1. Gamification through Rewards, Meaning and Play
Scott Nicholson
Director, Because Play Matters Game Lab
Associate Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

2. Gamification through Rewards, Meaning and Play
Scott Nicholson
Director, Brantford Games Network
Professor of Games, Wilfrid Laurier University,

3. Overview The Gamification Journey What is gamification?
BLAP gamification
Design activity
A RECIPE for Meaningful gamification
Design Activity
The Gamification Journey
Reflection

4. What is Gamification?
Gamification is the application of gameful or playful layers to motivate engagement with a specific context
Specific
Context

7. Taking something in the real world Adding a game-y goal
Typical Gamification
Taking something in the real world
Adding a game-y goal
Developing a structure to support the goal
Adding a reward

8. Reward-based Gamification Process
Points
(unit of control)

9. Reward-based Gamification Process
Levels
(progress in system)
Points
(unit of control)

10. Reward-based Gamification Process
Levels
(progress in system)
Points
(unit of control)
Leaderboards
(competition)

11. Reward-based Gamification Process
Levels
(progress in system)
Points
(unit of control)
Achievements
(additional paths)
Leaderboards
(competition)

12. Reward-based Gamification Process
Levels
(progress in system)
Badges
(public display)
Points
(unit of control)
Achievements
(additional paths)
Leaderboards
(competition)

13. Badges Levels / Leaderboards Achievements Points BLAP Gamification

14. Creating a Point-based System
Identify desired behaviors
Connect behaviors with points
Reward points with incentives
Profit!

15. Levels – Single-player Journey

16. Leaderboards - Competition
Taken Oct. 1, 2012 from

17. Different Types of Leaderboards
Everyone or a subgroup of people
Defined by the creator
Defined by the user (friends)
Overall or specific to a task
Ongoing or reset
Reset every so often for everyone (once a week, all are reset)
Reset every seven days for each person (rolling resets)

18. Types of Achievements Unusual (or usual) use cases
Exploration – Trying something new
Collection – Systematic exploration
Loyalty
Tutorials
Expected or Unexpected

19. Badges Designed for public view (certification)
May be based upon achievements
Also based upon skills or interests
Informal learning
New skills
Different learning paths
Creates groups

20. BLAP Summary Points Levels Leaderboards Achievements Badges

21. "once you start giving someone a reward, you have to keep her in that reward loop forever"

22. (lack of) Rewards punish
Rewards damage relationships
Rewards ignore reasons
Rewards discourage risk- taking

23. Rewards replace pre-existing interest
Intrinsic
Motivation
Reward

24. Decreasing impact of rewards
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G.-J., Fowler, J. S., Tomasi, D., Telang, F. and Baler, R. (2010), Addiction: Decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain's control circuit. Bioessays, 32: 748–755. doi:  /bies

25. Survey of Fitocracy users
“Perceived enjoyment and usefulness of the gamification decline with use”
Koivisto, J. & Hamari, J. (2014). Demographical differences in perceived benefits from gamification. Computers in Human Behavior.

26. The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation

27. The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation

28. The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Short-Term Goals:
Making the Sale
Teaching a Skill
Motivation

29. The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
Long-Term Goals:
Changing Habits
Building Loyalty

30. The Gamification Backlash (Michael Wu)
Motivation
Long-Term Goals:
Changing Habits
Building Loyalty

31. Games are more than rewards
Game = Form of Play with Goals and Structure
Maroney, K. (2001). My entire waking life. The Games Journal, May. Retrieved from

32. Games are more than rewards
Game = Play + Goals + Structure
Game – Play = Goals + Structure =
Reward-Based Gamification
Games without Play??

33. Meaningful Gamification
Make the context meaningful
Avoid incentives and rewards that replace intrinsic motivation
Use the gameful or playful layer to build intrinsic motivation

34. Making Gamification Meaningful
Give the player information
Put the PLAY back in Player
Allow the player choices
And the ability to share choices
Make informed play the reward
Use external rewards sparingly
Put the player’s benefits first in design
Different players need different things

35. RECIPE for Meaningful Gamification
Reflection
Exposition
Choice
Information
Play
Engagement

36. Play Optional Freedom to explore (fail) with boundaries

37. Exposition Player-driven narratives

38. Choice Player-determined goals and milestones

39. Choice
Badge Pathways by Carla Casilli -

40. sessionm-gamification.jpg?w=558&h=9999&crop=0
Information
Explains the reasons behind the system
sessionm-gamification.jpg?w=558&h=9999&crop=0

41. Engagement Enhancing social connections and creating new ones

42. Reflection Connecting activities to self http://game.nypl.org/

43. RECIPE for Meaningful Gamification
Reflection
Exposition
Choice
Information
Play
Engagement

44. Kim’s Player’s Journey
Kim, A. (2013). The Player’s Journey: A 5-Step Framework for Designing Engaging Experiences. Available online at

45. Community of Practice

46. Gameful and Playful Layers
Meaningful Gamification
Reward-based Gamification

47. The Gamification Journey
Newbie
Onboarding
Attract through unmet needs
Using Extrinsic Motivators sparingly
Explorer
Finding meaning
Choosing paths
Creating & Playing
Reflecting
Building Intrinsic Motivation
Enthusiast
Community of Practice
Long-term involvement in external context
No Gamification
Meaningful Gamification
Reward-based Gamification

48. The Gamification Journey TL;DR
Reject Rewards
Make Motivation Meaningful
Cultivate Communities

49. To Learn More