What can we learn from games? 10 game mechanics that will make your web community more successful.

What can we learn from game design? 10 game mechanics that will make your web community more successful. Barcamp Berlin, november 3rd, 2007 mail@holger-dieterich.de

Who am I? ‣ Holger Dieterich ‣ E-business graduand, University of the Arts Berlin ‣ Junior product manager, moviepilot.de

Agenda ‣ What are games, game mechanics? ‣ 10 game mechanics applied to web communities ‣ Conclusion

Games are.. ‣ fun and entertaining ‣ inducing flow, engaging ‣ social ‣ repetitive

Example: Rules for „3-to-15“ 1. Two players alternate turns. 2. On your turn, pick a number from 1 to 9. 3. Yo may not pick a number that has already been picked by either player. If you have a set of exactly 3 numbers that sum to 15, you win.

2 9 4 7 5 3 6 1 8

Rules for Tic-Tac-Toe 1. Play occurs on a 3 by 3 grid of 9 empty squares. 2. Two players alternate marking empty squares, the first player marking Xs and the second player marking Os. 3. If one player places three of the same marks in a row, that player wins. 4. If the spaces are all filled and there is no winner, the game ends in a draw.

2 9 4 7 5 3 6 1 8

Game mechanics are.. ‣ abstract patterns of games. ‣ a set of interconnected feedback loops. ‣ a set of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game.

Games are.. ‣ fun and entertaining ‣ inducing flow, engaging ‣ social ‣ repetitive

..and web communities? ‣ A virtual place for people to meet. They exchange information, spend time „there“ and come back. ‣ They are very similar to games already!

So let‘s get inspiration from games!

Game mechanics applied to web communities

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment

Max Payne

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization 6. competition

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization 6. competition 7. quick games and games in games

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization 6. competition 7. quick games and games in games 8. randomness and luck

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization 6. social interaction and competition 7. quick games and games in games 8. randomness and luck 9. rewards

Game mechanics applied to web communities 1. collecting stuff 2. Feedback and game status 3. Obsctacles and Resources 4. dynamic difficulty adjustment 5. customization 6. social interaction and competition 7. quick games and games in games 8. randomness and luck 9. rewards 10.spectators

Conclusion ‣ Web communities can learn from game design because they share common goals like engaging and entertaing the users. ‣ Game mechanics can give a starting point for transforming elements of good games to web communities. ‣ But there will not be a 1:1 conversion from one to the other.

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