GAMIFICATION:AN INTRODUCTION

Gustavo F. TondelloJuly, 2016

Photo: Game Night by Randy Robertson (CC BY 2.0)

What is Gamification?

Photo: Gamification by michael davis-burchat (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Gamification can be seen as part of Positive Computing

Sources: Positive Computing.Yu-kai Chou. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Octalysis Media: 2015.

Positive Computing“design and development of technology to support wellbeing and human potential.”

Human-Focused Design“optimizes for human motivation in a system as opposed to optimizing for pure functional efficiency within the system.”

Two focuses: wellbeing (goals) and motivation (means).

Source: Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, Nacke. From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”. MindTrek ‘11

What is Gamification

Playful Design

Gameful Design

(Gamification)

Toys Games

Parts

Whole

Play Games

Gamification is “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts”.

Level Description Example

Game interface design patterns

Common design solutions Badges, leaderboards, levels

Game design patterns and mechanics

Reoccurring parts of the design of a game that concern gameplay

Time constraint, limited resources, turns

Game design principles and heuristics

Evaluative guidelines to analyze design problems solutions

Enduring play, clear goals, variety of game styles

Game models Conceptual models of thecomponents of game experience

MDA; challenge, fantasy, curiosity; game design atoms

Game design methods Game design-specific practicesand processes

Playtesting, play-centric design, value conscious game design

Source: Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, Nacke. From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”. MindTrek ‘11

Gamification is “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts”.

Source: Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, Nacke. From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”. MindTrek ‘11

Training Education Health Fitness

NutritionCustomer relations

Human resources

Team management

Gamification is mainly concerned with users’ motivation.

Motivated users engage use a system or

application more often and for longer periods.

Motivated employees are more effective in their

activities.

A system may be great at performing its function,

but users must be motivated to use it!

Photo: Mike Linksvayer (CC0)

What do games make us experience that motivate us to play?How can we foster the same type of motivation in activities that are not games?

Theory of Motivation

Sources: Self-determination theory (SDT).Rigby and Ryan. Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound. Praeger: 2011.

Intrinsic Motivation: the activity is enjoyable by itself.

• Autonomy: feeling free to choose one’s own goals and

activities

• Competence: feeling capable of accomplishing one’s

goals and learning new things

• Relatedness: feeling connected with other people

Extrinsic Motivation: comes from the expectation of

earning something (a reward) in return from

completing an activity.

Motivation in Games

Bernard Suits

The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia. 3rd Ed. Broadview, 2014.

“Playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome

unnecessary obstacles.”

Motivation in Games:Autonomy

Motivation in Games:Competence

Motivation in Games:Relatedness

Motivation in Games: Rewards

Gamification Examples and Platforms

Photo: Gamification of Life by VFS Digital Design (CC BY 2.0)

Source: GamEffective

Gamification Example:GamEffective

Source: Fitbit

Gamification Example:Fitbit

Source: Habitica

Gamification Example:Habitica

Source: Duolingo

Gamification Example:Duolingo

Source: SuperBetter

Gamification Example:SuperBetter

Gamification Platforms

Gameful Design

Photo: Gamification of Life by VFS Digital Design (CC BY 2.0)

Source: Brian Burke. Gamify: How Gamification Motivates People To Do Extraordinary Things. Bibliomotion: 2014.

Gameful Design Process

Define business outcomes and success metrics

Define target audience

Define player goals

Define engagement model

Define play space and game mechanics

Gameful Design Methods

Marczewski’sGamification Framework

Octalysis FrameworkLens of Intrinsic Skill

Atoms

Gamification ToolkitGamification Model

CanvasKaleidoscope of

Effective Gamification

Suggested additional material

An Introduction to Gamification in Human-Computer Interaction

Photo: Gamification by michael davis-burchat (CC BY-ND 2.0)

What is Gamification?

Photo: A Board Game by Karen Borter (CC BY-ND 2.0)