skills

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 ...

5 tips for good Gamification I learned from designing games.

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Gamification often takes and claims inspiration from game design. One of my side hobbies is making the occasional game, as well as spending the last seven years reviewing games for my site yars.co.uk. I thought I would just put a few gamification ideas into context based around my personal knowledge of games and game design. I am y no means an expert, but I hope you will find it interesting.

Tl;TR?

First up, points. I have made games with point systems and I have made games without. Generally I use the points as a way to represent progression and skill – ie, the higher the score, the further your skills have progressed. This is intrinsic on its own, it is a way for the individual player to see how they are doing and if they are improving. This only works if the points reset each time, that way the player can easily see that if they score higher next time – they have improved. Cumulative points don’t allow you to do this, they just show how many points you have collected over time, which is a little less useful. You could consider a personal leaderboard, that just shows the player their scores over time for an exercise- thus easily showing them their improvement. Read More ...

Relatedness: The Often Ignored Glue of Gamification

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Another great conversation with my friend Scott Sinclair and another batch of inspiration for a blog. This time about why social is really the key to gamification.

Let us look at one of my favourite video games of all time, Batman: Arkham City. Without going into too much detail, you are Batman and you have to uncover a plot to take over Gotham. For me, this is one of the most complete single player experiences I have ever had.

How Does a Game Progress?

The way the game works is exactly what you would expect from a player journey. You start with very little in the way of skills and abilities. You are taught how to play the game with “on the job” nudges, hints and tutorials. Once you have the basics nailed, you are thrown into your first “boss battle”. This gives you a chance to test your new skills against a proper challenge. Once this is over, you start up the path again. New skills are added, abilities are enhanced, the story progresses and it steadily gets harder and harder. This pattern repeats – learn skills, master them, boss fight, and repeat. This continues until you have achieved a high level of mastery in the game. Then it is all about the narrative, using your new mastery to get to the end of the game and defeat the final boss. Read More ...

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