Gamification? More like Exploitationware

I agree that what is often thought of as "gamification" is actually the simple adding of false incentives to create specified outcomes. However, in many ways we already have many systems in place that have much the same methods attached to them.

For example, education system uses the concept of "grades" and "points" that have no more actual value than a high score in Pac-Man to motivate students to work harder and learn more. Yet, grades are often just as synthetic of a benchmark as most computer benchmarks in terms of actual capability or performance. ACT or SAT scores are a great example of this.

Does this mean that "gamification" is bad?

No, it just means that right now the idea of integrating game elements into other things is hot and new because it for the short term can lead to the easy 80% of engagement of games with 20% of the game dev effort. Eventually, on projects where game elements make sense, you'll likely see deeper iterations of those ideas.

Best example - look at Zynga. Early games were incredibly simplistic exploitationware for sure. Now they are making them more game-like. Eventually, you'll see them move to something deeper like a "real" mmorpg a la WoW or something with deep competitive engagement like a Halo or Madden.

Give it time. No sense killing the "gamification" baby before it learns how to walk.