So, as is tradition, here is a round up of 2015. What a year!!! Research papers, Gamification World Congress, a new book, poetry and loads of exciting projects have made this a most excellent year. Between you and me, next year will be even better!
As with every year, the User Types Hexad has been really popular, but this year my most popular content by far has been the 47 Gamification elements, mechanics and ideas – an old post I pinned! Shows the power of the homepage 🙂 Other big hits this year have been my reaction to Gartner forgetting about gamification (The Hype is Over – Gamification is Here to Stay) and my essay on the 4 essential neurotransmitters in gamification!
Here is to 2016 Gamified Gamification Lovers!
1) Gamification User Types Dodecad… It’s Christmas after all!
Posted on December 16, 2015Ideas come from the funniest of places. Take this Dodecad thing. I had an email conversation with someone who liked my types, but wanted to change some of the names. I was not into the idea (the names took a really long time to work out!), so politely declined. That’s fine, so is the fact… More…
Posted on November 30, 2015You may remember in 2013 I tried to establish a code of ethics for gamification. It got a little traction, but ultimately didn’t get much backing. After GWC this year, I realised that I really needed to try again, as ethics has become even more important to people as gamification has grown. To that end,… More…
Posted on November 17, 2015One of the things that I noticed at gamification world congress this year, was a few people mentioning Flow in their talks. As most of my readers know by now, I love the idea of Flow, not just as a pure idea of “in the moment balance and being in the zone” but as a… More…
Posted on November 16, 2015Well, I am back from the 2015 edition of Gamification World Congress in Barcelona and what an event it was! The organisers put on a slick, deep and incredibly rewarding conference. Day one saw a series of workshops, with me kicking off with Gamification Design Thinking. Feedback was positive and personally I had a great… More…
Posted on November 2, 2015As you may have seen by now, I have a new book out! If you had managed to miss that, check it out here 🙂 The purpose of this blog is to give a quick overview of how I got it finished and published in print and ebook formats. This was a project I started… More…
Posted on October 29, 2015I talk to people about gamification quite a lot! The conversation usually starts with a little curiosity, then some scepticism and if I have done well, enthusiasm. One thing that happens in probably 9 out of 10 conversations is a little section I like to call “No, it’s not about making games”. You all know… More…
Posted on October 26, 2015A while back, I was asked how “Dark Personalities” fit with my Hexad of User Types. At the time, I had no answer – because I had never heard of dark personalities. So, as I always do, I responded with honesty and promised to look into it. I have touched on it with how I… More…
Posted on October 21, 2015So, here it is. Writing and publishing the book have broken my brain a little! I am working on two blogs at the moment though. One about publishing a book for under £50 ($80) and the other about dark personalities and disruptors! However, anyone who has been reading for a while will know that when… More…
Posted on October 16, 2015So then, it is finally available. Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play is out in paperback and ebook formats from Amazon. Amazon.com have it in stock now. More…
Posted on October 6, 2015There are many, many ways to get gamification wrong, but there is one that really sticks out head and shoulders above the rest. The best way to get Gamification wrong is to ask the question “What game mechanics should we include?” before any other questions. Questions like: what is the purpose of this? What is… More…
Posted on September 28, 2015Anyone who has read my blog will know that my daughters are an inspiration to me on a regular basis. All of me research into play was initiated by watching them as was my little adventure into fun. Today I wanted to share with you an important lesson – what pure joy actually looks like.… More…
Posted on September 25, 2015Here is a little excerpt for the book for you, you know that book that I am still editing but hope to have published in the next 2 weeks…! Whist basing the value of the reward on a user’s personal investment is important, it is also important not to lose sight of why you were… More…
Posted on September 23, 2015I was asked a great question the other day. If you could go way back, what would you change? It got me thinking at the time and I have had it in my mind ever since. At the time I said that I would probably change nothing. The truth is that what I have experienced… More…
14) Shipping, Fantasy vs Reality and the Dark Tetrad
Posted on September 19, 2015I recently discovered a really strange phenomenon called Shipping. This is the creation of fantasy relationships between celebrities that may have been in films together or on TV together. For instance there are a group who call themselves Damie Shippers. They have created a fantasy world where Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. from Fifty Shades of… More…
Posted on September 18, 2015A long time ago, I wrote a short bit on why I wanted to be able to dislike comments on Facebook (and anywhere else for that matter). In my mind (at the time) I was trying to put across the point that we live in a world where we are not allowed to be negative… More…
Posted on September 11, 2015Over the summer, the NHS lead programme Change4Life, ran a great campaign aimed at getting kids to do a little bit of excercise. It was called “10 Minute Shake Up” and was done in partnership with Disney. For starters this is a great idea and one that I whole heartedly support. But the idea was… More…
17) Are Mario, YouTube & My Little Pony killing my Daughters Imagination?
Posted on August 27, 2015I am a huge advocate of the benefit of games. They are amazing and I would quite happily argue with anyone shouting about games and violence, or games being bad for kids. I am also not against T.V. My youngest has amazing shape recognition, counting and even spelling and maths abilities – at three -… More…
18) The Hype is Over – Gamification is Here to Stay
Posted on August 21, 2015Welcome to my first post holiday blog. Lots going on, not least of which I have now got a draft of my book! You can register your interest in buying it here -> Sign up for notifications about Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play. I am looking at ways to apply a discount for people… More…
19) Balancing rewards against effort in Gamification
Posted on August 4, 2015I have said it before, if you are going to use rewards, you have to get it right. Whilst there are arguments about the value and / or damage of rewards in gamified systems, they are still being used and I feel they are of value. One of the keys to getting the use of rewards… More…
Posted on July 30, 2015Ok, this has been bugging me for years. In Gamification, there are many things you hear again and again. It’s not about games, points are bad, intrinsic motivation is king. There are more, but the one I have an issue is a quote from that most famous of nannies (and most irresponsible in my mind)… More…
21) Bribes, Incentives, Bonuses, Awards and Rewards in Gamification
Posted on July 27, 2015Recently there has been some conversation in the Gamification Hub and other areas about the difference between things like bribes, incentives and so on. It is actually an interesting and very relevant question in gamification circles as they all get mentioned from time to time, so I thought I would tackle it a little here.… More…
22) Accenture makes a move I was talking about in 2013
Posted on July 23, 2015So a big bit of news in the consulting world is that Accenture has got rid of its annual performance reviews and rankings. This has had some level of fanfare as innovative and exciting. They of course are not alone. Deloitte is looking at doing the same thing and as the article says about 6%… More…
Posted on July 17, 2015For some strange reason I have become obsessed with making memes recently! It may just be I have a couple of apps on the phone that make it easy now. Whatever the reasons, I thought I would share my last week or so of memes here with you guys. Also, I have not had a… More…
Posted on July 13, 2015Not long ago I wrote about my daughters school and their usage of certificates to incentivise reading. The idea is that if a child reads a certain amount each half term, they can get a bronze, silver or gold certificate. As you may remember, I have spent a lot of time trying to encourage my… More…
Posted on July 10, 2015A little free section from the new book 😉 Virtual economies are not as common an addition to a gamified system, but I wanted to include a little bit about them. Virtual economies can be based entirely in the virtual world, or can break that barrier and have some effect on the real world, depending… More…
Posted on July 3, 2015As you may have noticed, for the first time in over a year – there is no blog this week. The reason is two fold. 1. I have been insanely busy! 2. My spare time has been spent finally finishing up my second – as yet untitled – book! So, instead of a blog, here… More…
Posted on June 25, 2015For the first time that I can remember, someone has asked a question about a little “hidden” feature of the User Types Hexad. Two secrets actually. Take a look at it now, what is odd?User Types HexadI love symmetry – it is a quirk of mine. I hate how… More…
Posted on June 22, 2015Recently my wife pre-ordered a book from Amazon. She put her order in the day after pre-orders opened and chose super-saver delivery. Her understandable assumption was that if she pre-ordered, then the book would at least be dispatched on the day of release. She knew she would have to wait a few days for delivery,… More…
Posted on June 19, 2015Hi all. A little self promotional, but it does have a gamification twist! I just published short story on WhatPad that some of you may enjoy. If I get a decent response, I will probably write some more around the concept. Below is short segment and a link to the full story. You do have… More…
Posted on June 17, 2015One of the things that my daughters school like to do is give certificates to students for various achievements. Below are two that she has had over the last few months. Which one do you think she was happiest to get?Gold Award for reading 25 times in a term
Posted on June 8, 2015Anyone who follows me on Twitter has, by now, noticed I have been sharing a load of stuff from Google Photos. For those who don’t know, this is a free service from Google that allows you to basically upload an unlimited number of photos (if you are happy with their “high quality” setting) and store… More…
Posted on June 5, 2015There is a lot of noise about Generation Y or Millennial’s, those born after 1982. They are seen as some kind of strange new evolution of the species, the saviours of our universe. One of the key things that is spoken about when they are mentioned is that they grew up with computers in their… More…
Posted on June 4, 2015I always like to try and simplify concepts to help me explain them to people, hence I keep creating acronym based frameworks!! (RAMP, EEEE, GAME etc.). Well, my latest is five essential P’s that gamification projects have to have to stand a chance of any success. The scary thing is, that in many projects I have seen,… More…
Posted on June 1, 2015Last year, Dutch Driver asked a question in the Gamification Hub Facebook group. Mario Yu-kai et al. were discussing the mobile game phenomenon, Flappy Bird, yesterday and Andrzej commented that the game destroyed our concept of “flow”…this has me thinking that frustration might also have “flow”. What do others say? Dutch Driver 6 February 2014 What… More…
35) Self Preservation – Advice I give my daughters
Posted on May 28, 2015Many years ago I was looking at starting up a self defence class (I was teaching JuJitsu at the time). This document was based on conversations with people who had been attacked and reading up on the topic at the time. I never did anything with it, but now that I have daughters, it is… More…
Posted on May 26, 2015No really a gamification related post today, the it could pertain to the gamification community! It happens to us all at some point. Someone says something, you see something, read something, hear something – whatever – but it shakes the foundations of something you knew in your hear was correct. Until you discovered this new… More…
Posted on May 18, 2015I have to admit, I have always loved text adventures and choose your own adventures. From Lancelot on the Amstrad PCW8512, to 80 Days from Inkle Studios. The way text base adventures make you imagine the world you are in, for me, is priceless! Now, rather than write a standard blog post on this, I… More…
Posted on May 11, 2015One of my on-going side projects on the site is to find out more about what people find “fun”. This does not directly relate to the motivation related content on RAMP or the User Types though. It is all based on a simple question – “What do you find fun?” This is by no means… More…
Posted on May 5, 2015This is a total cop-out of an article. However, I would love to hear your versions! It all came about when listening to an advert for a kids show called the Dinosaur Train, where there is a song that teaches A-Z using the names of Dinosaurs! On a side note, I will be speaking at… More…
Posted on April 30, 2015I was reading an old article, on the Telegraph website, that had Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves explaining how comedy works. It was actually much more interesting that I had expected and offers valuable insights into how to apply gamification in a more engaging way. Whilst it is true that we all find different things… More…
Posted on April 27, 2015Sometimes you come across stuff that you really wish you had come up with, but it is so good that shareing it is much better than trying to develop your own version! One such idea is that of MINDSPACE. In 2010 the British Government commisioned research into influencing behaviour through policy. What they produced was… More…
Posted on April 23, 2015Well, the scales have shouted at me again and it is time to get in shape. I have let myself go over the last few years and my body is beginning to tell me off as well! I used to run, but always hated it. For a while I was trying to use Zombies Run!… More…
43) 7 Deadly sins of making serious / educational games
Posted on April 14, 2015I wanted to add a short post just highlighting 7 things that I repeatedly see people doing wrong when they are making or considering making serious / educational games. This is by no means an exhaustive list though – I just like the idea of 7 deadly sins 😀 Assume because you think it is… More…
Posted on April 13, 2015One of the really obvious things that has come out of looking into play and fun, is how resistant us grown ups are to letting go and doing things that seem, on the surface of it, to be of no value. A framework for creating play-like systems Unleash your creativity with Story Cubes Introducing Lusory… More…
Posted on April 7, 2015Here is something that many who know me or know of me would be surprised to hear. Gamification is not always the answer! There, I said it. Often gamification is just a concept people have heard of and know may be of use. In these cases they will ask if it can be used as… More…
Posted on April 4, 2015Emergence in Games #Emergence is a well known concept in game design. Emergent gameplay comes when players interact with the mechanics of the game creating situations that have not been deliberately designed. This could be deliberate game design or it could be unintentional. For instance, the game may offer several tools to solve a puzzle,… More…
Posted on March 27, 2015If you follow me on Twitter, it is unlikely that you will have missed the fact that I love a toy called Rory’s Story Cubes.[caption align=”aligncenter” width=”500
For those who don’t know, Story Cubes are sets of dice with unique icons on each face. The basic idea is to roll… More…
Posted on March 23, 2015Separating Games from Play and using it All of this research into play and talking about play has been for a reason. I wanted to try and open up the idea of making more play-like experiences rather than more game-like experiences. I was trying to introduce some of the basics that separate games and play.… More…
Posted on March 18, 2015As I have been researching play, there is a term or really a word and concept that has been hard to ignore. Ludic. It comes up a lot in papers and articles about play. It comes from the Latin for play and is defined as; Showing spontaneous and undirected playfulness. Let me set the scene.… More…
50) Rewarding quality over quantity in gamification
Posted on March 16, 2015Something that I see quite often is people making a simple but important mistake. They reward the behaviours that lead to quantity rather than quality. Let me explain. When you build a gamified campaign or activity, you need to consider what quality participation looks like. If for instance you want to create some buzz around… More…
Posted on March 11, 2015A worrying trend I have noticed in gamification is people talking about making addicting experiences or applications. You hear phrases like “Addiction loops” and “Habit forming”. I am pretty sure that their intentions are good, 90% of the time. They are describing experiences that people will want to come back to again and again. The… More…
Posted on March 6, 2015Continuing my investigations into play, I wanted to talk about a few things my kids have been teaching me about just letting go and giving in to the fantasy and the lack of imaginative boundaries that real play demands. It is not as easy as it would first seem either. There are lots of views… More…
Posted on March 3, 2015I am still in the process of researching fun – but it has been really interesting so far. If you have no taken my quick survey – please do, it will really help me!! – Fun Survey The thing that is abundantly clear is that fun is purely subjective, what one person finds fun -… More…
54) Play, games, toys, playfulness and gamification
Posted on February 26, 2015Lately I have been thinking about play a lot. This is probably because of watching my children growing up and seeing how play changes into games as they develop. I have written about play before and it does form part of my general Game Thinking framework, but it is lumped with toys and games -… More…
55) What if we could never use the word Gamification again…?
Posted on February 25, 2015A few days ago on the awesome Facebook group Gamification Hub – I posed the following question. Andrzej Marczewski If the word gamification was banned from all usage – what would you replace it with. I’d go with “game thinking” personally. What followed was a fantastic conversation that I felt deserved to be shared. This… More…
Posted on February 23, 2015Sometimes, even the best people need to be pointed in the right direction. Signpost next actions to help smooth early stages of a journey. Use “just in time” cues to help users who are stuck. Whilst autonomy and agency are vital for deep engagement, sometimes too much freedom can be a bad thing. Whilst gamification… More…
Posted on February 18, 2015Another day another framework. This time I can’t really lay claim to it though. This is my interpretation of Design Thinking – a very well know framework! I have mixed it with a few well know lenses for innovation – again, nothing new. It is presented here just as an aid for those who may… More…
Posted on February 16, 2015As I read more and more about what makes a game a game, it becomes more and more clear where things with gamification can and do go wrong. I am not trying to say that gamification and games are the same thing, they are not, but they do share similar qualities. At their core, games… More…
Posted on February 12, 2015Now, before you get excited – this is nothing to do with chocolate! Easter eggs in this case refer to hidden surprises and extras (just like an Easter egg hunt when you were a kid). They are aimed at people who like to explore (Free Spirits) as they reward people for just looking around and… More…
60) Gamification, delayed gratification and rewards
Posted on February 6, 2015There has always been this common thought that if you have to work harder for something or you have to wait for it, the reward will be all the greater in your mind. Now for the most part. that is absolutely true. The anticipation of some sort of reward 1 is a massive trigger for… More…
Posted on February 4, 2015To go alone with the recent update to my User Types pages, I thought it would be nice to give you a list of mechanics, elements and ideas that can be used to support each type. These are by no means all there are, but these are the ones that I chose to include with… More…
Posted on January 29, 2015Now that I have redone the User Types, I wanted to run a small series of how elements from games can be used with gamification. If you remember, I look at Game Thinking rather than just gamification as a singular path to solutions. Games handle complex problems and ideas in a fantastic way. They can… More…
63) Exploring the Player User Type – with archetypes
Posted on January 19, 2015To finish off my little look at the sub-types from my User Types, I want to take a new look at the Player User Type. I have done a deep dive on this before, but I wanted to simplify it a little. Essentially the Player is motivated by rewards, plain and simple. They will do… More…
Posted on January 15, 2015I was recently contacted by the guys from CaptainUp (www.captainup.com). For those that don’t know, this is a free / affordable platform for gamifying websites and until recently I had been using it for about 2 years. Then I stopped and they were interested to know why. The main reason was how intrusive it was… More…
Posted on January 13, 2015I love superheroes, I make no apology for that! A while back I did a post that compared my User Types to various superheroes and super-villains.User Types Superhero ArchetypesI thought it would be fun to do the same thing for the Disruptor sub-types. It has caused me some issues… More…
Posted on January 9, 2015As time passes and I learn more, I often re-evaluate my past blogs and ideas – none more-so than my User Types! Now, don’t panic, I am not about to release version 3 – the User Types Dodecagon. The purpose of this post is to just clarify my current thinking around the disruptor type, based… More…
Posted on January 5, 2015Well, here we are in 2015 and I thought I would start with a heavy post, so strap in! In gamification there is often a lot of mention of things like “Neuroscience”, “Neurochemistry”, “Neurotransmitters” or “Brain Chemistry”. In particular you will hear people speak about neurotransmitters such as Dopamine. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals… More…
Posted on January 1, 2015Well, Happy New Year everyone. 2014 was a good year for gamification, but 2015 is where we will come of age I feel. Below are a couple of top 10’s for my blog. The first is based on page views for blogs just posted in 2014. The second is based on comments for blogs in… More…