Engagement

as playful

learning

Pietro Polsinelli

@ppolsinelli

for

Smarter Engagement 2016 http://2016.smarterengagement.com/

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“Smarter Engagement”

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What does that mean?

Engagement

: an agreement to be married : the

act of becoming engaged or the state of being engaged to be married

: a promise to meet or be present at

a particular place and time

: a job as a performer

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Smart

: clean, tidy, and well dressed. "you look very smart“

synonyms: well dressed, well

turned out, fashionably dressed, having or showing a quick-witted

intelligence.

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So Smarter Engagement means ...

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Well dressed fiancé ceremonies

“Fidanzarsi ben vestiti”

* Actual takeway.

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Engagement is a *very* ambiguous

term. 10

What you intend by engagement relies on a

definition of user / target / player

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The very idea of “customer engagement”

can be interpreted in two deeply different ways

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as using entertainment along a fun path that leads potential customers “into the trap” or as the result of a research that uses the learning dimensions (of play) to translate the genuine content of the topic at hand.

1: Engagement as... going to a party!

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This is... Wrong. You are not providing a

party. Rage ensues. 15

Gamification as intentional, programmatic lack of depth.

Just go through the usual tricks

people will fall for it.

Many use this user model.

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I believe instead that people evaluation of engagement

is *very* refined.

People may not know

*why* they like / dislike an experience,

but they know they do.

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2. Engagement as respecting player’s

refined perceptions.

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We will explore the second meaning via a few real world examples of playful

applications

in the fields of health, social intervention, urban planning, art.

EXAMPLES

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Transformation

Games for

Social Impact

Learn how to deal with neglect and abuse

Pick a mod, just change the labels ...

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In this game player is “dropped” inside her / his

current situation, in a town where she can move

about, go to places and meet people.

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The game continually generates new life situations (generally,

problematic) which the player has to respond to, by going places and

meeting people.

Playing *is* learning about the topic.

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Progression in flow is put to use in several interpretations.

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But why “its addictive”?

A second hypothesis.

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Perception of depth in gameplay

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Autography

or Graffiti of Love

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Again, what is our model of the graffiti maker

(artist)?

Just an idiot?

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There are patterns in graffiti.

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Desire to leave a sign.

Frustrate that – cameras, police.

Facilitate that: give them

a tablet. 36

Facilitate that:

Give them rewards for not making a graffiti

(gamification).

Or ... give them a tablet. 37

Design an application that is built around the idea of “more graffiti”!

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Result:

- No graffitis on the walls and objects.

- Hundreds of cool graffitis (yep, still graffitis) every day.

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Power of “in context”.

Multi-dimensional depth perception.

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Transformation

Games for a

Sustainable

Future

UNESCO Gaming Challenge: won with We

Are Muesli and Daniele Giardini 44

ONCE UPON A TILE

Growth and sustainability 45

REZONE THE GAME

Desires for urban rezoning

Engagement in

games with depth

Need of depth is an utopic, abstract reasoning?

Its actually everywhere.

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Clash Royale: game design is *very*

refined, game feel even more. 49

“After all, Clash Royale is a mix of various well-known gaming genres.

You’ve got TCG (Trading Card Game) elements that

remind us of Hearthstone, Real-Time Strategy mechanics, and an MOBA-styled level layout. Well,

that’s a mouthful, isn’t it?

Of course, with a mix like this, you’d expect there to be a very steep learning curve. Well, there isn’t.”

http://www.deconstructoroffun.com/2016/02/clash-

royale-next-billion-dollar-game.html

Kardashian Hollywood - Copy and rhythm

THREE

WORKING

HYPOTHESES 52

Koster, Raph. 2004. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Scottsdale, AZ: Paraglyph Press.

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Koster – Deterding definition of fun.

“Fun is

about

learning in a

context

where there

is no

pressure”

But in school there is, and there has to be, pressure. There is here a dynamic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x5YtkTw4wn4#!

“A core feature of engaging game design is a well-balanced

difficulty curve, in which players are faced with

challenges whose difficulty matches their growing skill” 56

3. Curiosity is perception of depth

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1. Engagement *as* learning

2. Learning can be a flow experience

DEPTH?

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“Depth” is always along specific dimensions.

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Engagement is relative to other engaging

experiences: that is the problem, as standards

are very high.

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Depth dimension – have some depth, maybe no all

...

Game Grammars

http://www.raphkoster.com/games/presentations

/game-grammar/

Does your solution have a “mechanic”? http://www.lizengland.com/blog/2014/04/the-door-

problem/

Raph Koster “Teaching to Fish”

http://www.raphkoster.com/games/presentations/teaching-to-fish/

Careful crafting ...

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/271809/Video_20_lessons_learn

ed_from_20_years_of_making_Magic_The_Gathering.php

Engagement is about complexity, because its

about people.

You may be making systems that are playing with NP hard problems.

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Smarter Engagement can be just a way to lead

people into

learning something beautiful

and/as useful 68

My twitter stream is mostly dedicated to

game design

@ppolsinelli

A blog on game design

designagame.eu

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Beyond

Persuasive UIs

Addiction by Design Natascha Schull

http://gelconference.com/videos/2008/natasha_schull

97% is given by the slot machine – study IT

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar

ticle-2313961/Engagement-photos-

make-happy-youre-single.html

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

Image credit.