Risk and Reward in Gamification

Risk and Reward Risk and Reward in Gamification

Recently I have been playing a game called Punch, Punch, Kick, Punch (PPKP). It is a simple mobile game that only requires 2 buttons to play. One is kick, one is punch. As you play, you have to learn how to time the use of these buttons and the combinations that are most effective against certain foes. The reason I mention it is because it has one of the simplest examples of risk and reward in a game I have seen for a while.

What is risk and reward I hear you cry.. or maybe not, but I’ll explain anyway. It is the idea that if the more you are willing to risk, the higher the reward might be. For instance, the more lotto tickets you buy, the more chance you have of winning – but it costs more, the risk is higher as you have spent more. Read More ...

Reward Excellence not Mediocrity and Expectation

4 Days Reward Excellence not Mediocrity and Expectation

When designing a reward system, it is easy to be tempted to reward everything!

  • “Hey, you clicked on a button – woot”.
  • “Awesome, you clicked that button twice, go you!”
  • “OMG, you clicked that button 10 times now, you are the button king – have the button king badge!!!!!”

The trouble with this is it devalues rewards very quickly. I have written in depth about rewards and badges before, so won’t go into it here. What I want to put over in this short post, is the need to reward the right things and congratulate others.

Take my daughters school and a previously mentioned issue I have around them rewarding kids for attendance.  100% attendance = a  reward of no homework for a week and a certificate. The issue here is the children being rewarded are 99% of the time not in control of their attendance. It is down to illness or parents taking them out of school for various reasons. It also highlights those who are unable to maintain 100% for reasons out of their control and could turn the class against them. Read More ...

5 Steps to a Happier Life with Gamification

Gamification for a happier life 5 Steps to a Happier Life with Gamification

Ok, this sounds a little “self helpy”, but it came to me when I was doing a lecture for a group of Masters students at Kings College recently. I ended the talk, rather by accident, with the following advice

“Always be sure you know why you are doing things, understand their purpose. It helps to then work towards small goals.  That way no task, no matter how big – even the crushing student debt you probably have right now – will be manageable”

Anyone who has seen me speak knows that I get quite passionate. What they may not know is that I react to the audience and adapt my talks accordingly. This group were great and it felt right to give them a little ad-hoc advice. it got me thinking, though, what lessons from gamification am I applying in my own life day to day? Read More ...

Bribes, Incentives, Bonuses, Awards and Rewards in Gamification

Incentive and rewards 2 Bribes Incentives Bonuses Awards and Rewards in Gamification

Recently there has been some conversation in the Gamification Hub and other areas about the difference between things like bribes, incentives and so on.

It is actually an interesting and very relevant question in gamification circles as they all get mentioned from time to time, so I thought I would tackle it a little here.

First, let’s look at the standard definitions (from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

  • Bribe:
    • Dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one’s favour by a gift of money or other inducement.
    Incentive:
    • A thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something
    • A payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment.
    Bonus:
    •  A sum of money added to a person’s wages as a reward for good performance.  
    Award:
    • Give or order the giving of (something) as an official payment, compensation, or prize to (someone).
    Reward:
    • A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement

    The first thing that strikes me is how similar bribe and incentive are in meaning. The only real difference is the intent of the person who is offering up the “something” to persuade the receiver to do an activity. Read More ...

Rewarding quality over quantity in gamification

Rewards 1426524987 Rewarding quality over quantity in gamification

Something that I see quite often is people making a simple but important mistake. They reward the behaviours that lead to quantity rather than quality.

Let me explain.

When you build a gamified campaign or activity, you need to consider what quality participation looks like. If for instance you want to create some buzz around a new product and you decide to create a simple Twitter competition, are you looking for the number of people who tweet or are you looking for the number of people whom the message will reach? Read More ...