Gamification Tutorial Series – Episode 1 and 2

Cropped gamification Gamification Tutorial Series 8211 Episode 1 and 2

The beginning of June sees not only sunshine, but also a new series of short tutorial / information videos that a few people have asked me to do.

The first video is just a very short introduction to gamification. In it I talk a little about what it is and what it isn’t.

The second video takes a look at motivation and introduces RAMP as a concept.

Future videos will include a deeper look at motivation, the extrinsic vs intrinsic argument, user types, leaderboards, feedback loops, mechanics and more. Read More ...

Teams and Competitive play.

Last week there was no post from me. The reason was that I was working on rebuilding my games review site (www.yetanotherreviewsite.co.uk). Take a look, you may like it!!

Anyway, it got me thinking, as I looked over the games we have reviewed over the years. What do people like playing? Obviously the answer is – All sorts! However, it made me consider the nature of competition in games and especially gamificaiton.

The general rule of thumb is competition between people is bad mojo for gamification. It leads to bad feeling, lack of engagement, people at the bottom of leaderboards feeling less important than those at the top etc.  However, we keep using it – even though we know all of this! Often this is because we know that it will cater to at least some of the people (for instance I am using Captain Up leaderboards etc for gamifying this site).  I know it won’t appeal to everyone, but with luck it will amuse some. Read More ...

Play, Games, Fun, Imagination and Grown Ups

When I was a kid, I always liked to play – like most children. I used to make up games with my action figures, set up scenarios around the house and garden and then act them out.  I would set little rules up to dictate how the action figures could move and interact with each other and their environments.  I never knew how each scenario would play out, but I always knew who would win. It was always the good guys or Storm Shadow. In that respect, the rules made no real difference, unless they benefited the toys I wanted to win! Read More ...

Why does Gamification Fail?

A question I get asked a lot is, “Why does gamification fail?”. Gartner said that by 2014, 80% of gamified systems will fail due to poor design. My question is, what is poor design? I had thought that it was really just implementing “thin layer” points, badges and leader boards to a system that was already not working. Whilst that is true, it actually misses out on some important extra factors.

So, with that in mind, here are some reasons that I feel will contribute to gamification not working. Read More ...

More on Gamification and Careers

Extrinsic Rewards and the User Journey

A couple of small bits this week whilst I pull together more substantial work (I’m not a machine!!) First a small revisit of my Flow and User Journey work. In various conversations I have had about the use of rewards in a gamified systems the general question is always “do you need rewards at all”. My answer is that it can’t hurt if it is done properly.  One thing that occurred is that during the on-boarding phase and into the habit forming phase of a user journey, rewards can play a key part.Charles Duhigg presents the idea that habits are formed when three key things are put together. Cue, Routine and Reward. Read More ...

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