ramp

Introduction to Gamification Part 8: User Types

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Intro to Gamification Part 8 Introduction to Gamification Part 8 User Types

There are many tools available to gamification designers to help them with their designs. One of the most useful for me, for reasons I will go into here, is the concept of User Types.

There are many views on user profiling and many ways to do it. Some people love it, some hate it. I am in the middle. It is a very useful tool, but it is not the only thing you should rely on. For me, they can be a useful way to understand or at least considers the motivation so those who will be using your system.

Bartle’s Player Types

In the games world there are a few famous player type models, Bartle’s Player Types being the most well known [1]. In these he breaks down players of his famous Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) game into 4 key types. Killer, Achiever, Socliasler and Explorer. Each type of player had a different motivation to play the game. Read More ...

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 ...

The 3 Layers of Motivation 2018 Edition

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Layers of motivation 2017 The 3 Layers of Motivation 2018 Edition

Ok, so it isn’t quite 2018, but near enough!

I wanted to present a new graphic for my Layers of Motivation (Found here), with a little bit of explanation about one aspect!

For those that don’t know, this was created as a way to explain where purely extrinsic and trivial methods of motivating people, such as points badges and leaderboards, sat within general motivation.

Based on good old Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Self Determination Theory, my own RAMP and gamification mechanics.

The key learning is that to engage and motivate users, you need to understand what their needs are. If they are starving, offering them digital badges won’t really hold any motivational drive for them! If they are generally satisfied in their day today base needs but are unhappy in their role because they lack autonomy, adding a leaderboard to their day job will not help! Read More ...

Learning From Games: Battlefield 1, RAMP, User Types and Awesome Gaming

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Gamified battlefiled1 Learning From Games Battlefield 1 RAMP User Types and Awesome Gaming

Over Christmas, I started to play Battlefield 1, a game that I was especially looking forward to given my love of the series. I’ve not had as much time to play video games as I would have liked over the last 12 months, so I’ve been making the most of this opportunity. I may even review it for my old and neglected games review site http://yetanotherreviewsite.co.uk!

Anyway, back on topic. I’ve always loved the series because of how good the multiplayer experience is. Back when Battlefield 1942 first came out it broke the mould by not even bothering with a single player game, a brave and clever move as it turned out. It also put a much tighter focus on teamwork with its “Conquest” mode. This saw teams holding key strategic points on the map for as long as possible. Achieving this required good balance of character classes and a level of teamwork beyond just rushing off and killing things. Read More ...