The principle objective of gamification strategies is to influence the behaviours, attitudes, opinions, awareness, understanding of and relationships with other human beings. This is clearly a very complex and personalised process that varies with the individual and the context. However, I believe it is useful to identify and explore generic factors which can affect the outcomes of any Gamification process. I have compiled a glossary of what I can “A-List” Influencers with a brief outline of how and why they should be considered in not only developing appropriate skills and strategies but also for understanding the potential of enabling technologies to leverage or affect these influences. This document is best read in conjunction with the Gamification Elements Glossary available for download at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/the-gamification-elements-glossary. Where the Gamification Elements Glossary is intended to be a guide to support Gamification strategies for both everyday activities and the development of new games of any kind, the Gamification A List Glossary of Influencers is intended to identify some of those human and situational factors which affect outcomes. This is because every individual and every context is different and where a Gamification strategy might be effective for one individual or group in a set of circumstances, these “human factor influencers” could produce diametrically opposite outcomes depending on the individual and the relevance of the particular influencing factor on that individual.

1. The Gamification “A-List” Glossary of Influencers
The principle objective of gamification strategies is to influence the behaviours, attitudes, opinions,
awareness, understanding of and relationships with other human beings. This is clearly a very
complex and personalised process that varies with the individual and the context. However, I believe
it is useful to identify and explore generic factors which can affect the outcomes of any Gamification
process.
I have compiled a glossary of what I can “A-List” Influencers with a brief outline of how and why they
should be considered in not only developing appropriate skills and strategies but also for
understanding the potential of enabling technologies to leverage or affect these influences.
This document is best read in conjunction with the Gamification Elements Glossary available for
download at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/the-gamification-elements-glossary. Where the
Gamification Elements Glossary is intended to be a guide to support Gamification strategies for both
everyday activities and the development of new games of any kind, the Gamification A List Glossary
of Influencers is intended to identify some of those human and situational factors which affect
outcomes. This is because every individual and every context is different and where a Gamification
strategy might be effective for one individual or group in a set of circumstances, these “human
factor influencers” could produce diametrically opposite outcomes depending on the individual and
the relevance of the particular influencing factor on that individual.
The glossary is in alphabetical order rather than in importance or relevance
Accessibility
Accessibility refers to the ease of access, usability and interface that connects the individual or group
to the activity. A good example of how enabling technologies have improved accessibility to an
activity is the Nintendo Wii or Microsoft Kinect used in sports games like Wii Golf and fitness
“exergames”. Games like Golf and gym activities have natural barriers to accessibility such as time
and distance and facilities for coaching/practice. Many of these physical activities are the domain of
a younger age group but interface devices and consoles that can be set up on demand make
Gamification strategies more effective as well as opening up a bigger market. In developing
Gamification strategies consider how easy it is for the key stakeholders to gain access to the
activities and resources required to produce the outcomes.
Activation Level
This refers to the state and personality of those you wish to engage in the Gamification strategy.
Success is easier to achieve if activation levels can be raised by physical and mental exercises that
prepare and build anticipation. This is recognised in the use of “warm-up” artists before TV and
Radio shows.
Adjacency
Adjacency reflects the physical and/or emotional closeness of stakeholders / players in the
Gamification strategy. It is easier to influence others when there is a physical or emotional proximity.

2. Admiration
Admiration is a strong influencer that can act as a two way process. Someone who is admired and
acts as a role model can influence the admirer whilst someone who is admired is also strongly
influenced by that admiration.
Affectedness
Affectedness relates to the relevance of the situation or activity to the individual or group. Those
who are most affected by a situation are more readily influenced and engaged in activities related to
their situation.
Affordability
Gamification strategies can only be effective when those who need to be engaged can afford the
time, attention and money required for their active participation
Alignment
Alignment refers to the strengths of the connections between participants and the level of common
views, abilities, perceptions and understanding. The more agreement there is and the more
commonality there is between individuals, the stronger the influence.
Ambition
Ambition can be a great motivator for any individual and if the gamification strategy is aligned to
building realistic ambitions, success is more likely. Observing ambition in others can provide both a
positive influence, if it generates admiration and aspirations, or a negative influence if the ambition
is perceived to be self-seeking in which it can generate jealousy, resentment and antagonism.
Gamification strategies can be focused internally to develop personal goals or ambitions or
externally to develop ambitions within others.
Appearance
The ability to influence is greatly affected by appearance or perceptions which need to be
appropriate for any intended outcomes. The expression “First impressions count” is very appropriate
but impressions generally are relevant in influencing the opinions of others about authority,
aptitude, alignment, aspiration, admiration, all of which have a bearing on behaviours and
responses.
Aptitude
Aptitude refers to the level of skill or ability (real or perceived) in any activity. If your levels of
aptitude are greater than those you are trying to influence, it can help you achieve outcomes
because it links to motivation, ambition and aspiration. If your levels of aptitude are lower than
those you seek to influence, the Gamification strategy needs to reflect that and encourage others to
help and support your development as part of achieving your goals.

3. Argument
When trying to influence outcomes, it helps to have a strong argument for your case but arguments
are very subjective and personalised and what might be a strong logical argument in one situation
can be ineffective if emotions play a stronger role than logic. Develop arguments and reasoning
within the application of gamification strategies that are appropriate for the individuals, situations,
contexts and desired outcomes.
Aspiration
Aspiration is an important factor in influencing behaviour. Aspirations are like ambitions but are
generally more longer term wishes rather than absolute goals. Aspirations can be useful in
transforming spectators into fans as part of a process of deeper engagement.
Associates
Being part of a peer group of associates who have strong influence is important in developring
successful gamification strategies. If you can identify key “players” of influence, align yourself and
build relationships with them it can help to achieve goals. “It’s not what you know it’s who you
know” is a useful mantra.
Attractiveness
Attractiveness is related to appearance but refers more to the desired outcome. Making the desired
outcome attractive to those you seek to influence. Attractiveness needs to be connected to
accessibility and a balance struck between the level of attractiveness and the accessibility of the
outcome. “Just within/beyond reach” is a useful guide to strategy development.
Authenticity
Trust is an essential part of any relationship building and being genuine, believable and authentic
can be a strong influence of the behaviour of others but beware of situations where building trust
within others can be exploited as a perceived weakness when the gamification is built around self-
interest rather than genuine win-win. Enabling technologies, particularly measurement and
feedback technologies can bring greater levels of transparency and visibility to any activity,
strengthening the importance of authenticity because falseness and pretence can be more easily
exposed.
Authority
Being in an actual or perceived position of authority is a strong influencing factor but it is equally
effective in the right circumstances to transfer authority to those involved in achieving outcomes.
This is especially true in current educational settings where the traditional base of authority of
teachers is eroded by the accessibility of knowledge and information from the internet and the
digital skills of young people. In these situations, peer to peer development is most effective with
the teacher acting as a coach or facilitator transferring the authority to the peer group of students.

4. Awareness
Where there is no awareness, there is no effective influence. Raising awareness is an important part
of establishing scenarios and creating challenges that engage others.
The Role of Enabling Technologies
This A list is by no means exhaustive. There are so many influencing factors in any given situation or
activity that it is impossible to include them all. This list can be useful to consider when assembling
the elements of a gamification strategy and/or developing a game/simulation.
Today’s key technologies of Internet of things, big data, cloud computing, wireless sensors, mobile
devices, data visualisation and social media are creating unprecedented and disruptive opportunities
to engage and influence on a massive scale therefore I believe that the development of ethical
gamification skills and practices is vital for the future of business and society.
Copyright David Wortley
www.gaitss.net
May 2014