Gamification

Why Gorillas (and Games) are such good Teachers

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Gorillas Why Gorillas and Games are such good Teachers

Games have always been excellent tools for teaching and learning. There are plenty of reasons why this may be, but for me, it comes down to one simple thing – they give context to the materials.

Let us for a moment take a simple example—projectile paths.

We could look at the equation

Or, we could add context to the idea and play Gorillas instead, where we get to alter the velocity and angle of a player throwing a projectile at another player.

https://github.com/HunorMarton/gorillas

Obviously, the game is more fun. We are learning about how velocity, launch angles and gravity all work to create parabolic projectile paths in a fun way. Do you learn everything? No, but it gives context to the formula and brings it to life. Read More ...

Is Gamification Really a Long Term Solution to Anything?

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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 ...

Emergent Gamification?

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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

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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 ...

Gamification: Is Loyalty Going Wrong?

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This article is interesting, as it shows consumer groups are converned about loyalty schemes in retail that use challenges to encourage more spending. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceq33z0gxj4o

Consumer groups have raised concerns over new “challenges” introduced by major UK supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons, that reward shoppers with extra loyalty points for increased spending. These challenges, part of increasingly sophisticated loyalty card schemes, could potentially lead to overspending. While supermarkets claim these schemes offer better value and personalised savings, consumer group Which? and debt charity StepChange warn they could encourage people to spend beyond their means. The caution comes amidst rising food prices and the average person holding loyalty cards for three different supermarkets. Read More ...

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