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Gamification
through Rewards,
Meaning and Play
Scott Nicholson
Director, Because Play Matters Game Lab
Associate Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse
University
Twitter: @snicholson
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Gamification
through Rewards,
Meaning and Play
Scott Nicholson
Director, Brantford Games Network
Professor of Games, Wilfrid Laurier University,
Twitter: @snicholson
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Overview
What
is gamification?
BLAP
gamification
Design activity
A
RECIPE for Meaningful gamification
Design Activity
The
Gamification Journey
Reflection
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What is Gamification?
Gamification is the
application of
gameful or playful layers
to motivate engagement
with a specific context
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Specific
Context
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http://zamzee.com
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http://zamzee.com
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Typical Gamification
Taking
world
something in the real
Adding
a game-y goal
Developing
a structure to
support the goal
Adding
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a reward
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Reward-based Gamification
Process
Points
(unit of control)
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Reward-based Gamification
Process
Levels
(progress in
system)
Points
(unit of control)
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Reward-based Gamification
Process
Levels
(progress in
system)
Points
(unit of control)
Leaderboards
(competition)
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Reward-based Gamification
Process
Levels
(progress in
system)
Points
(unit of control)
Achievements
(additional
paths)
Leaderboards
(competition)
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Reward-based Gamification
Process
Levels
(progress in
system)
Points
(unit of control)
Achievements
(additional
paths)
Leaderboards
(competition)
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Badges
(public
display)
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BLAP Gamification
Badges
Levels
/ Leaderboards
Achievements
Points
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Creating a Point-based System
Identify
desired behaviors
Connect
Reward
Profit!
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behaviors with points
points with incentives
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Levels – Single-player Journey
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Leaderboards - Competition
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Taken Oct. 1, 2012 from https://library.hud.ac.uk/lemontree/leaderboards.php
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Different Types of Leaderboards
 Everyone


Defined by the creator
Defined by the user (friends)
 Overall
or specific to a task
 Ongoing


or a subgroup of people
or reset
Reset every so often for everyone (once a week, all are
reset)
Reset every seven days for each person (rolling resets)
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Types of Achievements
 Unusual
(or usual) use cases
 Exploration
 Collection
– Trying something new
– Systematic exploration
 Loyalty
 Tutorials
 Expected
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or Unexpected
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Badges
 Designed
for public view (certification)
 May
be based upon achievements
 Also
based upon skills or interests



Informal learning
New skills
Different learning paths
 Creates
groups
http://www.buffalobrothers.net/images/badges-goldplating-xl.jpg
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BLAP Summary
Points
Levels
Leaderboards
Achievements
Badges
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"once you start
giving someone
a reward, you
have to keep her
in that reward
loop forever"
(p. 27).
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
(lack of) Rewards punish

Rewards damage relationships

Rewards ignore reasons

Rewards discourage risktaking
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Rewards replace pre-existing
interest
Reward
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Decreasing impact of rewards
Reward
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G.-J., Fowler, J. S., Tomasi, D., Telang, F. and Baler, R.
(2010), Addiction: Decreased reward sensitivity and increased
expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain's control circuit.
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Bioessays, 32: 748–755. doi: 10.1002/bies.201000042
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Survey of Fitocracy users
“Perceived
enjoyment and
usefulness of the
gamification decline with
use”
Koivisto, J. & Hamari, J. (2014). Demographical differences in perceived
benefits from gamification. Computers in Human Behavior.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.007
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The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
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The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
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The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Short-Term Goals:
- Making the Sale
- Teaching a Skill
Motivation
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The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
Long-Term Goals:
- Changing Habits
- Building Loyalty
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The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
Long-Term Goals:
- Changing Habits
- Building Loyalty
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Games are more than rewards
Game = Form of Play
with Goals and Structure
Maroney, K. (2001). My entire waking life. The Games Journal, May. Retrieved from
http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/MyEntireWakingLife.shtml
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Games are more than rewards
 Game
= Play + Goals + Structure
 Game
– Play = Goals + Structure =
 Reward-Based
 Games
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Gamification
without Play??
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Meaningful Gamification
 Make
the context meaningful
 Avoid
incentives and rewards that replace
intrinsic motivation
 Use
the gameful or playful layer to build
intrinsic motivation
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Making Gamification Meaningful
 Give the player information
 Put the PLAY back in Player
 Allow the player choices
 And the ability to share choices
 Make informed play the reward
 Use external rewards sparingly
 Put the player’s benefits first in
 Different players need different things
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design
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RECIPE for Meaningful Gamification
 Reflection
 Exposition
 Choice
 Information
 Play
 Engagement
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Play
 Optional
 Freedom
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to explore (fail) with boundaries
http://www.unyta.com/pages/ErieCanalwayHeritageTo
urs.html/
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Exposition
 Player-driven
narratives
http://education.mit.edu/blogs/datennes
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Choice
 Player-determined
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goals and milestones
http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/running
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Choice
Badge Pathways by Carla Casilli http://carlacasilli.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/badgepathways.gif
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Information
 Explains
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the reasons behind the system
http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/
sessionm-gamification.jpg?w=558&h=9999&crop=0
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Engagement
 Enhancing
social connections and creating
new ones
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https://play.rit.edu/
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Reflection
 Connecting
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activities to self
http://game.nypl.org/
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RECIPE for Meaningful Gamification
 Reflection
 Exposition
 Choice
 Information
 Play
 Engagement
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Kim’s Player’s Journey
Kim, A. (2013). The Player’s Journey: A 5-Step Framework for Designing Engaging Experiences.
Available
online
at
http://www.slideshare.net/amyjokim/players-journey-5step-designTwitter: @snicholsonframework-for-longterm-engagement
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Community of Practice
http://community.mis.temple.edu/ccrawford/files/2012/03/cop-picture1.jpg
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Gameful and Playful Layers
Meaningful
Gamification
Reward-based
Gamification
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The Gamification Journey
Enthusiast
Explorer
Newbie
• Onboarding
• Attract through
unmet needs
• Using Extrinsic
Motivators
sparingly
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•
•
•
•
Finding meaning
Choosing paths
Creating & Playing
Reflecting
Building Intrinsic
Motivation
Reward-based
Gamification
• Community of
Practice
• Long-term
involvement in
external context
Meaningful
Gamification
No
Gamification
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The Gamification Journey
TL;DR
Reject
Make
Rewards
Motivation Meaningful
Cultivate
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Communities
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To Learn More
http://becauseplaymatters.com/pubs
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