Why “undo” is critical to ludic design

Undo 1614000681 Why 8220 undo 8221 is critical to ludic design

Ludic, or playful design, involves designing products or experiences through the lens of play. How do you make people feel safe to explore, encourage experimentation and even add some fun?

A while back I introduced my Play Framework, so you can find out more there, but essentially it’s all about creating an environment that focuses on Trust, Safety, Autonomy, Dynamic Goals and Lusory Attitude (that is you approach the experience with a playful attitude).

So where does the undo function in a bit of software like Word come into this, how is that helping with ludic design? Feelin safe is all about not fearing failure. If something goes wrong, you need to feel that it is possible to recover. If you fall over, you should know you can get up and try again – see where this is going? Read More ...

The Engagement Channel Model

In gamification, you will hear a lot about Flow. I myself have spoken about it many times. In games and gamification, we use it as a way to describe the moment that you get the challenge of a task exactly balanced with the skill of the person involved, leading to a state of absolute focus and possibly flow.

I have also written about how we in gamification especially get our description and understanding of Flow very wrong. But that is another story!

Anyway, I have been rethinking this a lot and have decided to stop talking as much about flow and more about the Engagement Channel. Read More ...

Animal Farm the Game OR How to use games to introduce the classics to new audiences

Well, happy new year everyone.

I wanted to start 2021 off by talking about an incredibly satisfying gaming experience I had over Christmas. Playing Animal Farm on my phone.

For those that don’t know, Animal Farm is a very stark book written by George Orwell in the 1940s that uses power struggles between farm animals as an allegory for the rise of Stalin and Communism in the early 1900s. It is a classic, but may not be on many peoples radars these days – unless it is a school text! Like his other classic 1984, it is a story that feels a bit too close to our current political climate – with plenty of warnings about what can happen when people choose power over people. Read More ...

The Importance of Disruptors

If you have looked at my User Types HEXAD or read any of my work (hey, Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play is a great Christmas present to yourself or anyone you love….), you will have noticed that Disruptors are often portrayed as the bad guys of the group. Now, this is for good reason in some respects, I added them due to some observed bad behaviors in systems I had been involved with. Turns out gamified systems are not eutopian worlds of love, points and badges… Some people just enjoy being a pain in the butt! Read More ...

Amazing Interactive Mind Map For The User Type Hexad

This is really cool. I didn’t make it either, Sinan Sensivas did.

It is an interactive mind map of my Hexad and game mechanics. It’s really fun and an interesting way to learn it all.

Take a look and say hi to Sinan on Twitter

The Mindmap!

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