Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards

by Yu-kai Chou

Effective gamification is a combination of game design, game dynamics, behavioral economics, motivational psychology, UX/UI (User Experience and User Interface), neurobiology, technology platforms, as well as ROI-driving business implementations.

Coonradt addressed the question, “Why would people pay for the privilege of working harder at their chosen sport or recreational pursuit than they would work at a job where they were being paid?” He then boiled it down to five conclusions that led to hobbies being more preferable to work. Clearly defined goals Better scorekeeping and scorecards More frequent feedback A higher degree of personal choice of methods Consistent coaching

gamification is the craft of deriving fun and engaging elements found typically in games and thoughtfully applying them to real-world or productive activities. This process is what I call “Human-Focused Design,”

The list goes on and on. In fact, I have compiled a list of over “90 Gamification Case Studies with ROI Stats” from reputable and “serious” firms like SAP and Cisco on my blog YukaiChou.com. This list has been one of my most viewed pages to date because enthusiasts and practitioners are constantly looking for actual metrics that prove that gamification can create a return beyond simple aesthetics. The page can be accessed at YukaiChou.com/ROI

they claim that gamification is a bastardization of the true essence intrinsic to good gaming. And who can blame them? Foursquare seems to be nothing more than points, badges, and leaderboards based on going to places, while Nike+ seems to be the same thing based on running. Is this as deep as gamification goes?

In the long run, the term “gamification” might actually fade and eventually disappear. Currently, no one describes a website’s design as being “so Web 2.0!” Gamification may just become the normal way we design, implement, and interact with the world around us.

Game elements are simply there to push and pull on their users’ behavioral core drives.

we try to optimize experiences throughout all four phases of the player/user journey. These phases are: Discovery (why people would even want to try out the experience), Onboarding (where users learn the rules and tools to play the game), Scaffolding (the regular journey of repeated actions towards a goal) and Endgame (how do you retain your veterans).

Richard Bartle’s Four Player Types (Achievers, Socializers, Explorers, and Killers)

different types of people are motivated differently,

Explicit Gamification involves strategies that utilize applications that are obviously game-like. Users acknowledge they are playing a game, and generally need to opt into playing.

Implicit Gamification is a form of design that subtly employs gamification techniques and the 8 Core Drives of Octalysis into the user experience. Implicit Gamification techniques are filled with game design elements that are sometimes even invisible to the user.

Product Gamification is about making a product, online or offline, more engaging, fun, and inspirational through game design.

Workplace Gamification is the craft of creating environments and systems that inspire and motivate employees towards their work.

Marketing Gamification is the art of creating holistic marketing campaigns that engage users in fun and unique experience designed for a product, service, platform, or brand.

SEO and SEM still lack the trust component in online marketing. If a website you trust and have followed for two years sells something you need, you are likely not going to go searching for a random site on a search engine to purchase from.

Lifestyle Gamification involves applying gamification principles and the 8 Core Drives into daily habits and activities, such as managing your to-do list, exercising more often, waking up on time, eating healthier, or learning a new language.

Often, if you can tie your system to a cause that many people care about, you can build an entire business on the goodwill of others.

Another example that builds on the same principle is the General Mills brand Betty Crocker cake mixes. When it first launched many decades ago, it was designed to be the easiest cake mix for stay-at-home-moms to make, where they just have to add water to the powdered mix and then stick it into the oven for delicious cakes to come out. Unfortunately, sales were fairly stagnant and the company eventually hired business psychologists to help determine why. One of the hypotheses was that the cake mixes were so easy to make, customers didn’t feel they were actually baking, and therefore did not have a sense of accomplishment or competence. Based on this concept, instead of making the process easier by removing steps, General Mills decided to add additional steps to the process. They decided to remove the conveniently powdered eggs from their Betty Crocker cake mixes and required the bakers to add in their own fresh eggs before putting them into the oven. To many’s surprise, the product immediately became a breakout success. By adding that extra step of throwing in an egg yourself, people felt that they were actually baking a delicious dessert to compliment a meal.

What users need is Urgent Optimism, another term coined by Jane McGonigal68, where the user feels optimistic that they can accomplish the task, but also the urgency to act immediately.

One of my clients, Superbook.tv, runs an incredibly high-quality Computer Graphics (CG) animation series with millions of fans, both online and via international TV.

This book is quite stinky with self promotion. Now he actively shills for clients. Gross.

Jesse Schell, in his book The Art of Game Design - A Book of Lenses, introduces two Lenses: The Lens of Freedom and the Lens of Indirect Control91. Schell describes that, “we don’t always have to give the player true freedom - we only have to give the player the feeling of freedom. […] if a clever designer can make a player feel free, when really the player has very few choices, or even no choice at all, then suddenly we have the best of both worlds - the player has the wonderful feeling of freedom, and the designer has managed to economically create an experience with an ideal interest curve and an ideal set of events.”

Game designer Jesse Schell points out that one of the most exciting and interesting ways to add Meaningful Choices is to allow players to choose between playing it safe, and go for a small reward, or take a big risk, and try for a big reward. This type of dynamic, which he coins triangularity, is seen in many successful and engaging games.

one of the key points to pay close attention to is the scarcity control of the economy. This means that users should never feel like the exchangeable currency or goods are excessively abundant.

when there is a perceived abundance, motivation starts to dwindle.

“Never allow your users to accidentally stumble upon a bad experience.” If users cannot figure out what to do within 4 seconds, they will become disengaged.

An example of Black Hat Motivation towards good behaviors is the SnuzNLuz251 alarm clock app. SnuzNLuz automatically donates the user’s money to a non-profit they hate if they hit the snooze button

Richard Bartle is a game researcher who invented the first MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) game during the 1970’s, which evolved into the role-playing games (RPGs) we know today. He realized that within a virtual environment there tends to be four main groups of players doing four distinct types of activities. There are the Achievers who try to master everything there is to do within the game system. There are the Explorers that just want to go out and explore all the content in the world but aren’t as focused on overcoming challenges. There are the Socializers who are really in the virtual world just to interact with each other, have conversations, and build companionship. And then there are the Killers - players that not only strive to reach the top, but take glory in beating down the competition in the process. Furthermore, they need to bask in their victories and be admired by all.

Andrzej Marczewski is also an influencer in the gamification field who has done extensive research to build upon Richard Bartle’s Player Types for the enterprise workplace. He has derived six User Types to design for: Disruptors, Philanthropists, Free Spirits, Socializers, Achievers, and Players275. Each of these User Types are more motivated by different activities and experiences.

The 4 Keys to Fun are: Hard Fun, Easy Fun, People Fun, and Serious Fun. Hard Fun is joy that is derived from overcoming a frustration and achieving the Win-State. This puts players in a state of Fiero, the feeling of triumph over adversity. Easy Fun is the fun from doing interesting activities where you don’t need to try very hard and can simply enjoy the relaxing and playful experience. This is commonly seen in games children enjoy with their parents, such as board games or drawing. Serious Fun is fun that is engaging because it makes real world differences such as improving oneself, making more money or creating an impact in the environment. Lastly, People Fun is fun that you have because you are interacting with other people and forming relationships.

BJ Fogg, a professor of human behavior from Stanford, created a model that boils down all behavior into three factors: motivation, ability, and a trigger281. Motivation is how much the individual wants to take the action or obtain the desired outcome. Ability is how equipped the individual is in taking that action; in other words, how easy or convenient it is for the user to perform the action. The third factor is a Trigger, or something that reminds the user to take action.

McGonigal is a game designer and author of the book Reality is Broken289. She’s most known for two TED talks on the power of games within the real world. McGonigal describes the four components behind how games make people better and more resilient: Epic Meaning, Urgent Optimism, Blissful Productivity, and Social Fabric.

The Endgame Phase starts when the user has been going through the activity loops for a long period of time and has done everything there is to do within their own perceptions. This is when we evaluate why they would still want to remain in the system and commit to more Desired Actions.