i definitely don’t think rewards or make-numbers-go-up systems are inherently evil. they seem pretty, uhm, “natural” to me (for lack of a better word). i suppose the fundamental question is “what are they in aid of?”. if they are encouraging fun and competition between me and my friends, or learning languages, that’s great. if they are keeping me artificially hooked to a mindless husk of what a game is supposed to be, then not so great. at their best, they should act as a motivator to engage me in an activity that is itself good/instructive/fun, they should not themselves be the engaging part… if that makes sense
when Mario says “Wahoo!” at the end of a level, i cheer with him. when my boss says “Wahoo!” (or equivalent) at the end of a long passive aggressive email, my blood boils.