4. What it’s not
• Not Video Games
• Not anything that looks like a game
5. “The use of game elements and game design
techniques in non-game contexts”
What is it?
Psychology – Motivation, Behaviour
Management
Marketing
Economics
6. Play
Play is the aimless expenditure of
exuberant energy
− Spontaneous
− Doing what ever you want
− Freedom
7. Game
A game is a closed, formal play
that engages players in a
structured conflict and resolves in
an unequal outcome
− Objective
− Rules
− Voluntarily overcoming obstacles
8. Game thinking
Why Gamify?
• Increase motivation
• Increase Engagement
• Habit Creation – Action ->Habit
Think like game designer
• Design rules
• Manage flow
• Plan user journey
• Think about fun aspects of experience
11. Dynamics
• Big Picture
• Structure
• Framing for game
Mechanics
• Process
• Challenges
• Chance
• Competition
• Feedback
• Resources
• Rewards
• Transactions
• Turns
• Win States
Game Elements
12. Components
• Achievements
• Avatars
• Badges
• Boss Fights
• Collections
• Combat
• Content unlocking
• Gifting
• Leaderboards
• Levels
• Points
• Quests
• Social Graph
• Virtual goods
Game Elements
23. • Why are you gamifying?
• How do you hope to benefit your business, or
achieve some other goal such as motivating
people to change their behavior?
• Emphasize the end goal or goals of your
gamified design rather than detailing the means
through which you'll achieve this goal.
• what specific positive results will it generate for
your organization?
Business Objective
29. • What do you want your players to do?
• What metrics that will allow you to
measure them?
Target Behavior
These behaviors should promote your business
objectives, although the relationship may be indirect.
30. 3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
31. Build Fun into core activity loop
Where Serendipity Meets Opportunity
41. 6. Easy to learn Hard to Master
5. Design for user journey
3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
45. 6. Easy to learn Hard to Master
7. Game mechanics that leads to mastery
5. Design for user journey
3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
47. Crowd-sourced stats community awareness
it feels good to be part of something larger than yourself
48. 6. Easy to learn Hard to Master
7. Game mechanics that leads to mastery
8. Increase complexity with progress
7. Deploy appropriate tools
5. Design for user journey
3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
49. Find the Flow Channel
This is what designing for engagement is all about
51. 6. Easy to learn Hard to Master
7. Game mechanics that leads to mastery
8. Increase complexity with progress
9. Deploy appropriate tools
5. Design for user journey
3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
55. Intrinsic Motivators deeper engagement
Power to the Players Modcloth’s crowd-sourced clothing line
56. 6. Easy to learn Hard to Master
7. Game mechanics that leads to mastery
8. Increase complexity with progress
9. Deploy appropriate tools
5. Design for user journey
3. Delineate target behavior
2. Know your users
1. Define your objectives
4. Build Fun into core activity
At the most fundamental level, gamification is the use of game mechanics to drive game-like engagement and actions. The logic is dead simple. People love to play games. Gamification is the process of introducing game mechanics into these routine activities to make them more game-like (i.e. fun, rewarding, desirable, etc.), so that people would want to proactively take part in these tasks.For an experience to be considered, it needs to include the following elements:“Voluntary restrictive rules that people agree to follow in order to be "playing" the game. We know we're playing.Sets of interesting choices that players must make in order to engage in the act of "play". We have to feel like we're the ones doing the playing, not that we're being "played".Players construct, test and refine mental models of the processes, strategies and systems that make up a single "game" experience. If we're not learning, we're not playing.”It is important to make the distinction upfront between what we traditionally mean by “games” (e.g. video games, board games, party games, etc.) and a “gamified” experience. Gamification does not entail the turning of a traditionally serious experience (such as filling out your tax return or a research survey) into a gaudy, frivolous entertainment experience. Instead, it is the identification of the subtle mechanics that make traditional games motivating, rewarding and engaging; and the incorporation of these elements into experiences that currently lack them. The potential value of gamification for business is an increased level of customer engagement. In a market research context, gamification potentially allows researchers to improve respondent engagement through methodologies that respondents find compelling rather than fatiguing, thus eliciting deeper and more valuable insightsExternal (for example, consumer engagement)Internal (for example, office incentives)Behavior change (for example, fitocracy.com)
"Play is the aimless expenditure of exuberant energy.""Play is whatever is done spontaneously and for its own sake.“(Improvisation, Tumultuous, immoderate)"A game is a closed, formal system that engages players in a structured conflict and resolves in an unequal outcome." "A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude." (Skill, Effort, Ordered, Rule-bound)In a game, there is freedom to go along different paths to the goal (from start to finish).To connect philosophical view of games and other views:Emphasize voluntarinessGames have learning or problem solvingGame design is a balance of structure and explorationReal games incorporate:“The idea of “play”: when a task becomes enjoyable or distracting for its own sake as well as what it’s trying to achieveThe idea of competition, against others or one’s previous achievementsThe idea of rules – that there’s a ‘game environment’ with artificial and pre-determined things you can and can’t do. The extent to which the environment acknowledges the breakability of these rules is an important factor in what type of game is being played. I’d say that rules and competition are what separates “play” from “game” maybe?The idea of imagination – there’s a creative, fictive component to gameplay which is probably the most untapped by marketers, at least consciously” The absence of these kinds of elements means that the experience probably isn’t a compelling game, even if it is decked out in all the trappings of a game.GameThe term “game” conjures up very strong emotions for people, often of frivolous fun, an absence of work and possibly the shirking of one’s duties. However, an experience does not need to look overtly like a game in order to be compelling and engaging.
"Play is the aimless expenditure of exuberant energy.""Play is whatever is done spontaneously and for its own sake.“(Improvisation, Tumultuous, immoderate)"A game is a closed, formal system that engages players in a structured conflict and resolves in an unequal outcome." "A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude." (Skill, Effort, Ordered, Rule-bound)In a game, there is freedom to go along different paths to the goal (from start to finish).To connect philosophical view of games and other views:Emphasize voluntarinessGames have learning or problem solvingGame design is a balance of structure and explorationReal games incorporate:“The idea of “play”: when a task becomes enjoyable or distracting for its own sake as well as what it’s trying to achieveThe idea of competition, against others or one’s previous achievementsThe idea of rules – that there’s a ‘game environment’ with artificial and pre-determined things you can and can’t do. The extent to which the environment acknowledges the breakability of these rules is an important factor in what type of game is being played. I’d say that rules and competition are what separates “play” from “game” maybe?The idea of imagination – there’s a creative, fictive component to gameplay which is probably the most untapped by marketers, at least consciously” The absence of these kinds of elements means that the experience probably isn’t a compelling game, even if it is decked out in all the trappings of a game.GameThe term “game” conjures up very strong emotions for people, often of frivolous fun, an absence of work and possibly the shirking of one’s duties. However, an experience does not need to look overtly like a game in order to be compelling and engaging.
Fun can be lot of thingsAchieve Fun – Feedback, progression, completionPlantsvs Zombies:Guides, Highlights, Feedback, Limited Options, Impossible to failParticipantsare players – for us its our usersCustomersEmployeesCommunityGame design is a state of mind. Examine your problem as a game designer and if it was a game what would be your solution.AutonomousIn Control – choices and meaningful resultsEmotional connectionSense of ExplorationStructureClear goals
Limitation of elements:Users get burned outElements with out emotion- Automated with out meaning Google News badgesNot all rewards are fun, fun is rewarding (Airline points etc – works for frequent fliers only)
Motivation and Psychology
Danger of big leaderboard – with friendsMotivation – Used to generateBehavior – Used to change behaviour
Danger of big leaderboard – with friendsMotivation – Used to generateBehavior – Used to change behaviorQUESTBoy Scout, T shirts, military badgesVerbal reward, Virtual Badge
Continuous – Gets reward Each time – Automatic - Not so ExcitingFixed Ratio – Every nth time – Brain picks up a patternFixed Interval – Based on timeVariable - Exciting brain loves it – Slot machine - Addictive
Purposive design and human centeredBalance of Analytical and creativeIterativePrototypePlay testingTrying (Failing and learning overtime)9 step design framework
List and Rank possible objectivesJustified objectives Eliminate means to ends
Things you want users to doSpecific as possibleMetricsAnalytics:DAU/MAUViralityAnalyticsFor example, your business goal might be to increase sales, but your target behavior could be for visitors to spend more time on your website. As you describe the behaviors, be sure to explain how they will help your system achieve its objectives. The metrics should in some fashion provide feedback to the players, letting them know when they are successfully engaging in the intended behaviors.