illustrates one of the reasons we take fun so seriously: fun isn’t merely a motivator, it’s an anesthetic.

While redirecting exertion is difficult, it can often be accomplished through traditional usability techniques. Redirecting and multiplying exertion, however, demands a payoff that the participant can appreciate before they’ve even committed any effort. Once they’ve engaged their “player” mindset, they tend to override their body’s reminders that, hey, these are actually a bunch of stairs and I am out of shape.