It's interesting that the only term used here for attraction to gaming is "fun." If it's not fun, no one will want to do it. The problem is that the very definition of fun, and Fray seems to be exploiting this, is that it is the opposite of work--it is a time for us to turn our brains off. There are those who will challenge this opposition, but in general, this is how "fun" is used. Conversely, there are many times, both in work and in enjoyable pursuits that we are in flow (see Csikszentmihalyi's books on the subject). The goal for game creators should not be to make work fun but to get a potentially educational task to engender flow in the person having the experience. This, after all, is how children learn in a natural environment. They become engrossed in a pursuit, say finding bugs, and the environment gives consistent, timely, level-adjusted feedback that the child uses to climb a ladder of knowledge. Good teachers to this, too. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, by the way, is a prime example of this type of flow-enducing game. It's purpose is (you can still get it) to provide quick, enjoyable, level-adjusted feedback, so that one can improve one's typing; it does not try to make typing fun. It's not intended as a substitute for mindless games, nor should any educational game aspire to be. Educational games should aspire to match the level of flow that can be achieved in mindless games but with the potential for construction rather than destruction.