motivation

Game Mechanics in Gamification

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Gamified like motivators and supporters Game Mechanics in Gamification

This 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 that we use to discuss it. One term that seems to get particularly abused, which we have borrowed from game design, is Game Mechanics. This all came from various discussions I had been having with people in the games industry.  All of them told me that they felt that most people in gamification are getting this (and more) wrong. Read More ...

Feedback and Drivers in Gamification

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I 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 think. It is also vital to any gamified system that feedback exists. It helps user keep track of how they are progressing, how they are “doing” within the system.  One of the complaints about the “real” world is that feedback is often very slow. End of year reviews, report cards, midterm exams.  In the game world, we are used to constant and instant feedback.  Collect something and you are notified immediate.  Complete a level and you are told, gain experience and you are notified.  All of this happens straight away, no waiting around months and months to understand how you have done.  In call of duty, you don’t have to wait until the end of the month to find out how you have performed in the last 20 matches.  You are told constantly during the match and they you are given a summary of achievements at the end. Read More ...

Gamification: Pianists vs Computers

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A 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 orchestras who never miss a note, or simple and flawless solo piano performances.

So why is it that people still go to see live performances, or buy cds of real people playing the music?

Heart, soul, the x-factor if you will. That something that separates each of us and makes us all individual. You can teach anyone to do pretty much anything (within physical / mental limitations of course) and they can become good at it. However, some things come from deeper than just learning. They come from a deep understanding at an almost spiritual level. Read More ...

Rewards and Reward Schedules in Gamification

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Anyone who has read a few of my blogs will, by now, be under the impression that I am not the biggest fan of rewards. Well, that is not entirely how I feel.  Those that have read earlier blogs may remember something I said – “Rewards should recognise achievement, not be the achievement”.  I also found myself saying in an email “Gamification at the moment is often nothing more than an attempt to illicit Pavlovian responses to external stimuli”. I know, how up myself does that sound – but it’s true.  The way many people are using rewards are as a way to encourage people to do things – like giving a dog a biscuit for rolling over on command Read More ...

Harry Potter and the Gamification of School

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When I was a kid a school (long before Harry Potter had been thought of – and gamification for that matter…), teaching methods generally sucked. A teach stood at the front of the class, dictated out ancient notes and you had to write them down in your exercise book. If you didn’t pay attention or did something the teacher did not like, you got a board rubber thrown at your head. There was no intrinsic enjoyment to be had from the learning process; it was all drained by the way we were taught. This was not unique to my school years; it had been this way for decades. Read More ...

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