People!

Design compelling experiences, not addicting

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Roulette 1426080131 Design compelling experiences not addicting

A worrying trend I have noticed in gamification is people talking about making addicting experiences or applications.  You hear phrases like “Addiction loops” and “Habit forming”.

I am pretty sure that their intentions are good,  90% of the time. They are describing experiences that people will want to come back to again and again. The key word is want. If you create an experience that people want to return to, you have done your job well. If people have to come back because it is a key tool to their job, or something they have to use on a regular basis, you have done a good job if people find it usable, pain free and at time an enjoyable experience. Read More ...

Fun: It’s a funny thing really

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Photo 01 03 2015 14 58 15 Fun It 8217 s a funny thing really

I am still in the process of researching fun – but it has been really interesting so far. If you have no taken my quick survey – please do, it will really help me!! – Fun Survey

The thing that is abundantly clear is that fun is purely subjective, what one person finds fun – others may think is a waste of time. The Oxford English Dictionary defines fun as

Enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure
(http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fun)

In the study I have done to date, so far I have identified about 21 distinct things that people feel fills this definition for them. Read More ...

Disruptor Superhero Archetypes!

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Disruptor archetypes Disruptor Superhero Archetypes

I love superheroes, I make no apology for that! A while back I did a post that compared my User Types to various superheroes and super-villains.

I thought it would be fun to do the same thing for the Disruptor sub-types. It has caused me some issues and I am not totally convinced by one of them, so I would love to see your comments or indeed conversation in the forums about how this could be improved. However, until then – here are the Disruptor Superhero Archetypes!

Magneto: He represents a bit of everything so is my choice for the overall Disruptor. He wants change, his way and will use any method possible to assure it! Read More ...

Do we need Gamification?

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Question 1416236859 Do we need Gamification

As my mind relaxes from last weeks SAMR analysis for gamification article (which has been my most popular post ever I think!!), I got to thinking – do we need gamification, why does it actually exist?

Gamification has been born out of 1 core problem, engagement. People wanted new ways to keep potential users of their content engaged over time. Now here content can be anything from website blogs, to education to jobs! It is getting harder and harder to keep peoples attention in a world where new content is being created and pumped out to the masses every second. Read More ...

Using fantasy in gamification

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Fantasy 1414758630 Using fantasy in gamification

Fantasy is not the sort of thing that most companies would think of first when they wanted to motivate and engage employees. It sounds a little too un-worky.

If I have learned anything over the years though, fantasy is essential if you want people to break out of standard ways of thinking. Fantasy is a safe place for peoples minds to dream, create and explore ideas.   It is a place where they can make mistakes without fear of punishments, where they can be someone else who is potentially braver or totally different from themselves. Great innovations can come from daydreams, imagine the power you could harness by facilitating this mentality! Read More ...