Education

The Engagement Channel Model 2.0: Fun, Flow and Engagement

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Engagement Channel Model 2 0 The Engagement Channel Model 2 0 Fun Flow and Engagement

Fun. A three letter word you won’t hear me mention often when discussing gamification! Why? Well, fun is really subjective. What you find fun, I may not. However, for the purposes of this blog, we will assume I like fun as do you and when I mention fun – it means something you will find fun!

With that out of the way, here’s the thing. If you look at Flow or my Engagement Channel stuff, you will see that to enter flow and be truly engaged, the challenge of whatever you are doing should match or slightly exceed your current skill level. Read More ...

New Solution & Gamification Design Lenses Card Deck

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For the first time in a while, I have a sort of new product for you! The Solution & Gamification Design Lenses Card Deck!

Basically it is a series of cards that contain questions related to various frameworks I use in my life as a solution designer. They cover ground from the User Type HEXAD, to the COM-B behaviour change model and lots in between – including the “What’s the worst that could happen” card!

Available through DriveThruCards, they come as a deck of 44 cards – which is actually 2 decks of the 22 cards, just to try and make them better value for you. I am also providing a downloadable deck for you if you want that instead. Read More ...

The Danger of Unbalanced Incentives and Negative Expectations

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I recently saw a news article that certain parts of America were trialling an incentive program to try and encourage more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The idea was that individuals could earn $100 by getting vaccinated.

If you have ever read any of my work, you will probably know that I am not a big fan of large incentives to do things that should be done for intrinsic reasons. To me staying safe and keeping people safe is reason enough to take the vaccine – but hey – we are not all the same. Read More ...

6 rules for surviving and enjoying social media.

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1. Don’t believe everything you see or read.

Social media has no filter, so anyone can post almost anything and they don’t always post the truth. From politicians to socialites, very often what is put out is tweaked in some ways be it the facts or the flawless texture of a models skin. Be alert to it.   

2. Do your research.

This goes hand in hand with the first rule. Sadly you can take everything at face value. It takes very little time to fact check, but use reliable news sources and websites, not gossip rags or other social media sources.

3. Don’t over share.

If you wouldn’t tell your gran don’t tell social media publically. Public social media sites like twitter, Tik Tok or Instagram are great places to share what’s on your mind, your latest talents and so on. It’s fun and can be very rewarding. However, some things just don’t need to be shared to the world, doing so can come back and bite you in the future. Many celebrities have fallen foul of drunken tweeting one day and losing their job the next!   

4. Do use the report features.

The report features on social media are their for a reason. If you see things that are inappropriate, harmful, hurtful etc, report them. It is anonymous and there to protect everyone.

5. Don’t obsess.

It can be all to easy to get hooked on social media. That’s how all the apps are designed, they want your attention for as long as possible as that’s how they make money. If you find yourself unable to sleep because you are worried you might miss something, or are anxious because you only got 1 like, it may be time to take a break or even seek some advice and help.   

6. Do have fun.

Social media is meant to be fun, so use it in a way you enjoy. It may be just reading the latest happenings in your fandom, it may be sharing your singing or photography skills etc. You can make good friends through sensible use of social media and have a great time.   Be sensible, be safe, be alert and when it stops being fun, take a break.

Final Fight and Relative Progress Bars

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Progress bars

During lockdown and thanks to our newish dog, I’ve been playing a lot of Xbox in the early mornings. I try to play games when I can, but until recently have not really had time to invest much of my life into them. But, I’ve always maintained that to understand what makes games work, you need to play them!

Anyway, I decided to have my annual play through of Final Fight, one of the greatest games of all time (I’m my opinion anyway!). As I was playing, I was analysing what was making it enjoyable (the curse of a gamification designer) and realised one small but key element. The health bars of the bad guys. Rather than just the main boss fights having a health bars every baddie has one, no matter how weak. Read More ...

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