Gamification is a hot topic right now. Gartner even has it at the top of its hype cycle right now. But, what is it and has it taken off in the world of Knowledge Management?
The use of game elements and design metaphors to solve problems – such as engagement, motivation or compliance
There are various models that are associated with Knowledge Management. I feel that it is interesting to consider a couple whilst we look into how gamification can be used. The 9 Step KM Process developed by Knowledge Associates seems to be one that has many areas that could utilise gamification.
as do the 4 dimensions of Knowledge Management & Innovation
Both of these lend themselves very well to the concepts of gamification, especially the User Journey.
Before the conference the Day Two Chairman Paul J Corney (Managing Partner Knowledge et al), Stephen Dale (Managing Director of Collabor8now Ltd) and I are conducting preliminary research to see whether organisations involved in Knowledge Management are adopting some of the emerging gamification tools and techniques. Stephen has a paper on this subject to be published soon and Paul and I will be running a workshop at KMUK the results of which will be made available to everyone who participates here and at that event.
Please take a few minutes to help us develop a better picture of what’s happening. Even if you are not directly involved in a gamification type initiative in your organisation, your view is important. Thanks in advance
The conversation turned to a bit of a bun fight, so I have now stepped away a little. However, it got me thinking about my own definition and why I use it and what gamification in general means to me.
However, I have decided to change it a little, to give it more scope and with luck make the aims clearer.
“The use of game design metaphors to create more game-like and engaging experiences”
So what does this all mean to me.
Game Design Metaphors
Many definitions talk about non game contexts. I talk about metaphors. We use game like interface design in applications that are not games. We use game like narratives, in applications that are not games. We use the game equivalent as a metaphor – we using these things in ways that are not literally applicable as games.
Game-Like
Gamification is a very specific approach that does not actually involve creating games, it is about using ideas from the games, elements and more.
Engaging Experiences
This is the key to gamification, engagement. I define engagement as Active and intrinsically motivated participation. So with gamification we are trying to create experiences that promote this.
This is core to my understanding and approach to gamification. It is one tool in a tool-kit designed to solve problems.
Now, I don’t expect anyone to agree with me. My definition is not really different from any other out there, I just like this wording. I find that this way I am not limiting myself to any technology or approach. Bits of paper or digital platforms are all fair game for me. I am also not interfering with my own ideas on where serious games fit into the equation.
I am sure over time, the way I describe gamification to people will change. However, the core aspect will not. It is an approach to problem solving. It is not defined by the platform or the trends that may enable it.
At first I chuckled. This was very similar to the definition I use in my book;
“the application of gaming metaphors to real life tasks to influence behaviour, improve motivation and enhance engagement.”
However, the smile faded as I reread it. I could forgive the misguided use of the phrase Game Mechanics. I have come to terms with the fact this will always be misused by certain sectors of gamification, but it was the word digital that suddenly struck me and made me read it a third time.
As I read the reasons behind the definition, my heart sank.
First was the game mechanics explanation.
Game mechanics describes the use of elements such as points, badges and leaderboards that are common to many games.
This is a set of examples that most of us in gamification are trying to stop putting in the forefront of people’s minds. Ignoring the fact they are feedback mechanics, not game mechanics, they are the lowest example of gamification implementations.
The next bit that tipped me over the edge was talk of gamification being a way to digitally engage, explaining that gamification is about engaging people with devices such as smart phones – not other people.
This is where it all fell apart for me. When challenge on why he would choose to limit his definition of gamification to just digital, Brian came back with;
The reason we limit gamification to digital is because it answers the question, ‘why is gamification a trend?’ Without including ‘digital’, there’s nothing new about gamification.
This seems to miss the entire point. First, a definition should not be answering a question no one has asked – why something is a trend, it should tell you what it is. Gamification is not a trend, it’s use has begun to trend, but gamification is a tool, a methodology, a set of ideas and ways of thinking that help is to solve various problems. It is not a technology. This definition states that if you use game ideas in a non digital way – it isn’t gamification.
Also, why does gamification have to be new? It isn’t. The use of digital in gamification is new and has accelerated it’s development and made certain applications of it very popular.
It is like saying that games are nothing new and thinking that is a problem. It is like saying that games only become relevant when they went digital.
I feel for Brian. He seems like a great guy and I can’t wait to meet him at GWC. However, he has this out there now and it is in his book and he will have to defend it.
I also feel angry though, as this could set us back a few years in certain circles. The one thing we had pretty much all agreed on is what gamification basically is. Gartner has now stated that gamification is nothing more than technology and without technology, it is nothing.
Whilst we know that is nonsense, the readers of Gartner don’t. They will see this and start asking if gamification is about points and badges – all over again. This definition distils gamification down to everything we have been fighting to put behind us for the last 3 years.
Read Brian’s post. Then read the comments of a few industry voices and experts and see what you think.
On thing I am asked more than any question when it comes to gamification, is how do I get started. What is the first thing I should do.
The answer they are hoping for normally is something like “Download this great framework and slap it on your product – job done”. However, this is never my answer (though at times, if it is suitable for their needs it will be part of the answer… but that’s another story!).
What I actually say is “Decide WHY you need gamification and WHAT you are actually using it for / on”. That should be the first days of discussion. Too many times you see gamification applied just because it can be applied.
Once you have that down, then the rest will start to fall into place. Get an understanding of who will be involved, design your system around those user types and the program goals and you are well on the way to building a good solution.
Take a look at my simple framework to get an idea of what questions to ask yourself as you begin to look at gamifying anything.
2013 was all about gamification and loyalty for me. It saw some massive highlights as well, with trips to Portugal and Madrid to do talks as well as meeting a few great people (and a hero or two!).
It was also the year that gave birth to my Gamification User Types, the work I am most proud of so far!
So here is a round up of everything I wrote this year!
Posted on December 23, 2013With it nearly being Christmas, I thought I would put out one more blog post before the traditional years round up! This time I want to look at a concept I have been talking about for a while, but have never really explained properly. Thin Layer and Deep Level gamification. Thin Layer Gamification This covers… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on December 17, 2013One of the things I have been asked on occasion is why I have included the Captain Up gamification platform on my blog. In my own words, I would describe it as “Short Term, Thin Layer” gamification (something I will elaborate on in a future blog). A layer of veneer that has little or no…More…Posted in Gamification, Opinion, Rants
Posted on December 9, 2013One of the main questions I get about my User Types, is how do you actually make use of them? What I have provided is a simple framework to look at basic motivations of users who are using your system. However, if it was just an analytical tool, it would not be all that much… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on December 2, 2013Hi all. Not a real blog as such today, just a collection of things I have been doing and saying for the past week or so! A Video First off, the video of my Gamification of a Career talk at Gamification World Congress has now gone up on YouTube 🙂 A Picture I was asked… More…Posted in Gamification, Loyalty
Posted on November 27, 2013One of the great things about games is how they handle objectives. Very rarely will you play a game these days that sets out one huge objective and just leaves you to it, they all break the main objective into sub-objectives. You tend to have an overall story line or a quest. This is then… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on November 18, 2013I mentioned that I was trying to simplify and improve my gamification user types. Version 2 is just that and a little more. After more research and the results of mine and others surveys on the matter, I have realised a few things. The four basic types; Achiever, Socialiser, Philanthropist and Free Spirit are all… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on November 11, 2013I thought this week, after 2 years of avoiding it, I would write a short starter for actually creating a gamified system. This will cover the basics of what I call a Thin Layer system – also known as PBL (Points, Badges and Leaderboards) system. Now, before you all shout at me for explaining how… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on November 4, 2013Since I first launched my User Types nearly a year ago, I have had lots of great feedback, interesting criticism and a few changes of heart here and there. I have tried to evolve the types and add detail to them, in an attempt to help other people make use of them. The goal was… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on October 29, 2013Personal brand, like gamification, it one of those terms that seems to come up more and more these days. In a nutshell, personal brand is the image of yourself that others see. By this, I don’t mean the clothes you wear or you haircut (though this can be part of it), I mean something deeper… More…Posted in Social Media
Posted on October 21, 2013Ever since I first started considering Game Thinking, I have been trying to come up with a way to break down all of the parts that make it up. The first attempt was my article about the differences between serious games and gamification. This gave me a basic outline of the 4 areas I considered to…More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on October 21, 2013To start this week off, a written version of my presentation at Gamification World Congress earlier this year. There will be another post later this week on Game Thinking, but I wanted to give you something for your Monday morning gamification fix 🙂 Career 1.0 The general flow of a career has remained unchanged for… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on October 14, 2013Still looking at loyalty this week, I wanted to see if we can create a more formulaic approach to it. Now, huge caveat – there is no proof or evidence to support this in anyway, but it makes sense to me, so I thought I would share it!! There are three basic states of Engagement… More…Posted in Gamification, Loyalty
Posted on October 4, 2013I have been meaning to write about this for a while, but it wasn’t until I answered a question for someone yesterday that I had some words that actually made sense to me! Old School Loyalty When we think of loyalty, especially when we consider it in the context of gamification, we tend to think… More…Posted in Gamification, Loyalty
Posted on September 30, 2013After my last item about serious games (Too Broad a Term to be Meaningful), one topic of debate came up. How can we determine if the term Serious Games is too broad, if we don’t really understand what games are? I have looked into this question before and it has to be said, at an… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming, Opinion, Rants
Posted on September 24, 2013A while back, I wrote a piece on the difference between serious games, games and gamification. It was simple, but covered the important areas of what makes them different from each other. Since then, I have had more involvement with serious games (recently helped as one of the judges for the Serious Play Awards for… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming, Opinion
Posted on September 16, 2013One of the questions I get asked about when people see my User Types, “What about Killers?” Now I have spoken about the Bartle Killer type and why I don’t really account for them in the types. In a nutshell, Killers want to destroy and humiliate other players in MMO’s. This is not a behaviour…More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on September 9, 2013One of the most tedious arguments in gamification is that of Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic Motivation . Not only is it tedious, it is also one of the most written about topics on the web relating to gamification and is one of the main reasons people cite when they tell you why they think gamification… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on September 3, 2013Machinations of Gamification Machinations is a fantastic game mechanics modeling tool by Joris Dorman – http://www.jorisdormans.nl/machinations/ It allows you to build an interactive model of the basic structure of many types of game and recently has been getting some attention in the world of gamification. I decided to have a quick play and just build… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on September 2, 2013A Long, Long Time Ago Just over 2 years ago, I posted an article called “What is Gamification and Why is it Important?” I rediscovered it the other day and it seemed like an appropriate time to reassess my words there. Things have moved on since 2011 in the world of gamification, as has my… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on August 26, 2013To continue the interview theme for another week, I present my interview with Karl Kapp. Karl is an eLearning expert, author, researcher and all round fountain of information and understanding! Can you sum up what you do in a single sentence? I teach, study, research, write, and educate others about the convergence of learning, technology and pedagogy…More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming, Opinion, Technology
Posted on August 20, 2013Today I am really happy to have an interview with Kaye Elling. Kaye is a currently a lecturer in Computer Games at the University of Bradford. Kaye has over 12 years industry experience in game design, with titles such as GTA2, Premier Manager and Bratz on portfolio. Recently she shot to fame after releasing the 51 things… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on August 12, 2013Hi all. I have finally managed to get into gear and record the third of my video tutorials. It is not great quality, I have a new webcam and put it on the wrong settings – live and learn! This time, I talk about my favorite subject – User Types in gamification. Hope you enjoy… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on August 5, 2013This is a long post for me, with a quick summary at the bottom for those of us who are time poor! For a while now I have been fascinated with why people make certain decisions. There are loads of great papers out there, some of which I actually understand! What has really caught my… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on July 29, 2013Firstly and apology. This is just a copy of a chapter in my book (Gamification a Simple Introduction). I had meant to post this some time ago, but have been saving it for a day such as today. At the moment I am research a little for my next proper article as well as trying… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on July 22, 2013Hi, I’m Andrzej. I am a blogger and speaker on Carification. Now, I’m sure most of you know what this is all about, but I thought I would start with a little look at what carification is and a short history lesson on it. So, first off, what is Carification? There are many variations on… More…Posted in Gamification, Opinion
Posted on July 18, 2013India’s first Gamification conference is happening Oct 4 in Bangalore. The speaker list is up and the line-up is pretty impressive. Speakers include Mario Herger, Yu-kai Chou, Fergie Miller, Shahnawaz Khan and more. The chance to get face-to-face with leading deployers from the world of gamification, to learn the power of engaging design, how to…More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on July 16, 2013Achievement is a word that, in gamification especially, has several potential meanings and can cause significant confusion. In gamification, it is often associated with things like points and badges. The same can be said for video games these days (think Xbox achievements and Playstation trophies). To confuse things more, people can be categorised in gamification… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on July 8, 2013Yep, it’s User Types again. However, what I want to write about now is a simpler view of the full 8 types, why there are 8 and how they are related. There is some confusion over this as originally I published 5 types, then spoke only about 4 of them and then released 8 –… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on July 1, 2013Recently I have been thinking about purpose or meaning a lot. It’s one of the four motivators from RAMP that seems to be the hard to explain and achieve. When I first started looking into gamification, people used to talk about Epic Meaning when speaking of game mechanics (incorrectly, but that is another story). This… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on June 24, 2013Last week I had the opportunity to present at the fabulous Gamification World Congress 2013. Among other things, it was the first and probably only times I would see my face on a 10 foot screen on the front of a building! Another highlight in a day of highlights, was getting the opportunity to spend… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on June 17, 2013Continuing down the road of User Types for gamification, I wanted to go into a little more details about how you support the different types of user in your system. Looking at last weeks post about user types and the 4Keys2Fun, there were a few usable ideas, now I shall add a few more. I… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on June 13, 2013Here I am again, considering extrinsic rewards and their effect on motivation. Recently I was told that it is obvious that if a person is given more money to do their job, that they will do it better and probably enjoy it more. I stopped myself quoting Deci or Pink, I smiled, politely disagreed and… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on June 5, 2013I am pretty excited about this one. Gamification User Types When I created my gamification User Types definitions, it was with a mind to help people consider who is going to be in their gamified systems and what may motivate them. I started with the intrinsic motivation RAMP I keep talking about, Relatedness, Autonomy, Mastery… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on June 2, 2013The 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… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on May 27, 2013Last 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… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on May 13, 2013When I was a kid, I was 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… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on May 6, 2013A 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… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on April 29, 2013Extrinsic 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… More…Posted in Gamification, Opinion
Posted on April 22, 2013Whilst I process the amazing presentations, talks and general chats that happened at SocialNow, I wanted to put together a quick post around the ideas of accessibility and immediacy. Imagine the situation. You are an airport and have thousands of people moving through your building every day. Most have a very predictable path. Land, get… More…Posted in Gamification, Technology
Posted on April 15, 2013Lots happening this week, the biggest being the fact that I will be presenting at SocialNow.org this week. As such, it has been mostly prep for that in the last couple of days, so no time for a proper blog I’m afraid. However, I still have some bits for you. The first. I started writing… More…Posted in Uncategorized
Posted on April 6, 2013Dan Pink and Ryan & Deci are quoted a lot when we talk about motivation – I include myself in that and this is good – they have a lot of research to back up everything they say. The basic quote usually revolves around. Money is not a good motivator. Mastery, Purpose, Autonomy and in… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on April 3, 2013A fair few of my recent posts have revolved around how we can use ideas from games / gamification to improve certain aspects of an employee’s “journey” through their career. I thought it may be time to pull it all together in a single coherent (I hope) post! It makes sense to start with an… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on April 1, 2013Hello and I hope all of you who celebrate Easter had a good time! Just a quick note to say that this weeks blog will be a little delayed due to holidays and stuff. It will be about using some off my previous career related Gamification posts to create a potential strategy for employers. I… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on March 25, 2013To anyone involved in game design, feedback loops will be a well known concept. To those in gamification, they are often talked about, but not everyone will know what they actually are and how they can be used. Feedback loops come in two main flavors; positive feedback loops and negative feedback loops. Which ever you… More…Posted in Gamification, Opinion, Rants
Posted on March 18, 2013[CQPage points=”50″ title=”Hail to the King Baby!” found=”Nice one, you found %title%. Have you found the rest yet?” seen=”You have found %title% already, but there may be more!” register=”-“] We have all heard the saying “Content is King”. Marketers tell us this, SEO experts, PR people, writers and more. They promote quality over quantity as… More…Posted in Gamification, Social Media
Posted on March 11, 2013A couple of weeks ago I put out an article that tried to define the differences between serious games, games and gamification. It was received very well, with a few people even asking for permission to use it in PhD course work. The work I did was based on researching the “average” definitions of each… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on March 4, 2013When you consider your career, unless you are a games developer, I am pretty sure Mario does not enter your thoughts all that much. However, this game (as with almost all other games really) can teach us a lot about how we can plan our careers and how businesses really need to reconsider how they… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on March 1, 2013Event management for Social Now – Tools for Workforce Collaboration powered by Eventbrite Normally, I would not post a press release about an event, however… I will be speaking at this one, so have a look!! Of course it will be a great event either way, well worth a look if your organisastion is interested… More…Posted in Gamification, Social Media
Posted on February 25, 2013Last week, some of you may have seen that I created a new page that tried to summarise the differences between gamification, serious games, real games and gameful design. I posted the following chart to as a quick reference guide. Anyone who has read my blogs will know that I am a little against the… More…Posted in Gamification, Gaming
Posted on February 18, 2013Note, when I am talking about user types, I am referring to my classification user types found here! Status in the realms of gamification is a funny thing. It is something that we all agree is important, but seem divided on its nature. Some talk about it as an intrinsic motivator others extrinsic. In the animal kingdom status is simple,… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on February 13, 2013Ok, so maybe a serious blog this week. Prompts are important, we use them all the time, but we probably don’t think much about them. Do you set yourself reminders on your phone or in Outlook? Meeting requests, messages on your pin board at home to remind you what to by at the shops, Post… More…Posted in Gamification, Social Media, Technology
Posted on February 12, 2013Hi all. I’ve been hit by the dreaded lurgie and have had flu for several days now. Makes it hard to come up with a blog post that is worthy of you all spending time on! Instead I will remind you of one of my definitions of Gamification – adding the unusual to the usual… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on February 4, 2013Last week I started to explore my ideas about the different types of users there are likely to be in a gamified system. I have had loads of feedback, mostly very positive. Thanks for that. One question that keeps coming up is “what about the Player user type”? “There must be more too it!”. The…More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on January 30, 2013There is rather an important update at the end after Richard Bartle offered me some advice! It had to happen eventually. I had to look at some kind of “player type” theory. Many people have one, Richard Bartle probably having the most famous and most abused of the player type theories out there. What’s it… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on January 21, 2013Leaderboards are an effective way to show a user quickly where they currently stand within a gamified system. A fun example is the Gamification Gurus leaderboard from the company Leaderboarded. Each month they release an update that shows who has been active in the gamification world that month. It is a great example of a… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on January 14, 2013This is a long post for me, so get a cup of tea now! One of the main things that I have found whilst research and writing about Gamification, is that the terms and the language we use don’t always seem to fit what were actually doing. As gamification matures, so to should the language… More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on January 7, 2013I spoke about rewards and reward schedules a couple of weeks ago, now I want to look at feedback. If I am honest, this will repeat ideas I have mentioned before, but is should give a little more meat and context. Feedback comes in many forms, not all of them as obvious as we may…More…Posted in Gamification
Posted on January 3, 2013A thought that spawned from the back of a great Quora discussion about the role games designers in the world of gamification. You can program a computer to play the most stunning works of classical music. You can create vast orchastras who never miss a not, or simple and flawless solo piano performances. So why… More…Posted in Gamification, Opinion
as do the 4 dimensions of Knowledge Management & Innovation
Both of these lend themselves very well to the concepts of gamification, especially the User Journey.
