Andrzej Marczewski

Gamification Expert, author, consultant and designer. I love to write about it, talk about it and bore people to death with it! If you really want to get to know me, check out the About page.

Is Gamification Really a Long Term Solution to Anything?

by
Designer 5 Is Gamification Really a Long Term Solution to Anything

When you look at how gamification has been used over the years, I personally have seen the greatest successes coming from short term “interventions”.

  • Use gamification to improve onboarding into a product
  • Use it to make a learning module, or course more interesting
  • Use it to learn a few words in another language
  • Use it to help build better excercise habits
  • Use it to build better medication routines

All of these have great success stories, but by their nature are short interventions being used to either reduce the barrier to entry, create short term engagement or help to build intrinsic habits.

I ask you this – who has become fluent in a language using Duo Lingo?

However, gamification experts (myself included) always talk about gamification being better used as a long term strategic change, rather than a quick win enabler? Read More ...

The Gamified UK Behaviour Change Model

by
Gamified UK Behaviour Change Model The Gamified UK Behaviour Change Model

Yeah, a bold title – but AI told me it was true and ok to use!

Over the years I have looked at various behaviour change models and have used them in varying degrees. Early on, if you look at my blog and books I used BJ Fogg a lot. These days it is referred to as B=MAP; Behaviour = Motivation * Ability * Prompt. It used to be B=MAT – T being trigger. I think prompt is better as it covers more ground.

More recently I have been using COM-B model for behaviour change. This was created by Susan Michie, Maartje M van Stralen, Robert West. I liked this model because there was a lot more behind it and it introduces capability and opportunity, splitting out ability into “Can you personally do it” and “Is it possible to do”. I then adds this to motivation to create a flexible model. Read More ...

Emergent Gamification?

by
M3khtMxBdR0268xZfxzZ 5lr5d Emergent Gamification

The wonderful Pete Baikins recently reposted an article from Mashable on Linkedin that got my hekcles up a little. It was all about how gamification was the spark of modern era of AI.

The article argued that early itterations of error filled AI chatbots had given rise to “accidental gamification” where it had become fun and playful to find ways to get Chat GPT to get it wrong. Just to lean in to this – I asked Gemini to summarise the ariticle for you

This is an article about how gamification has influenced the development of artificial intelligence [AI]. It discusses the ways in which AI is being used in games and entertainment. People are creating games that challenge AI systems to perform tasks. These games can reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of AI. In turn, this helps researchers improve AI technology. The article also argues that the public’s playful engagement with AI is helping to shape its development. Read More ...

Behaviour Change: COM-B and the 4 Pillars of Change

by
Combchange Behaviour Change COM B and the 4 Pillars of Change

What follows is an example of how to combine my Four Pillars of Change with a proven behavioural change model – COM-B. We will be using bounce rate on a website’s homepage as the behaviour we wish to change. Companies often struggle with high bounce rates on their websites, indicating a disconnect between the website and its audience. However, with a little understanding of behaviour, we can start to sort this.

Understanding User Behaviour: The Key to Success

So, the first piece of the puzzle to creating an effective homepage is to understand user behaviour then design a user experience specific to what users want and need. Read More ...

Ecommerce: The Nexus of Delight & Retail Optimisation Mechanics

by
Nexus of delight 3 Ecommerce The Nexus of Delight amp Retail Optimisation Mechanics

Gamification has been a huge focus of my life, but the last few years have seen me change my career quite dramatically. I find myself in a role that no longer revolves around using game mechanics and the like.  Instead, I am focused on improving online retail experiences through testing, optimisation, personalisation, merchandising and so on.

Whilst gamification may seem a million miles away from this, there is actually very little difference. They are both focused on behavioural change – they just use different mechanics. Read More ...