Reddit, the gamification of conflict

reddit, periwinkle vs orangered, april fools

Today for April Fool’s day reddit said to have bought Team Fortress 2. The setup a site wide scoreboard and assigned users to either the evil periwinkle team or the ever good orangered team. User had a new inventory where hats or weapons appeared. The hats were used on teammates and the weapons were used on your foes. But the most interesting thing was the upvoting downvoting insanity that followed.

Both sides took to creating team slanted memes, jockeying for upvotes and space on the front page. You could score points by dragging a hat from your inventory to a team member, denoted by a colored dot next to their username. The score was updated every page refresh.

The conflict, the scoreboard, pushed people on. It keep them engaged and motivated to fight each other. It pulled them in forced them to be creative, to push as in a battle for control of the front page.

Forcing users into separate teams, easily recognizable, quickly galvanized them. Where before they were individuals, now they were a herd. They were a clan, beset on all sides by their foes.

In the end the good and glorious orangered won.

And so we stagger forth, shuddering and reeling we draw to a close the many acts of the day. The smoldering Field of Karmic Glory is sodden with the tears, sweat and remnants of the fallen heroes.

Remember those who gave themselves valiantly in pursuit of the noblest of cause; Karma. Also, let us remember those who just wanted a sweet hat.

The final standings are as such:

Round 1

PeriwinkleOrangered
312127308762

Round 2

PeriwinkleOrangered
205729207614

Round 3

PeriwinkleOrangered
219896222409

Orangered wins 2 - 1

Congratulate yourselves on fighting through the hardship and living to tell the tale. This will be a ripping yarn worthy of many a fireside gatherings to come.

EXCELSIOR!

Reddit, the gamification of conflict by
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