The fun layer: Narrative, story, aesthetics

No talk of a “fun layer” would be complete without some mention of aesthetics. Aesthetics are a vital part of the emotional connection we feel with games. Without the graphics, story, and audio of a game like Call of Duty, it’s really not much different from hundreds of other first-person shooter games. It is precisely this aesthetic layer that engages our senses and takes us into an imaginary world. Imagine the game of Monopoly without the suggestion of hotels, geographic locations, and utility companies. Reduce the game to its underlying math and you remove the magic.

Recognizing this power, Natron Baxter has created an interesting feedback loop that is customizable for just about any business. It’s something they call “The Garden.” Basically, it’s a desktop plug-in (for Mac or PC) that brings some of the joy of gaming to your corporate environment. You’re given charge of a virtual garden, complete with flowers, butterflies, and other things you’d expect to be associated with this theme. So how does the garden grow? By tracking your time. Writing on the corporate blog. Closing deals. Basically it can record any metric a business wants to hook up to “The Garden.”