Windows 7 - Microsoft is playing games.

Microsoft is turning to gamification inside and outside the company to increase employee and user feedback and awareness on a variety of fronts.

Yes, it’s a leading headline, and one with so many possible interpretations. But Microsoft teams really are playing games — in the sense of gamification kinds of games.

Microsoft execs have talked up some of these games, like its Ribbon Hero one that is used to help teach users about the much loved and hated Ribbon interface that’s part of Office. But there are lots more where Ribbon Hero came from.

Gamasutra blogged on August 29 about last week’s “Serious Play” conference, where productivity games were the topic du jour. At that show, “Donald Brinkman, who manages programs in digital humanities, digital heritage and games for learning at Microsoft Research,” and Ross Smith, director of test at Microsoft, shared stories of the company’s efforts in this arena, both across the enterprise and outside of the corporation,” according to the blog post.

When we catch the pirates will the game let us hang them or cut them up in 200 equal pieces?