GAMIFICATION YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!
. . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL WILSON @STOPWILSON | WWW.STOPWILSON.COM
PRESENTED BY
OVERVIEW
Beyond badges and progress bars, award winning game developer Michael Wilson lectures on the basics of game design and structure while applying those principles to modern digital design.
This class caters to both designers and developers currently trying to incorporate gaming features into their company’s products.
This class is theory and methodology, not practice, but we may reference design and programming principles, so rudimentary experience in design or development will be useful.
WHO THE ______ ARE YOU?
I am a seasoned technologist and entrepreneur with experience in every aspect of the digital entertainment, software and advertising industries.
With over 15 years of software development leadership in retail software and enterprise web development, my teams have deployed code for many fortune 500 companies including Procter & Gamble, IBM and Electronic Arts.
Projects under my direct technical lead have won many awards including a Webby, selection as an Independent Games Festival Finalist and the coveted Cannes Gold Cyber Lion.
GAMES?
. . . . . . . . . . . . GAMIFICATION? WHAT IS
GAMIFICATION THE USE OF GAME DESIGN
ELEMENTS IN NON-GAME
CONTEXTS.
FITNESS
EDUCATION
LIFE
MAGIC FORMULA?
SOMETHING
NO ONE
WANTS TO DO +
POPULAR
GAME
MECHANIC =
BLISSFUL
PRODUCTIVITY
GAME MECHANICS
• Achievements
• Behavioral Momentum
• Bonuses
• Cascading Information
• Combos
• Community Collaboration
• Countdown
• Discovery
• Epic Meaning
• Infinite Gameplay
• Levels
• Loss Aversion
• Lottery
• Ownership
• Points
• Progression
• Quests
• Reward Schedules
• Status
via http://gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics
GAMES ARE
ADDICTIVE
Photo used under Creative Commons from Jeff Kubina
. . . . . . . . . . . . GAMIFICATION? SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH
IT’S A SET OF FEATURES
Progress Bars
Achievements
Badges
Scoreboards
Socialization
Competition
Challenges
etc.
GAMIFICATION
THAT DON’T EQUATE TO FUN
Progress Bars
Achievements
Badges
Scoreboards
Socialization
Competition
Challenges
etc.
= FUN
SO HOW DO WE
MANUFACTURE
FUN?
DESIGN IT
TO BE FUN!
WARNING! UTILITY > FUN
. . . . . . . . . . . . BY DESIGN FUN IS
WHAT IS A GAME?
Experience Toy Puzzle Game
Lacks
Interaction
Explicit
Rules
Inherent
Rules Outcome
Has
Interaction
Objectives
Conflict
TOY
Photo used under Creative Commons from stevendepolo
A TOY IS
DESIGNED FOR
PLAY
PLAY = INTERACTION
INHERENT “RULES” OF A TOY
• Interaction
• Physical/Environmental Rules
• Expectations
• Feedback (Light, Sound, etc.)
• Discovery
• Manipulation
• etc.
BEND THE
RULES OF A
TOY?
VISUAL FEEDBACK
SURPRISE,
DELIGHT,
RANDOMNESS,
POSSIBILITES (BUT NO GOAL)
PUZZLE
Photo used under Creative Commons from fdecomite
A PUZZLE IS
FUN AND HAS A
RIGHT ANSWER
-- SCOTT KIM, PUZZLE MASTER (THE NEXT TETRIS)
IMPLICIT RULES OF A PUZZLE
• Puzzles are a form of play.
• Puzzles have a goal or objective.
• Puzzles are “tricky.”
• Puzzles imply needed ingenuity.
PUZZLE
EXPLICIT RULES OF A PUZZLE
A PUZZLE
HAS RULES
GAME OR PUZZLE?
A PUZZLE IS
FUN AND HAS (AT LEAST ONE)
RIGHT ANSWER
FOLD.IT
SURPRISE,
DELIGHT,
RANDOMNESS,
POSSIBILITES (NOW WITH A PURPOSE)
GAME Photo used under Creative Commons from Muffet
A GAME IS A PLAY
ACTIVITY WITH
RULES THAT
INVOLVES
CONFLICT -- INTERNATIONAL GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION
RULES OF A GAME
• Games are an activity.
• Games have rules.
• Games have conflict.
• Games have goals.
• Games involve decision making.
• Games have an uncertain outcome.
GAME Portions of text used under Creative Commons from Ian Schreiber
RULES OF A GAME, MAYBE?
• Games have Players?
• Games have Winners and Losers?
• Games are purposely inefficient?
• Games have outcomes?
• Games involve systems?
• Games are...?
GAME
A GAMES ARE
STORY
MACHINES.
STORY
Photo used under Creative Commons from DeusXFlorida
STORY
Photo used under Creative Commons from StuSeeger
THE PIECES OF
OUR STORY
MACHINE ARE
CALLED
MECHANICS
GAME MECHANICS ARE
CONSTRUCTS OF RULES
INTENDED TO PRODUCE
AN ENJOYABLE GAME
OR GAMEPLAY
GAME MECHANICS
• Achievements
• Behavioral Momentum
• Bonuses
• Cascading Information
• Combos
• Community Collaboration
• Countdown
• Discovery
• Epic Meaning
• Infinite Gameplay
• Levels
• Loss Aversion
• Lottery
• Ownership
• Points
• Progression
• Quests
• Reward Schedules
• Status
via http://gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics
. . . . . . . . . . . . FUN! DIALING IN THE
DESIGNING FUN
IS ABOUT
DESIGNING
BALANCE
BALANCE
Photo used under Creative Commons from cho45
WHAT TO BALANCE?
Risk
Luck
Random
Completion
…This
Reward
Skill
Predictive
Endlessness
That…
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
THESE ARE THE
BIG THREE,
BUT THERE ARE
MANY OTHERS
RISK VS.
REWARD
RISK
RISK VS. REWARD
• Think of RISK and REWARD as a
mechanic to drive MEANING.
RISK = EFFORT
EFFORT + REWARD =
MEANING
CHALLENGE & DIFFICULTY
According to human nature, it is
inevitable that a person will learn and
gain more skill presented a
challenge and a chance to grow—
therefore a game must increase in
difficulty as the player progresses in
order to continue to be challenging
MORE CHALLENGE =
MORE EFFORT =
MORE RISK
SO, GAMIFING A
TASK WITH OUT
RISK* WILL
INHERENTLY
MAKE IT UN-FUN
*FIND A VERSION OF RISK
• Risk of Loss
– Tangential loss
– Compounding loss
– Ultimatum loss
• Risk of Effort
• Other kinds of Risk?
RISK
REWARDS ARE
EASY.
TOO EASY?
THINK ABOUT YOUR REWARDS
• Too Plentiful? (Points)
• Not Valuable? (Coupons, Badges)
• Not Legal? (Cash)
• Meaningless?
REWARD
REWARDS NEED
MEANING
FOR THE
AUDIENCE
MEANING. LIKE IT OR NOT.
LUCK VS.
SKILL
Photos used under Creative Commons from dupo-x-y & Muffet
LUCK SKILL
ALL GAMES
HAVE SOME
LUCK
ALL GAMES
HAVE SOME
SKILL
SOURCES OF LUCK
• Random Number Generators (Dice, Coins,
etc.)
• Simultaneous Choices (Rock, Paper,
Scissors)
• Hidden Information (Cards, Stock Market)
• Environment (Weather, imperfections,
etc.)
LUCK
LUCK LEVELS
THE PLAYFIELD
LUCK IS
INCLUSIVE
SOURCES OF SKILL
• Physical (Exercise, Practice, etc.)
• Intelligence (IQ, Problem Solving, etc.)
• Familiarity (Experience, Practice, etc.)
• Endurance (Willpower, etc,)
SKILL
SKILL TAKES
EFFORT
SKILL ADDS
MEANING
MANIPULATING
LUCK
MANIPULATE
LUCK VIA SAP*
*SKILL ADVANTAGE PERCENTAGE
* JUST A GUESS
NBA JAM’S SAP = 5%*
WHEN SKILL
GETS AN
ADVANTAGE,
DIAL UP THE
LUCK
SO, GAMIFING A
TASK WITH OUT
LUCK WILL
INHERENTLY
MAKE IT UNFAIR
RANDOM VS.
PREDICTIVE
Photos used under Creative Commons from dupo-x-y & Muffet
RANDOM PREDICTIVE
RANDOMNESS
ISN’T
LUCK
PREDICTIONS
ARE
ODDS
CHESS IS VERY RANDOM
• The Shannon number, named after Claude Shannon, is an estimated lower bound on the game-tree complexity of chess
• Shanon’s number is estimated at 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1046.7) games
• More than the estimated number of atoms in the Universe
via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_number
Photos used under Creative Commons from Muffet
CHESS IS PREDICTIVE
IN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK IN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK IN BOOK
NOVELTY
IN BOOK IN BOOK
IN BOOK IN BOOK
IN BOOK IN BOOK IN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK
KNOWING THE
POSSIBLE
OUTCOME MAKES
VARIATIONS
MORE EXCITING
WHO WINS?
i
PREDICTIVE
OUTCOMES
CREATE
UNDERDOGS
PREDICTIVE
OUTCOMES
CREATE
RIVALRIES
WHO IS THE
UNDERDOG?
Photo used under Creative Commons from Mike_fleming
SO, GAMIFING A
TASK WITH OUT
PREDICTION WILL
INHERENTLY
MAKE IT BORING
. . . . . . . . . . . . TOGETHER BRING IT
ARE YOU
CREATING
CONFLICT?
ARE YOU
CREATING
MEANING?
ARE YOU
CREATING
BALANCE?
Risk
Luck
Random
Reward
Skill
Predictive
vs.
vs.
vs.
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