purpose

Introduction to Gamification Part 4: Motivation (R.A.M.P, Maslow, SDT and more)

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Intro to Gamification Part 4 Introduction to Gamification Part 4 Motivation R A M P Maslow SDT and more

Warning, this is one of my longest blogs ever!

Now we know a bit about what games, gamification and game-based solutions are (and are not), it’s time to start to consider some of the non-game related topics you need to understand to be good at building game-based solutions. The first of these is motivation.

In gamification we tend to look at motivation in varying depths, starting from a very simple perspective with just two options. Intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation.

The most basic way to look at this is that activities that are intrinsically motivating are those that people will do because they want to or appreciate the benefits of doing them. Activities that require rewards, extrinsic motivation, people do because there is a reward, not because they want to do it. It is not quite as black and white as that, but it is a good starting point – read on! Read More ...

Intrinsic Motivation RAMP Misconceptions

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RAMP Balanced Intrinsic Motivation RAMP Misconceptions

As we head to the holidays I wanted to revisit an old “model” and just clarify a couple of items that have cropped up in conversation over the years. The item in question is RAMP. This, as you may remember, is my core intrinsic motivation model of Relatedness, Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Obviously, based on Self Determination Theory, this has been a really handy tool in all of my gamification exploits over the years.

The basic idea is these are 4 motivations that are core to all people in some way. In self-determination theory, Deci and Ryan only speak about Relatedness, Autonomy and Competence (Mastery),  as altruistic purpose is part relatedness. Whilst true, for gamification it is useful to separate this out into its own. Read More ...

New Book and some Slides

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The Little Cog book square Cover New Book and some Slides

Quick update of stuff!

First, I have a new book out called “The Little Cog”. You may recognise that as I have told the story here before. It is about a little cog who is trying to understand his purpose in the wider world. It is a tongue in cheek message for managers everywhere – but my kids loved the book as well. Here is a link to get it from Amazon and also a video of me reading it!

The second part of this post is about Marczewski’s Core Principles of Gamification. This is a short series of slides I have released on SlideShare that goes through some of my core principles. They are a condensed version of blog posts on the site AND will be coming out as a small colour book in the next few days as well. Here are 3 of the 4 sets of slides that are in the book. Read More ...

5 essential Ps of gamification

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Ppppp 5 essential Ps of gamification

I always like to try and simplify concepts to help me explain them to people, hence I keep creating acronym based frameworks!! (RAMP, EEEE, GAME etc.).

Well, my latest is five essential Ps that gamification projects have to have to stand a chance of any success. The scary thing is, that in many projects I have seen, at least one is always missing!

  • Purpose: This covers three things in gamification. The first is many implementations lack a clear purpose. They are often the product of a conversation that starts with “I’ve heard about gamification, lets get in on that and gamify something.” The Second is the kind of purpose I speak of in my RAMP framework. A sense that what the user is involved in is worth something more than just earning points. Finally there is the fact that often many users have no idea what the system is for or why it exists!
  • Progress: Without progress, there is no way of knowing that you are heading in the right direction and at the right pace. Progress involves feedback, acquisition of skills, development of skills and more.
  • Proficiency: Linked strongly with progress, there needs to be some level of improvement and development in skills to keep people engaged. If the system does nothing more than ask the user to click “like” for points, it won’t take very long for them to master it!
  • Pride: People need to feel proud of their achievements. If a system gives them no way to feel that, then they will quickly lose interest. Pride is not a bad thing, it is key to our self-esteem.
  • People: Your potential users are people, first and foremost. Never treat them like commodities or cattle. You have to understand their wants and needs as much (if not more) than those of the system or the management who commissioned it.

If you build a system with any of these missing, you are in danger of create very shallow layers of gamification that will not hold interest for any length of time. You can also end up alienating and even angering potential users – especially if the purpose part is not completely understood by all! Read More ...

Motivation, let’s get real for a moment.

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs svg Motivation let 8217 s get real for a moment

Dan 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 some quoted cases Relatedness are what we need. They are intrinsic motivators, money is not.

True.

There are a few things most fail to mention. One is the fact that this is most true for creative tasks.  The other, much more significant bit they don’t mention is this. When basic needs, such as money, are no longer a concern – what’s left is intrinsic motivation. Read More ...