Gamification Complete Certification Book

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Demand for Gamifcation products, services, and technologies is growing exponentially. Gamifcation represents a new era in engage-
ment, and upon completing this course, you will be uniquely positioned to help clients navigate this transformation. Now is the time to
take steps to ensure your success with Gamifcation.
Gamifcation can be described as the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications. It also strives to encourage users to
engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications. Gamifcation works by making technology more engaging, and by
encouraging desired behaviors, taking advantage of humans psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. With so many benefts,
the IT industry is scrambling to get expert in the know. So knowledge of the application and benefts of Gamifcation is a key for anyone
looking to get a jumpstart in the IT industry, gain respect from fellow IT enthusiasts, and make a diference in your organization! This
certifcation course would be benefcial to Individuals looking for work within Public or Private Sector organizations, marketers, and
website product managers needing a tool for customer engagement and for encouraging desirable website usage behavior, educators
looking to implement a new motivational tool, and businesses looking to implement new employee training and motivational tools.
This certifcation validates your knowledge of specifc methods, models, and/or tools. This is essential to professionals in order to be
updated on the latest marketing trends, and to add to their Gamifcation toolbox.
The industry is facing a bold new world with the amazing technological developments of Gamifcation, and the challenges and the
opportunities this presents are unprecedented. The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit serves as a complete introductory guide for
anyone looking to grasp a better understanding of Gamifcation concepts and its practical application in any environment.
The Art of Services introductory Gamifcation training and certifcation helps IT practitioners develop the skills that are crucial as busi-
nesses embark on this massive transformation. It provides an industry credential for any IT professional to help them transform into the
world of Gamifcation applications.
This training and certifcation enables you to move both the industry and business forward, and quickly take advantage of the benefts
that Gamifcation presents.
Take the next step: Get Certifed!
The Art of Service IT Service Management programs are the #1 certifcation programs in the information management industry. Being
proven means investing in yourself and formally validating your knowledge, skills, and expertise by the industrys most comprehensive
learning and certifcation program. The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit course prepares you for Gamifcation Certifcation.
Why register?
- Easy and Afordable.
- Learning about Gamifcation technologies has never been more afordable.
- Latest industry trends are explained.
- Acquire valuable skills and get updated about the industrys latest trends right here. Today.
- Learn from the Experts. The Art of Service ofers education about Gamifcation and 300 other technologies by the industrys best.
- Learn at your own pace. Find everything right here, when you need it, and from wherever you are.
What will you learn?
- Learn all the most important techniques and winning methodologies.
- Learn about Gamifcation trends.
- Examine the many benefts, common pitfalls, and characteristics.
- Explore how Gamifcation has adapted in both business and education.
- How to use Gamifcation as a marketing and motivational tool.
Course Outline - The topics covered in this course are:
- What is Gamifcation?
- Benefts, Pitfalls, Characteristics, and Facts about Gamifcation.
- Gamifcation Elements.
- Psychology of Gamifcation.
- Gamifcation in Education.
- Gamifcation in Business.
- Real-world Applications.
- Trends and Future of Gamifcation.
Foreword
As an education and training organization within the IT Service Management (ITSM) industry,
we have watched with enthusiasm as the world of Gamifcation has evolved over the years.
The opportunities provided through Gamifcation have allowed for signifcant growth within an
industry that continues to mature and develop at a rapid pace. Our primary goal is to provide the
quality education and support materials needed to enable the understanding and application
of Gamifcation in a wide range of contexts.
This comprehensive book is designed to complement the in-depth eLearning Gamifcation
Specialist program provided by The Art of Service. The interactive eLearning course uses a
combination of narrated PowerPoint presentations with fat text supplements and multiple-
choice assessments, which will ultimately prepare you for the Gamifcation certifcation exam.
In this brand new edition, we created a focused and specialized manual, which dives straight
into Gamifcation. We hope you fnd this book to be a useful tool in your educational library, and
we wish you well in your IT career!

The Art of Service
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Contents
Foreword 1
HOW TO ACCESS THE eLEARNING PROGRAM 4
Introduction 11
What is Gamifcation? 14
Objectives 14
Gamifcation 14
Defnition 14
History 16
Games vs. Gamifcation 20
Three Fs of Gamifcation 21
Kinds of Gamifcation 22
Principles of Gamifcation 23
Incentive-Centered Design 24
Concepts 24
Questions 28
Benefts, Pitfalls, Characteristics, and Facts about Gamifcation 30
Objectives 30
Benefts 30
Pitfalls 35
Characteristics 36
Facts 37
0Questions 38
Gamifcation Elements 40
Objectives 40
Gamifcation Elements 40
Gamifcation Dynamics 41
1st Gamifcation Dynamic: Constraints 41
2nd Gamifcation Dynamic: Emotions 42
3rd Gamifcation Dynamic: Narrative 42
Gamifcation Mechanics 43
Challenges 43
Chance 44
Competition and Cooperation 45
Feedback 45
Resource Acquisition 45
Rewards 46
Transactions 46
Turns 46
Win States 46
Gamifcation Components 47
Achievements 47
Avatars 47
Badges 47
Boss Fights 47
Collections 48
Combat 48
Content Unlocking 48
Gifting 48
Quests 48
Leaderboards 48
Levels 49
Points 49
Social Graph 50
Teams 50
Virtual Goods 50
Questions 51
Psychology of Gamifcation 53
Objectives 53
Psychology of Gamifcation 53
Motivation 54
Behaviorism 54
The Feedback Loop 55
Evidence (data) 56
Relevance (data processing) 57
Consequence (data defning) 57
Action (data usage) 58
The Feedback Loop - Conclusion 58
Compassionate Gamifcation 59
Emphatic feedback 60
Use of psychology theories 60
Intrinsic motivation 60
Questions 61
Gamifcation in Education 63
Objectives 63
Introduction 63
Benefts of Gamifcation in Education 66
Disadvantages of Gamifcation in Education 70
Samples of Gamifcation in Education 71
Conclusion 76
Questions 78
Gamifcation in Business 80
Objectives 80
The Gamifcation of Business 80
Introduction 80
Early Hype 81
Using Gamifcation to Engage Employees 83
Key Benefts Gamifcation Brings to Businesses 87
Questions 90
Real-World Applications 92
Objectives 92
Real World Applications of Gamifcation 92
Gamifcation Sites 94
Gamifcation - Mobile 96
Other Applications 98
Optimal Applications 101
Questions 103
Trends and Future of Gamifcation 105
Objectives 105
Gamifcation Trends 105
Future of Gamifcation 107
Final Thoughts 118
Questions 119
Answers 121
Index 122
Introduction
The Art of Services trained IT professionals have created the Gamifcation Complete Certifcation
Kit to serve as a complete introductory guide for anyone looking to grasp a better understanding
of Gamifcation concepts and their practical application in any IT environment. Our Gamifcation
Certifcation Kit provides you with the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the latest and
greatest business and technology trends in the form of a study guide eBook and online course, all of
which are delivered to you via our eLearning portal, ensuring you the freedom to access your course
at your convenience!
The online learning program is available for a 90-day access period.
Gamifcation can be described as the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications. It
also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications.
Gamifcation works by making technology more engaging and by encouraging desired behaviors,
taking advantage of humans psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. With so many
benefts, the IT industry is scrambling to get expert in the know. So, knowledge of the application
and benefts of Gamifcation is a key for anyone looking to get a jumpstart in the IT industry, gain
respect from fellow IT enthusiasts, and make a diference in your organization!
The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit contains everything you need to know about
Gamifcation concepts, including:
Real-world scenarios that describe what you have learned in the context of service solutions.
These include thought-provoking questions to challenge your thinking and understanding.
Section reviews for each chapter to help you zero in on what you need to know and quiz
questions to help solidify your knowledge.
A Real-World Guide to Gamifcation. Key information and real-world examples organized
around the actual day-to-day tasks and challenges you will face in the application of
Gamifcation.
Trainer lead, engaging Adobe Flash presentations that you can view and replay as many
times as required.
Audience:
The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit will be of interest to:
Recent graduates looking to get a foothold in the IT Industry.
Individuals looking for work within public or private sector organizations.
Marketers and website product managers needing a tool for customer engagement and for
encouraging desirable website usage behavior.
Educators looking to implement a new motivational tool.
Businesses looking to implement new employee training and motivational tools.
The topics covered in this course are:
What is Gamifcation?
Benefts, Pitfalls, Characteristics and Facts about Gamifcation.
Gamifcation Elements.
Psychology of Gamifcation.
Gamifcation in Education.
Gamifcation in Business.
Real-world Applications.
Trends and Future of Gamifcation.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for the Gamifcation program, but basic IT literacy and knowledge is
desirable.
Contact Hours:
The recommended minimum contact hours for the eLearning course is 18 hours.
Copyright The Art of Service I Brisbane, Australia I Email: service@theartofservice.com
Web: http://store.theartofservice.com I eLearning: http://theartofservice.org I Phone: +61 (0) 7 3252 2055
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Delivery:
The program combines [8] short presentations supported by trainer audio. There are also quizzes
and exercises at the conclusion of each module (marking scheme provided), to ensure that learners
are testing their knowledge and competency to enhance understanding of key concepts.
A Certifcate will be awarded to students upon successfully passing the fnal exam and
completion of the course.
This program is an eLearning Program. Your access details to the eLearning course are in the book.
Program Materials:
Multimedia presentations.
Downloadable resources (PDF documents).
End-of-module review questions to assess your content knowledge.
We hope you fnd the Gamifcation Certifcation Kit benefcial to the expansion of your IT knowledge
base and future career growth.
14
What is Gamifcation?
Objectives
To learn what Gamifcation is.
To learn the origins of Gamifcation.
To study Gamifcation design concepts.
Gamifcation
Defnition
Gamifcation is the application of game theory concepts and methods to non-game activities. It
uses game design techniques & mechanics to solve problems and entice audiences to participate
in the games in non-game situations. It works to persuade participants to behave in ways intended
by the game developers in relation to non-game applications.
Gamifcation is used in applications and processes to improve user engagement, return on
investment, data quality, timeliness, and learning. Nowadays a lot of organizations use gamifcation
as a business strategy that applies game design approaches to non-game experiences to infuence
user behavior.
Gamifcation integrates game mechanics into a website, enterprise application, online community
or similar medium that already exists to infuence participation, engagement, and loyalty.
Chapter 1
15
It takes data-driven techniques that game designers use to engage players, and applies them to
non-game experiences to prompt actions that add value to the business.
Usually gamifcation applies to non-game applications and processes to encourage people to adopt
them, or to infuence how they are used. Gamifcation is efective because it makes individuals
want to participate and makes them behave in desired ways.
It also shows a path to master the game and do it independently, by helping to solve problems and
not being a distraction and by using a persons psychological inclination to take part in gaming.
The method urges people to complete tasks that they ordinarily would consider boring, such as
reading websites, conducting surveys, shopping, or flling out tax forms.
The key to gamifcation isthe reward! Making the reward means a great deal to the individual
and relating it to the activity makes it efective. In the case of a job, the reward would give the
employee personal satisfaction from a job well done. Or for a student, rewarding himself with a
cookie if he fnishes homework might urge good behavior but when he runs out of cookies, he
might eventually realize he actually enjoys completing his homework even without cookies as a
reward.
People might see Gamifcation as a new term but the idea of using it, is not as new since it emerged
from the digital media industry. It began in 2008 when Gabe Zicherman called it funware. He
defned it as the art and science of turning your customers everyday interactions into games that
serve your business purposes and was the frst to actually apply it. His work centers on gamifcation
and the power of games to engage people and build strong organizations and communities.
Although gamifcation as a term is still being disputed, the practice continues to evolve. These
days, the interest in gamifcation is accumulating and has prompted many conferences and
workshops on the concept, despite the fact that many practitioners dispute the term gamifcation.
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GAMIFICATION
Because many designers within the video game and digital media industry are unhappy with
some interpretations, they have already started to use diferent terms for their own practice (e.g.
gameful design) because they want to detach themselves from recent negative connotations of
the term gamifcation.
Here are some details that might help bring clarity to the term gamifcation.
Gamifcation is NOT . . .
Making everything a game or an immerse 3D virtual world.
Any game in the workplace.
Any use of games in business (e.g. McDonald monopoly).
Any simulation (although they may constitute serious games).
Just for marketing or customer engagement.
Just PBLs (points, badges, leaderboards).
Game theory.
Gamifcation IS . . .
Listening to what games can teach us.
Learning from game design (including contexts of psychology, management, marketing,
economics etc.).
Appreciating fun.
History
Research points to the coining of the term sometime in 2002 and 2003 by Nick Pelling who
described his work as a consultant for making hardware more fun. It wasnt until years later that
the word gamifcation started getting more attention.
Further research points to the fact that its frst documented use was in 2008 when it was called
gameifcation and used in a blog post by Bret Terrill, who was covering discussions in the lobby at
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the Social Gaming Summit. He heard the term used in the context of taking game mechanics and
applying them to other web properties to increase engagement. The term was picked up by other
blogs and slimmed down by dropping the e, making it gamifcation.
Gamifcation as a word hasnt been in use for a long time and was just a recent addition to
vocabulary. But long before that it had been employed by many designers and researchers
already examining the role of play and fun in computer applications.
Thomas W. Malone, founder and director of MIT Center for Collective Intelligence created
heuristics in the early 80s for designing enjoyable user interfaces and Steven W. Draper in the
late 90s analyzed the possibilities of fun as a candidate software requirement.
Experts devoted further research into the role of fun and play in user experience and the idea
behind this use of playfulness in software was that instead of making interfaces simply usable,
they could also be fun. The point was that it elicited positive emotions and feelings through
things such as sound, graphics, challenge, etc., and enhanced the users experience with the
software.
It has become such a hot topic that some fairly recent applications use more than playful
elements and directly translate elements from video games to the interfaces.
Chore Wars which was released in 2007, is an example of this and incorporates a chore-
assigning software application inside a dungeon and dragons style interface, complete with
dungeon master, experience points, monster battles and loot.
Bunchball launched the Nitro platform in 2007. It allows enterprises to integrate game
mechanics into social networks, mobile applications, and websites. Even if they did not
specifcally call it gamifcation, they later adopted the term. The platform showed the trend
that was about to hit.
In 2009, Foursquare was launched. Foursquare is a location sharing social network application
that also includes videogame-like elements, namely points, badges, and leaderboards, which
other gamifcation designs were based on.
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GAMIFICATION
Gamifcation on the Rise (>2010)
It was in 2010 when diferent industries started using the word gamifcation specifcally referring
to incorporation of social/reward aspects of games into software.
Venture capitalists got wind of this technique with one of them actually alluding to gamifcation
as the most promising area in gaming. One other capitalist mentioned he noticed that half of all
companies seeking funding for consumer software applications mentioned game design in their
presentations.
In the same year, companies such as Bunchball and Badgeville began to describe the platforms
they created for integrating game elements into sites as gamifcation.
Later that year, Badgeville was launched and made $15 million in venture-capital funding in its
frst year of operation. Badgeville provides gamifcation services to a number of large customers.
IActionable launched a gamifcation platform whose goal was to integrate with Salesforce.com.
This opened the gates for more sites and applications to release integrated game elements such
as the Epic Win app.
Hit or Miss (2011 the peak)
By 2011, gamifcation gained much more notice in both industry and the academic worlds with
the annual Gamifcation Summit in January 2011 starting the year.
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Although game design was clearly fundamental to the word gamifcation, some game designers
really did not agree with the use of the word, possibly because of the fact that gamifed
applications so far, like Foursquare, did not really resemble games. They felt they were more
reward and feedback systems, not games, because they were missing clear defning elements of
games, such as a challenge and a story. A gaming expert says gamifcation is just pointsifcation
or accumulating points for some intrinsic reward that hardly benefts the player. Other experts
called it worse things, certainly not the true sense of the word gamifcation.
Despite all that, it still became popular and continued to evolve. Even as gamifcation parodies
were made, comics created that referenced it and its possibly miserable future, its continued use
indicated the technique was going to stay.
Badges, badges, badges mushroom (2012)
Surprisingly or not, since technology in the gaming world develops at near light speed, people
began to tire of gamifcation by 2012. There were only so many badges that a user could
accumulate and gamifcation design, users thought, was getting old. Bunchball stuck to its guns
and said bad gamifcation still worked to a certain extent. Plus investors were still pouring money
into gamifcation platforms. In 2012 Badgeville announced its $25 million funding which backed
up the still noteworthy interest and confdence in the concept and the platforms ability.
There were some pleasant surprises as well, in the form of Zombies Run, which was a mobile app
that created a rich storyline around the user, motivating them through the tale, zombie chases,
item collecting and town upgrading. This was more like a game instead of just having badges,
points and leaderboards.
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GAMIFICATION
The year of Gamifcation (2013)
Although most have moved on past the disillusion, there still is some dissatisfaction as badge
points and leaderboards continue to pepper the gamifcation blueprint. Some say this will be
the case for quite some time, but Foursquare apparently admits there may have been too much
emphasis on gamifcation in their product and might consider a change.
It seems more focus will now be placed on the importance of gamifcation design and the
experience it creates that indicates the technology may be maturing.
Gamifcation, as earlier described, involves applying gaming concepts to non-game experiences to
drive desired behavior from an audience. People tend to visualize gamifcation as games created
for a business purpose, but it is not just about creating something new. It is about intensifying the
infuence of an existing, basic experience by employing the motivational techniques that make
games so captivating. When you raise already high-value interactions with customers, employees,
and partners, you increase sales, make stronger collaborations, improve ROI, encourage deeper
loyalty, raise customer satisfaction and more.

Games vs. Gamifcation
The much disputed use of the word gamifcation deals mostly with what makes it diferent from
games. A game is defned as structured play, usually for fun, while gameplay is defned as the
interaction inside of a game.
The rewards can come in the forms of currency to give incentive to users in the digital world.
Currencies could be anything predetermined by the game designer such as the need for fnancial
reward, the need to do good, the need to help ones community, the need for recognition and
infuence and the need for pleasure. Designers can assign currencies to each of these motivations
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to reward people for desired behaviors.
Gamifcation difers from actual games in these ways:
Games
Have rules and objectives.
Provide a possibility of losing.
Can sometimes be intrinsically rewarding just by playing them.
Are typically difcult and expensive to build.
Usually transform content to ft the story and scenes of the game.
Gamifcation
Could be just a collection of tasks with points or some form of reward.
Could make losing possible or not, because the goal is to motivate people
Can make intrinsic rewards optional.
Can be easier and cheaper.
Does not always usually require changing content even if game-like features are added.
Three Fs of Gamifcation
Gamifcation is so popular these days and has given many retail innovators numerous benefts. Both
consumers and employees fnd them so appealing mostly because of their shared competitive
nature pure enjoyment and camaraderie. Experts have found there are three motivators common
to many employees or customers. One of its founding fathers established three Fs as drivers of
gamifcation:
1. Feedback: Employers are required to reward their employees for a job well done. In the same
light consumers committed to buying a retailers products should be rewarded for customer
loyalty.
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GAMIFICATION
2. Friends: Users feel they make a personal investment in engaging in the games and are
motivated to participate in challenges because it involves their friends and creates camaraderie.
3. Fun: Games are fun. It would be an understatement to say employees like to participate in
work that could be fun. Defnitely consumers enjoy promotions or activities that bring them
joy.
Kinds of Gamifcation
There are two types of gamifcation:
1. Implicit gamifcation pertains to a game-like design that accomplishes non-game purposes.
There is no actual game play but game design elements are unknown to the user. An example
is LinkedIns progress bar.
2. Explicit gamifcation are actual games users can choose to play that fulfll non-game
purposes. An example is McDonalds Monopoly game where people know they are playing a
game, but some may not be aware that the main goal is to get them to come buy more food.
Serious games have some defned purposes or expected results developers want to achieve.
But it also includes all the elements of gamifcation and an actual game which makes it look
and feel like a real game.
Both implicit and explicit gamifcation are great solutions for engaging employees, customers,
students etc. The key is knowing your audience, understanding what motivates them and designing
your gamifcation program most appropriate to their needs.
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Principles of Gamifcation
Gamifcation is not so much about playing the game but making non-game activities more
appealing because they feel like game playing.
The most basic characteristics of gamifcation in action are:
Simple, recognizable cues for next actions.
Clear, instant feedback for actions taken.
Easily identifable markers for ranking and performance.
Streamlined, accessible paths to further achievement.
Organizations who want to employ game-like mechanics to their businesses should keep the
following principles in mind before they attempt it.
1. Have a measurable goal. Target an objective you can measure such as encouraging a
specifc behavior. For example if you want to increase the number of product reviews on
your website, reward users for writing product reviews. Give them points every time they
accomplish one.
2. Focus on things people already want to do. The best starting point for gamifcation is to
reward behavior your participants already practice.
3. Measure the change. Record and keep track of desired behavior before and after gamifying
it. It is crucial to track data in gamifcation strategies as it will tell you whether gamifcation is
working.
4. Reward incremental progress. Experts say rewarding small victories makes for a good
game-like experience. Rewards should be given to small accomplishments as well as big ones.
Rewarding people for making incremental progress toward bigger goals encourages them to
keep going.
5. Make it social. Whatever environment you apply gamifcation, whether it be in a sales-
team leaderboard or Facebook, letting users share their accomplishments and badges adds
meaning and signifcance to their achievements.
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GAMIFICATION
Experts posit that since gamifcation is player-centered, gamifcation developers should focus on
design based on incentives.
Incentive-Centered Design
Incentive-centered design (ICD) is the science of designing a system that aligns user incentive with
the systems goals.
Using incentive-centered design, system designers can observe methodical and probable trends
in users. This would be the users response to motivators that provide incentives to induce more
valuable participation. ICD is often considered to induce desirable behaviors from users, such as
participation and cooperation. It takes some of the principles of economics, psychology, sociology,
design, and engineering. Research communities have been very interested in ICD because of its
role in helping systems beneft their users and eventually bring about better results.
Concepts
Interdisciplinary concepts
Incentive-centered design is subdivided from various areas and can be used for many diverse
systems and concepts. It bears a resemblance to user-centered design when it considers users
wants, needs, and limitations when designing a product. ICD is associated with humancomputer
interaction because it involves the combination of humans and machines and how the two can
work well together. ICD specifcally works well with the goals of the user and the system so that the
user achieves a pleasant and valuable experience while using the system. In turn the system can
provide the user what he requires and in the end become more aware and responsive to changing
needs. ICD also borrows from the Theory of Incentives. Conficting objectives and decentralized
information are two of the main components of the Theory of Incentives. ICD works so that both
parties obtain optimal results by understanding the objectives of the user and the system and
combine and process that information.
25
Information security
Information security is the theory of protecting information and information systems from
unauthorized access and use. Incentive-centered design can help bring into consideration the
errors that humans can make when using a system. These errors could possibly lead to weaknesses
in the system that can be exploited by attackers. With ICD, a system can guide a user so he provides
appropriate and adequate information to prevent system weaknesses. A simple example is the
creation of passwords. Providing user tips, motivation and feedback on the passwords signifcantly
reduces the incidence and possibility of attacks.
User-generated content
Media content users create and make available to the public on the internet is what makes up
user-generated content. Receiving recognition for their work, connecting with others and self-
expression are the underlying motivations or what could be incentives for users to contribute to
user-generated content. Examples include users uploading their own videos on YouTube, or users
making contributions to Wikipedia, posting reviews on a website, etc. Three requirements that
make information qualify as user-generated content are: the publication requirement, the creative
efort requirement (Users must add their own original creative efort and value in their work) and
that the creation is outside of professional routines and practices. Most user-generated content is
non-professional and is not related to anything institutional or commercial.
Reputation systems
Reputation systems can infuence a customer to buy a product with a high reputation score or buy
from a seller who has a high reputation score. Goods, services, companies, service providers, and
most anything have a reputation derived from the collection of opinions of other entities on these
items. The reputation system uses an algorithm to generate reputation scores for them. Reputation
systems bear a likeness to recommendation systems. Customers buy goods and services based on
the reputation scores of those goods and services. Goods with high reputation scores attract more
buyers. Examples would include Amazon and eBay, where customers who buy the item are able
to rate and review the quality of the product. The cumulative ratings for the product are displayed
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GAMIFICATION
indicating its quality and popularity. The relation to incentive-centered design is that if sellers on
eBay have a high reputation, then other users would be inclined to buy from them or if the item
itself has high ratings, users will be more likely to buy that item.
Social computing
Social computing takes into consideration the association between computational systems and
social behavior. Social computing involves a high level of community formation, user content
creation, and collective action. Examples of social computing forms include peer-to-peer networks,
open source communities, and wikis. In these areas, respect and recognition for users who deliver
high quality content and contributions serve as incentives. The system improves and increases its
quality overall because of these contributions.
Recommender systems
Recommender systems try to forecast how much a user wants a product and which product would
be associated with the social network linked to the user. Social networks use these recommendation
systems suggesting new friends, recommending related clothing, shopping sites, etc. It shows
user rating and preferences. The Netfix Recommender System is intended to incentivize user
participation, aligning the systems and the users interests. Users want to fnd content they are
interested in and Netfix wants the ability to give better recommendations to their users. The star
system that Netfix provides allows for the both parties to beneft.
Online auction design
An online auction is an auction on the internet which can range from descending auctions to
sealed-bid auctions. There is a wide variety of goods and services that can be sold in online
auctions, and hundreds of various websites for online auctions. An obvious example is eBay. Users
sell their own personal items on the site for others to buy. In relation to incentive-centered design,
sites such as eBay allow users to assess the product they purchased and give it a rating. Sellers and
goods which boast high ratings attract more buyers compared to untrustworthy sellers and below
27
standard goods for sale in the auction.
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GAMIFICATION
Questions
1. What is one way that games difer from gamifcation?
a. Games are easier and cheaper
b. Games can be just a collection of tasks
c. Games provide the possibility of losing
d. Games make intrinsic rewards optional
2. Which incentive-centered design concept protects against unauthorized access?
a. Information security
b. Interdisciplinary concepts
c. Recommender systems
d. Online auction design
3. Which of the following can be given as an incentive to users in the digital world and can come
in forms of currency?
a. Games
b. Coins
c. Rewards
d. Badges
4. What is the key to gamifcation?
a. Loyalty
b. Mechanics
c. Fun
d. Rewards
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5. Which type of gamifcation refers to actual games that achieve non-game purposes?
a. Implicit
b. Elicit
c. Explicit
d. Illicit
6. Which system design is frequently considered to encourage participation and cooperation
from users?
a. Information security
b. User-generated content
c. Incentive-centered design
d. Interdisciplinary concepts
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Benefts, Pitfalls, Characteristics, and Facts about
Gamifcation
Objectives
To learn about the benefts of Gamifcation.
To study the risks of Gamifcation.
To examine some characteristics and facts about Gamifcation.
Benefts
If you are internet savvy then you are familiar with gamifcation technology. Gamifcation as stated
earlier, attributes characteristics of a game or its game mechanics to an activity or entity that is not
a game. It is employed chiefy to increase engagement and investment of a user base.
The basic underlying psychological principle of gamifcation is to provide positive reinforcement
for each action. Sadly, the world is full of people driven only by incentive, where the phrase Whats
in it for me? is a common motivation question.
Gamifcation helps to provide incentive where there is none, or to increase an already existing
incentive. This produces a feeling of delight or happiness whenever we receive a new badge or
trophy.
Chapter 2
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Opens Doors
Gamifcation supplies the methods for engagement of the customer or consumer. Gamifcation
urges consumers to participate and rewards them for their eforts.
An online survey says gamifcation has increased commenting by 13%, social sharing to Facebook,
Twitter, and networks by 22 %, and content discovery by a massive 68 %.
This helps bring businesses closer to new customers through a network of sharing with social
media, other networks, and even word of mouth. Gamifcation provides a market where customers
are encouraged to participate and are rewarded for their eforts.
Boosts Productivity
Gamifcation models can also be utilized to support greater improved employee productivity.
Employees may work more assiduously for bonuses and other incentives, but what they
understand is that working harder has a major impact on the business. They are made to realize
that their individual work combined with the overall result makes them a vital part of the business.
Gamifcation helps give them feelings that they have done a good job and are necessary to the
business as a whole.
Requires a balanced approach
Providing a consistent reward system encourages continued engagement. Conversely a system
that promotes inequality may push others to leave for other businesses.
A specialist once described this system as one that gives more rewards to the most skilled players
and giving less or no rewards to the less skilled players. Not remedying the situation and allowing
the situation to continue pushes the less skilled players to leave and never come back. Although
this applies to a hypothetical game, it can still apply to the general structure of a reward system.
Chapter 2
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GAMIFICATION
More customers and employees who accomplish their goals and tasks easier and quicker, will
overwhelm the novices. This process frustrates others from succeeding and feeling accomplished
and sometimes stops them from participating in the frst place. A reward system should balance
these outcomes by implementing greater difculty levels to insure equal participation.
Feedback
This is a basic principle of user experience and is made up of two essential parts.
It tells users that their intended action was recognized.
It provides a clue as to how the system will respond to their actions.
Without feedback, users will not know if they are getting closer to their goal or what their current
place in the game is.
Feedback in games also lets the player know where they are in the game and what or where their
actions have brought them. It lets the user know their intended action was registered and that the
system has responded in turn. Its also an immediate indication that the user is getting closer to
their goal.
Feedback pacing is important to motivate your users to stay on your site or keep coming back to it.
Too much feedback overwhelms the user with information. Too little feedback bores the user. The
correct amount of feedback keeps the user in that engagement loop, keeps him on the site and
still has the interest to discover new activities. As a business, you do not want your users to leave
your site because of something the site lacks or does, but what external forces do to cause your
users to leave. Gamifcation, requires feedback be given when the intended action is performed.
These actions may not be obvious and users may not even know they have accomplished a goal if
there is no feedback. Feedback tells the user what they have done and motivates him to continue
exploring actions. Well designed feedback can bring users to your site and motivate them to
continue using it.
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Badges and Achievements
Badges and achievements often serve as evidence of accomplishments and gives users bragging
rights.
Usually badges and achievements are the means by which feedback is provided. The most
common ways to display this to users is via Modals and Growl/Toast style notifcation. Badges and
achievements also become a way to commodify user actions. It gives users something to present
as evidence of their accomplishments, in the form of digital trophies. It allows them bragging
rights, which play into the concept of competition. They may seem insignifcant on the surface but
are actually great at creating and driving motivation. On an intellectual level, it is the equivalent of
a digital pat on the back. This positive reinforcement helps infuence users on a diferent level than
the non-gamifed site.
Possible Activities for Earning Badges:
Performing a specifc action.
Performing specifc action a certain number of times.
Achieving a certain rank/level of activity.
Time-based activity (Length or Specifc time).
Editorially assigned.
Missions
Missions are activities where players get badges that result in a bigger accomplishment. The bigger
challenges should be more difcult than badge activities and require more involved engagement
from the user.
It is the equivalent of the stages and levels metaphor used in traditional video games and is a means
of creating scales and levels of accomplishment to continually provide rewards and motivation for
the user.
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GAMIFICATION
This multi-layered approach drives the diferent levels of motivation as well as encourages deeper
engagement with the site. Pacing also plays a major role within missions as it does with feedback
and badges. Missions that are unusually long will tire a user before they fnish. Missions that are
too short dont deliver the increased level of accomplishment the user may want.
Progress and Ranks
Badges and missions add up to show a users progress, by indicating what level or rank the user is
on or how many badges/achievements he has received. It also shows the users how close he is to
leveling up. It is also a common feature to show the users progress compared to other users, via
some type of leaderboard. This serves as a social incentive for continued progress by intrinsically
motivating users to accomplish more than their peers or to be better than them.
In the game Call of Duty for instance, ranks determine a users expertise and/or dedication by
creating to some extent, a class system. Users often get together to support similar players and
praise their achievements. Gamifcation uses the same premise to create levels of dedication that
users hope to attain. Everyone wants to be the best and that rank that appears next to a users
name is a method of bragging about how close one is to achieving that.
Competition
It is a normal human characteristic to compare how well we do against others. Many are in fact,
fercely competitive, trying to outpace and outsmart their way to the top.
User progress and badge collections become a way to proclaim this dominance of the game. This
is shown in signs such as FourSquares mayor system. Users go back and forth trying to outperform
one another. In an ideal world, users would increase engagement and loyalty to the site in the
process. The game mechanics give them more incentive to stay on the site and discover all that it
ofers. On the business side, the more time users spend on the site and the more views they have
on the page translates to increased advertising dollars.
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Motivation
Ultimately gamifcation aims to provide a layer of motivation by using the elements previously
cited. The feedback of badges and achievements builds to create a users progress which then
builds to create levels and ranks. While that is going on, it is essentially creating competition
among users which is realized in the ideal state of gamifcation.
Gamifcation techniques can boost overall productivity by encouraging customers and employees
through a system of tasks and rewards. These give them a sense of accomplishment and makes
them feel the business needs them. The basic elements of gamifcation can be built into a site
easily but would require more meticulous execution if it is introduced to harness the full power of
gamifcation. Gamifcation also has a few pitfalls. Nevertheless, if a business implements it correctly,
they can motivate their users to become more engaged and hopefully more loyal to the business.
Pitfalls
Although gamifcation has several benefts, those who are considering using it must also be aware
of a few disadvantages it may bring. Here are some cautionary facts that come with implementing
a gamifed site.
The motivation may only be a superfcial one. This means players are motivated in the game
but it has nothing to do with the product, or does not support the product it is supposed to
promote. Programs such as frequent fyer miles provide some real world incentive for activity
and progress. The beneft there is tangible. Gamifcation relegates that incentive to a digital
celebration and bragging system.
Sometimes the method of reaching the highest rank can become insignifcant since the only
important characteristic is attaining that superiority. This is an issue of the wrong motivation
direction. The user just works toward being the best and fails to discover what the site has to
ofer. This may seem immaterial for a business because the user is still using that time, but it is
not building brand loyalty and true engagement either, which is what the company is hoping
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GAMIFICATION
to realize in the frst place.
Another issue with gamifcation that gamers argue is, it does away with the essence of
a game. Game proponents and theorists contend it is almost just a copy of the game and
lacks originality. Games advocate discovery and overcoming trials, which may be present to
some degree in gamifed sites, but not to the extent of traditional games. Unfortunately this is
negligible for some companies and is not a problem.
New gamifcation companies like Bunchball, Badgeville or Big Door, make it seem easy to
attach gamifcation to a site but its game elements have to be well designed and thought out
for it to realize its true potential. This would take a considerable amount of time to do correctly.
Game design belongs in the UX repertoire on a basic level. Superfcial gamifcation can lead to
superfcial engagement and low ROI. A company has to consider when rewards happen, how
they happen, and how they combine elements and integrate it into the existing site. Simply
adding gamifcation to your site is poor execution and leads to poor outcomes.
Characteristics
Some characteristics of gamifcation include:
Engagement Gap. Making the product or service more engaging, more game-like and more
fun so that more people will use the product or service.
Choices. Having more variety will help engage the target audience so that they will have more
options to choose from instead of just performing one or two activities.
Progression. It is another way to engage audiences, allowing them to move from one level to
another. Without it, the audiences may not be motivated to perform the same activity and end
up with the same results over and over again.
Social. Social interaction is very powerful as people generally love competition, collaboration,
sharing and teaming. This tells participants how everyone is progressing and gives social status
to users.
Habit. By instilling the habit in target audiences, they will execute the task or buy the product
as expected.
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Facts
Here are some facts about gamifcation that might help you decide its value to your business.
1. More than 70% of the worlds largest 2,000 companies are expected to have deployed at least
one gamifed application by year-end 2014.
2. The overall market for gamifcation tools, services, and applications is projected to be $5.5
billion by 2018.
3. Consumer-driven gamifcation commanded more than 90% market share in 2011.
4. Vendors claim that gamifcation can lead to a 100% to 150% pickup in engagement metrics
including unique views, page views, community activities, and time on site.
5. Over 2/3rds of employers consider gamifcation an efective strategy for encouraging their
employees to improve their health.
6. 47% of vendors say their clients are looking to increase user engagement in their gamifcation
applications.
7. 80% of current gamifed enterprise applications will fail to meet their objectives, mainly
because of poor design.
8. The enterprise industry vertical already accounts for 1/4th of all gamifcation vendor
revenues.
9. 63% of American adults agree that making everyday activities more like a game would make
them more fun and rewarding.
10. 51% of American adults agree that if a layer of competition were added to everyday activities,
theyd be more cautious of their behavior in those areas.
11. In 2011, 29% of gamers were over ffty years old an increase from 9% in 1999. This fgure is
sure to rise in the coming years with nursing homes and senior centers across the nation now
incorporating video games into their activities.
12. 55% of gamers play games on their phones or mobile devices.
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GAMIFICATION
0Questions
1. Which is a beneft of gamifcation that provides an environment where consumers can
participate and be rewarded for doing so?
a. Boosts productivity
b. Opens doors
c. Feedback
d. Crowdsourcing
2. What is essential in motivating your users to stay on your site or to come back?
a. Feedback pacing
b. Gamifcation
c. Badges
d. Achievements
3. Which beneft of gamifcation shows a player his level in the game or how many
achievements he has received?
a. Competition
b. Progress and ranks
c. Pitfalls
d. Feedback
4. Which of the following characteristics of gamifcation is very infuential, as people generally
love competition and participation?
a. Habit
b. Engagement Gap
c. Choices
d. Social
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5. Which of the following lets the user know their expected action was registered?
a. Progression
b. Pitfalls
c. Feedback
d. Badges
6. Which of the following gamifcation characteristics makes the product more game-like and
more fun?
a. Progression
b. Engagement Gap
c. Motivation
d. Competition
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Chapter 3
Gamifcation Elements
Objectives
To learn about the dynamics of Gamifcation.
To study the mechanics of Gamifcation.
To examine its components.
Gamifcation Elements
The toolbox for gamifcation comprise your game elements. They are what you utilize from games
to make business practices more game-like.
In general, games contain a huge collection of diferent paths, elements, templates and design
patterns that can be applied to other games or gamifcation. The framework for gamifcation
elements include basic components and a structure that houses these base elements. There are
varying lists of elements depending on the structure you would require. Some come up to as
many at 26 to 30 elements. In this case well start with the basic three. What is important really is
not so much the number of elements you have but how efectively you use them. This simple guide
though should give you a sense of how diferent elements and structures can be implemented in
gamifed systems or games.
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This pyramid framework has 3 levels:
Gamifcation Dynamics
Game dynamics, which occupy the top level compose the highest level conceptual elements in a
gamifed system.
1st Gamifcation Dynamic: Constraints
Games have rules and therefore set limitations or constraints. The game or gamifed system has its
own life, rules and boundaries that players have to follow.
It is the challenge that makes the game interesting because all players have to abide by these rules.
Limiting individual freedoms creates meaningful choices and interesting problems which makes
game dynamics very important when the game designer conceptualizes his game or gamifed
system.
Chapter 3
42
GAMIFICATION
2nd Gamifcation Dynamic: Emotions
Games elicit any and all types of emotions and reactions that cover anything from sadness to joy,
arrogance to humility and every other emotion possible. Gamifcation can do this as well but on a
more restricted level.
The emotional range of gamifcation is more limited, it deals with real-life, non-game environments
such as the workplace, where emotions do not provide any value to the business. However,
gamifcation can still provoke a variety of emotions that can make the experience richer and
more enjoyable. Gamifcation aims to at least produce a sense of accomplishment, an emotional
reinforcement that makes people participate more.
3rd Gamifcation Dynamic: Narrative
The narrative pulls the game or game system together explicitly or implicitly depending on the
type of game system you want.
Gamifcation does not need to have the richness of the visual and realistic aspects of games when
making the narrative but relies on consistent graphical experiences. What is important is the sense
of fow and assigning certain kinds of practices that players have experienced and can draw insight
from. If there is no sense of narrative, there is a risk of the gamifed system merely becoming a
collection of random activities that have nothing to do with the business objectives. Badges and
points are awarded but they are completely irrelevant to the player and renders gamifcation
inefective.
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Gamifcation Mechanics
Game mechanics occupy the second level of this gamifcation framework and is the element that
prompts the players to perform actions.
The game mechanics move the game or activity forward. There are also more mechanics
components than dynamics. Game mechanics are tools to help determine how to move the action
forward and urge the players to begin playing and how to move from one level to another.
The mechanical elements of a game are:
1. Challenges.
2. Chance.
3. Competition.
4. Cooperation.
5. Feedback.
6. Resource Acquisition.
7. Rewards.
8. Transactions.
9. Turns.
10. Win states.
Challenges
The game sets an objective or objectives for the player to complete. Challenges can be called
quests, but quests usually are made of some challenges.
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GAMIFICATION
Some examples of challenges are:
Beat 10 monsters.
Sell 3 products per day.
Get 3 perfect scores in row in a math challenge.
Quests are more like:
Rescue the queen. First you would have to beat 10 monsters, collect 3 materials, go to some
places and then climb a tower to rescue her.
Complete a day at school. To complete the object you have to collect all your grades, do
homework, complete other tasks, etc.
Challenges can be simple or complicated and often involve communal activity or group play. Seth
Priebatsch a game challenge expert gamifed his South by Southwest Interactive keynote address
with a group challenge where he required all attendees to work together in rows. He ofered a
$10,000 donation to the National Wildlife Foundation as a reward.
Chance
The game or activity should provide the element of luck which is something the player cannot
control.
These take the form of rolling dice, fipping coins or some action that would bring random results.
These make the possibility of winning dependent on both skill and chance.
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Competition and Cooperation
Cooperation and competition may be contradictory but both are valuable components of game
mechanics.
This evokes the emotional states of winning and losing. Competition raises the stakes for
accomplishing the objective by showing players how they fare against other players or against other
teams. You can encourage competition with time-based, team and individualized leaderboards.
This tells players how they are ranked and maybe even how they can get passed their competitors.
Feedback
Feedback is very important. Immediate feedback lets players see how they are progressing
in the game in real time and either pushes them to move forward or not. Immediate feedback
also minimizes the possibility of misunderstandings. It tells the player whether his actions were
correct or not. Direct feedback or response to actions encourages users to continue or adjust their
activities with onscreen notifcations, text messages or emails. Congratulating a user for reaching
a goal serves to encourage him to move to the next step or to a milestone. It can push him to go
after a new reward.
Resource Acquisition
Aside from rewards, games give players little bonuses for accomplishing an extra or optional task.
It can also help move the game forward. The items acquired are valuable resources to help the
player progress in the game.
Many games require players to collect coins or materials to build houses or armies. In some schools,
students accumulate scores to be able to take their fnal exams and they collect examination points
to get their diploma.
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GAMIFICATION
Rewards
These are prizes or benefts the player acquires for some achievement in the game. Rewards can
range from completing entire quests to just fnishing a particular task. It can be some in-game
items, points or rewards like money.
To facilitate gamifcation, companies can ofer four types of rewards: status, access, power and
items. Regardless of the reward type, a good gamifcation strategy relies on recognizing and
rewarding consumers and employees to and encourage or reinforce desired behavior.
Transactions
These include buying, selling or exchanging goods or items with other players or with non-player
characters (NPC). NPCs can be shops where players could buy things. There can be shops created
by players who want to sell something to other players.
Turns
A turn is when it is time for the players to act, usually one after the other. Moves mechanics are
used in the Tic-Tac-Toe game, where a player can make his move only when the other player is
fnished.
Win States
States defne winning or losing, either the whole game or just a particular segment of the game.
In gamifcation it could involve a specifc task. All chance mechanisms automatically include win
or lose states in the game. The game can include a player-versus-player mechanism pitting one
against the other.
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Gamifcation Components
Components occupy the base level of this framework which can include procedures to get to the
games higher levels which dynamics and mechanics represent.
Achievements
These are forms of rewards linked to performing explicit actions. These work for people motivated
by a need to achieve, to accomplish something difcult through lengthy and repetitive eforts.
They are driven by goals, and the desire to win. People motivated by achievement tend to look for
challenges and set moderately difcult, but achievable objectives. For them the most satisfying
reward is the recognition of their achievements.
Avatars
A visual representations of players characters.
Badges
A visual representations of achievements. Badges show the accomplishment or mastery of a skill
which is especially meaningful within a community that understands its value. They are habitually
used to identify skills and expertise within a group.
Boss Fights
Are challenges.
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GAMIFICATION
Collections
Items accumulated.
Combat
Is competition.
Content Unlocking
A form of reward for an achievement.
Gifting
The part of the game where people feel good about giving things.
Quests
A means to an achievement.
Leaderboards
This is the list players in order of score, levels and points. Leaderboards rank users and that aims to
motivate and urge individuals to become players.
Foursquare was one of the frst to initiate leaderboards using city-centric ones, but now stress
ranking users against their friends. Earn a few points for a check in, and Foursquare will show you
which of your friends you have surpassed on the leaderboard. Many successful games implement
a high-score table, which displays the high scorers name in lights. They also specify the players
progress against friends and everybody else. In gamifcation, leaderboards are used to monitor
49
and display desired actions, using competition to push valuable behavior.
Levels
Levels refer to sustained achievement and identifes the status of a player within a community and
can unlock new missions, badges, activities, and rewards.
They are used in frequent-fyer programs as diferent classes, colored belts in martial arts and job
titles in industry. It shows everyone your achievement of a milestone, or a level of accomplishment
in a community which entitles you to a certain amount of respect. Levels are often defned as
point thresholds, so that users can automatically level up based on their participation. It can also
indicate a specifc status that could allow you to control access to content on the site.
Points
Points are the concrete measure of accomplishments and can be used to establish status. It can
also allow players to purchase virtual or real items when accumulated.
Specifc activities, sharing, contributing, or creating something useful for others could earn the
player points. Most people innately enjoy gaining and increasing points and makes them incredible
motivators. Points can be used to reward users across multiple dimensions, and diferent categories
of points can be used to propel diferent behaviors within the same site or application. Points can
indicate status as well and can be used to unlock access to content, or virtual goods and gifting.
IBM Research and the University of Chicago studies have shown dramatic efects earning points
can have on user behavior, even when there is no money involved. People just seem to enjoy being
rewarded and love the feeling of earning these rewards.
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GAMIFICATION
Social Graph
One is able to see their friends and interact with them.
Teams
Cooperation between people online.
Virtual Goods
Virtual goods are non-physical items that can be purchased to build a players character in the
game, sell items and can be a source of revenue in the game and outside of the game. Games that
provide a place to spend points gives an incentive to earn more, and ofers the ability to customize
an item that refects a personal identity. Virtual goods help attain this and provide a good direction
for creativity, competition, and self-expression in the community.
Virtual goods are intangible objects purchased for use in online communities or online games.
Users buy virtual goods like clothing, weapons or decorations to create an identity for their virtual
self while comparing and showing of to their friends. Virtual goods can also be used as a revenue
center when users sell virtual goods in their community for actual dollars.
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Questions
1. To make your business practices more game-like, which of the following do you take from
games and apply to business activities?
a. Game Dynamics
b. Game Mechanics
c. Game Elements
d. Game Components
2. What is made up of basic gamifcation components and a structure to house them?
a. Framework
b. Games
c. Toolbox
d. Rules
3. Which dynamic of gamifcation involves eliciting feelings in players on a restricted level?
a. Challenges
b. Emotions
c. Competition
d. Constraints
4. Which of the following are objectives of the game the player needs to accomplish?
a. Challenges
b. Competition
c. Feedback
d. Transactions
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GAMIFICATION
Chapter 4
5. Which component of gamifcation refers to the visual image of players characters?
a. Badges
b. Combat
c. Teams
d. Avatars
6. Which of the following aims to motivate individuals to become players and ranks them by
score, level, and points?
a. Leaderboards
b. Points
c. Collections
d. Boss Fights
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Psychology of Gamifcation
Objectives
To learn about the Psychology of Gamifcation.
To study the feedback loop.
To explore compassionate Gamifcation.
Psychology of Gamifcation
How does gamifcation make its way into psychology? The basic psychology behind it is to deliver
positive reinforcement for each action taken in a game.
Positive reinforcement as previously mentioned is tied in with motivation. Proponents will argue
that positive reinforcement will engage participants and keep them in the game for as long as they
enjoy it and gives them a feeling of accomplishment. So positive feelings the player feels provides
the opportunity for motivation.
Chapter 4
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GAMIFICATION
Motivation
What is motivation?
Motivation is not easy to defne but in simple terms can be described as having a feeling that you
are moved to do something. It is also defned as the reason or reasons one has for behaving in a
particular way. It is also complicated by the fact that people are motivated by diferent things.
One question that companies always consider when talking about motivation is:
Do we have a staf incentive scheme that rewards employees with money or prizes based on
doing what we want?
Companies seem preoccupied with the question of staf incentives and rewards systems that they
use to motivate their employees. Most companies especially large organizations have some form
of tangible recognition or reward system. The premise being that if the company rewards people
for specifc behavior they will be motivated to do it repeatedly or more frequently. The problem
is that these extrinsic motivations have limits and sometimes backfre resulting in demotivation,
which is what the organization does not want or expect.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism on the other hand addresses the external factors, or extrinsic motivation. In very
simple terms it is what goes in and out of the brain, but not what happens inside. A popular
example of behaviorism is Pavlovs salivating dog, where Pavlov noted that the dog would start
salivating when the lab technician arrived because it knew it would get fed. This is an example of
classical conditioning and relies on rewards.
Looking back to the staf incentive question, are the incentives given based on the I do this, I
55
get that classical conditioning? For instance if I get a customer feedback of above 80% do I get a
bonus?
Operant Conditioning is another type of behaviorism where the objective is to get someone or
something to learn a particular activity using rewards and punishment to encourage the desired
behavior.
Revisit the staf incentive question. Do you regularly receive a reward as a matter of course? For
instance you get pizza if you meet your target. But do you lose the pizza if you miss it? Does the
threat of not getting pizza still motivate you?
Gamifcation is heavily dependent on behaviorism. That means if it is designed badly the results can
actually produce negative efects. For that reason before designing or introducing any gamifed
activities into your company you have to understand how to approach the diferent aspects of
gamifcation.
You have to examine everything from reward types to the schedule and the limitations innate from
over justifcation to completely missing the reason why. You also have to determine and realize
how missing the intrinsic motivation, the most powerful motivation, is not a good thing.
The Feedback Loop
The Feedback Loop works under the principle that by giving people information about their actions
in real time and giving them a chance and motivation to change those actions, you can often guide
people to better behavior. The Feedback Loop is also a guiding principle in gamifcation, arguing
against the notion that gamifcation is merely a fad. It is simply becoming easier to measure and
use in everyday life.
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A Feedback Loop consists of four basic stages:
Lets take a look at the four stages of the Feedback Loop and see how they can be applied to
gamifcation.
Evidence (data)
The frst stage of any Feedback Loop involves data collection. For this discourse behavior will
be used as data for gamifcation Feedback Loops. So, behaviors must be measured, stored, and
assessed to be relevant to the next steps. Behaviors must be quantifed and then presented to the
individuals taking part in the game. Information sent back to individuals in real time is even more
helpful because it provides an immediate view of how things stand for any player at any time.
A factor that is making the use of gamifcation widespread is the rapid drop in price of sensors and
their equally rapid development. We can sense and quantify everything from energy usage, car
fuel, brushing your teeth, walking and anything else you can slap a sensor on. From the Wii Fit, to
the PS3 Move, to the Xbox Kinect, all on video game consoles, data is collected and then showed
to participating individuals in real time.
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As you see your Wii Mii mimicking your every move as you run around a fake beach, thats the
evidence stage of the Feedback Loop. Have you found a way to get information to your customers
in real time, measuring actions you want them to improve? Mint.com has. So have Zynga, Playfsh,
Empire Avenue and many, many others.
Relevance (data processing)
Data is irrelevant if there is no frame of reference. Even if you can read how fast youre going on
your speedometer, it means nothing if you are unaware of the speed limit in your area. Knowing
your BMI is irrelevant if you do not know what a healthy BMI level is or even what BMI stands for. A
credit score of 750 does you no good if you think the top rating is 45000 instead of 800.
Gamifcation does you little good if all you are concerned with is a way to measure things you want
your customers to do. What you need to fgure out is a way to transmit that information back to
your customers in a setting that makes it meaningful for them.
Consequence (data defning)
Consequence in this context, simply refers to the efect or result of a previous action. After you
have collected your data and shown it to your players, make sure your Feedback Loop actually
shows them the actions they can take.
Relevant data can become useless if it has no connections to people or does not tie into a larger
purpose or goal. Feedback Loops should not control the people youre communicating with, but
should give them back control by guiding them to paths made available with the new information.
In most games, the consequences are obvious. If you dont jump at this point, your character dies;
if you dont help your friend water their crops, you lose your right to reciprocity; if you dont kill
Mugsy Two-Toes, Big Boss Green wont share his drug money with you, and so on.
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In your gamifcation project, understand your strategy enough to be able to direct players to a
desired end using the data they willingly give you.
Action (data usage)
Your feedback loop has failed if no action is ever taken. Your data remains simply data. We all want
to get at the ROI of social media and action makes up the Return. Without action, all you have is
information and in games, information is never enough.
Your players must engage with all the information provided. It gives you behaviors to sense and
relay to start the Feedback Loop all over again. Do you include calls to action after your customers
engage and learn from you? Do they have the ability to act immediately or does it require you to
draw it out through many steps? If youve built your feedback loop correctly every action taken
begins a new loop that brings you closer to your strategic goals.
The Feedback Loop - Conclusion
Each organizations feedback loop will difer in execution but will use the same elements. You have
to measure behaviors and relay data in a relevant context to your customers so they can understand
the consequences of their moves and engage in a desired action to lead to more behaviors to be
measured.
For instance, in some new Hybrid cars, there is a display on the dash that shows a plant. The cars
computer takes the emission and gas data from the drivers actions (Evidence) and converts that
data into the image of the plant (Relevance). If you drive more economically, the plant fourishes,
but if you drive wastefully or recklessly, the plant withers (Consequence). At this point the driver
can either continue driving the way he has and watch the plant fourish or wither or change his
driving to afect the image of the plant (Action).
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Correctly applying data back to your customers minds can help everyone understand paths
of action and create an emotional and psychological connection between your brand/game/
company/etc.. Your customers can loop back around on itself to create loyal followers who are just
as fulflled by the relationship as you are.
Compassionate Gamifcation
The rise of academic studies on the subject of compassion and altruism, like those developed in
research groups like Ccare, EPARG, the Compassion Lab and others, show that western society
recognizes defcits in social interconnectedness and mutual care, which results in loneliness,
estrangement and behavior detrimental to health.
Social networks and location-based services generate shifting of this defcit by creating ways for
people to interact, but the further development of such positive tendencies in online and mobile
interaction is ultimately a software issue. This is because interaction systems are seldom designed
to elicit such responses.
Compassion is made up of a three-fold process: a feeling of empathy or understanding of others
negative feelings or situations, caring for the other person (afective arousal) and readiness to act
upon such feelings and diminish the sufering of others.
In gameful design, one needs to reevaluate current popular gamifcation strategies based on
competition and winning. Designers have to take into account public humiliation through
leaderboards and accumulation of points and virtual wealth in relation to the above three-fold
process. Developers have to create alternative design models that favor altruism the motivation
to increase anothers wellbeing irrespective of ones own and positive social interaction.
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GAMIFICATION
Emphatic feedback
A social network directed towards mostly depressive individuals needs predominantly strong and
contextual feedback. This would require a system that displays at least basic types of emotional
intelligence. Research on afective computing has spotlighted ever-present interfaces for emotional
sensing at a deeper level.
But in gamifed systems more attention should be given to the social-emotional aspects of
interaction during online communication. A good option could be to develop practices that favor
emotional communication in web and mobile interface design, less state-of-the-art technological
perspective but potentially more infuential for social impact.
Use of psychology theories
The debate surrounding gamifcation has revolved around psychology theories but further research
is required, especially the transfer of efective knowledge between the felds of psychology and
design. Techniques such as mood transfer, tension reduction, and social responsibility appeals are
utilized to generate positive feelings and stimulate exchange and reaching out. Techniques from
learning theories can also be employed.
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation are internal desires to perform a particular task. Simply, it is what people
will do without external inducement. Extrinsic motivation rarely works for people sufering from
depression. When designing Blues Buddies (a social network aimed to stimulate positive attitudes
in depression suferers), developers used the modifed idea of situated motivational afordances
or a motivator that encourages a person to act in a certain way. They isolated single interactions
and developed them according to what motivated that person to perform the desired behavior in
a social networking situation.
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Questions
1. Which of the following is a concept used to address extrinsic motivation or external factors?
a. Motivation
b. Consequence
c. Behaviorism
d. Action
2. Which of the following is a stage in the feedback loop that refers to the result of a previous
action?
a. Relevance
b. Evidence
c. Action
d. Consequence
3. Which type of compassionate gamifcation would require a system that displays at least basic
types of emotional intelligence?
a. Emphatic feedback
b. Intrinsic motivation
c. Use of psychology theories
d. Compassion
4. Aside from consequence, what are the other three basic stages of the feedback loop?
a. Motivation, action, consequence
b. Psychology, consequence, action
c. Action, evidence, relevance
d. Feedback, evidence, action
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Chapter 5
5. What is information about an action given in real time that can be used to guide people to
better behavior?
a. Intrinsic motivation
b. Feedback loop
c. Emphatic feedback
d. Compassionate Gamifcation
6. Which of the following has been described as the reason or reasons for a particular behavior?
a. Motivation
b. Behaviorism
c. Evidence
d. Consequence
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Gamifcation in Education
Objectives
To learn about how Gamifcation works in Education.
To discover the benefts and disadvantages.
To study the samples of Gamifcation in Education.
Introduction
Gamifcation can achieve so much when used in education: it promises fun for students, a means
for teachers to get and keep students attention, an inexpensive and easy source of material for
administrators, profts for educational software companies, and an efcient way to engage, teach
and test everyone. It could even help someone develop more common sense. But, with all this
promise comes some warnings to make certain it is used properly.
Gamifcation can easily be oversold and implemented badly. Keep in mind three requirements it
must have to ensure it is implemented successfully.
1. It should have good content
Motivationally and academically, gamifcation implementation in education should contain
important content. So many games are ordinary quizzes and review multiple choice questions
with scores displayed in what they term fun visuals, which are in gamifcation, erroneous in
both motivation and education. As far as motivation is concerned all that occurs is you get
to take another crack at the dragon if you get a correct answer. Either that or the rocket gets
Chapter 5
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closer to the moon or any step that gets you closer to the games goal. The only real diference
between that and the old practice of handing out gold stars is the former is a livelier visual bribe.
Students see through this almost immediately. It gets worse as far as educating is concerned
as it is easy to write multiple-choice questions and scoring almost always leads you away from
what is important. Such structures make the trivial facts seem more important than overall
principles. Therefore a game about American presidents would likely include Teddy Roosevelts
having a bear named after him, Lincolns height or Washingtons wooden teeth than it is about
how any of them shaped their ofce and their nation.
2. A Game should be seamlessly joined to content
The game you develop should integrate smoothly with your content. Teaching must be a
requisite of the game.
The game should be integrated well with what you are teaching that you cant play without
learning or learn without playing. Whatever the game is supposed to be, teaching must be
indispensable to the game. A game that could be used to teach any content, like Jeopardy,
bingo, or charades, has a great big seam. Students can, and avoid the content either by trying
to fgure out how to game the system, or by just accepting their low scores and agreeing that
they are not good at it. Either way, students lose the point of the game.
The diference can be subtle. Addition-and-subtraction fash cards for instance can be used
as a race to the fnish game, with players advancing a number of steps equal to the highest
number on each card they get right. The problem with this is kids who hate Math can treat it
as a gambling/guessing game, memorizing facts in isolation. The same kids might learn more
Math skills and still have fun doing so by playing Monopoly, where addition and subtraction
are not the point of the game but a crucial factor for measuring your progress.
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If you use a game where you have to spell a word correctly to unlock a door in a dungeon,
but the object of the game is just to see how many doors you can get through by spelling
randomly chosen words, thats not a seamless game. But if the word is critical to whatever you
have to do once you get through the door, that makes it seamless because winning depends
on understanding those words better.
3. It must be a good game
Although calling a game a good game is arbitrary, no particular player or designer can claim a
game as good until it works best and achieves its intended goal.
This is where programming and education crosses over to art. In the end this requirement may
be subjective as no one can really judge a game is good enough or even defne what good
is. Who would have thought a gym teachers invention of a game that began with throwing
a soccer ball into an overhead peach basket would develop into the global institution of
basketball? Why then did speedball, dodge ball and kickball not become just as big? There
were many attempts at quest/adventure card games before Magic: the Gathering, and a lot of
parodies of that genre before Munchkin, but ever since both games dominated their market
niches rivalry between the two have not been serious. Play testing helps, but some player
suggestions have actually ruined games.
Some general principles sometimes work but many successful games go against them. For
instance noise and special efects are part of the attraction to the Call of Duty game, but not to
Tetris. Social interaction is important to World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons, optional
in Risk or poker, and an annoyance in Go or chess. Experts say these three factors are essential
to gamifcation otherwise its application fails.
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Benefts of Gamifcation in Education
1. Video games can lessen disruptive behavior and enhance positive development in
ADHD children.
One very healthful and helpful beneft of gamifcation in education is that video games can
minimize disruptive behavior and enhance positive development in ADHD children. A study
focused on the use of video games to help children with ADHD, showed that a video game
designed to teach kids how to control their breathing and heart rate had a signifcant impact on
their behavior. It certainly is contrary to the belief that video games make children hyperactive
or that ADHD is a result of playing too many video games. Others may stress though that it
would depend on how the game is created and that it has the three previously mentioned
characteristics of successful gamifcation.
2. Efective game-based learning provides a student with a series of personalized tasks
customized to achieve a predetermined goal
The student is rewarded for completing a task, and is also rewarded with a new learning
opportunity the ability to progress to the next and play another game. Gamifed learning
also provides incentives such as badges rather than an abstract grade on a worksheet for the
students eforts. As a result it changes the way the student perceives learning since feedback
on his schoolwork becomes more tangible and exciting in the gamifed situation.
3. Students who actually developed their own video game experience improved their
intellectual and social growth.
Research shows that children show cognitive growth when they are tasked to create their own
game. Creating such a game would require them to possess and use knowledge accumulated
earlier, create links between scenes, and manage their learning through trial and error. They
will be forced to use logic, survival skills, and create new ideas and solutions to fnish the game.
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4. Gamifcation helps engage students in learning, keeps their attention and are
motivated to learn.
Teachers found having kids with short attention spans do their preferred after-school activity
in the classroom is efective. They further discovered gamifcation makes students respond
better to the positive and immediate feedback that they receive in a learning game. More
often than not, the difculty of the level increases as the student continues playing, efectively
drawing and keeping his attention at the same time challenging him.
Mathematics is one subject that benefts from gamifcation as it is full of repetitive problems,
formulas, and exams. Deakin University research has indicated that incorporating games in the
curriculum radically changes a students attitudes toward Math. It says more students were
able to harbor positive feelings about Math and feel confdent about diferent concepts. In
the end there was more success with the subject since students showed more liveliness and
motivation to learn it. Playing Math games appeared to help lighten the dreariness of repetitive
problem solving.
5. Mature make-believe play provides the most benefcial context for childrens
development.
Imaginative situations where children assume roles, use props, themes, and work together with
other children, is one of the most critical opportunities for development. Various games provide
such situations and ofers an opportunity for the students to grow. Unquestionably it is also
essential for kids to enjoy actual play in traditional social groups. Theorists argue that play is a
continuously developing skill that children must be walked through. The classroom should also
allow play-based scenarios, since they are considered a building block of learning. It is within
this context that children build their initial skills for advanced educational understanding.
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6. Gamifcation of education presents students immediately with praise, encouragement,
and reinforcement which are all positive motivators that may not be present in the
usual classroom setting.
It keeps away the dreaded red scribbles and scratches they see on paper, which can be very
discouraging and de-motivating. With gamifcation, even struggling students learn from their
mistakes rather than feeling defeated by the giant, outlined, or sometimes circled red F on
the top of their paper. In addition, education technology has the potential to personalize
gaming systems to address the needs of particular students, regardless of his or her skill level.
Students are not afraid to fail in a game-based, diferentiated learning platform, because they
can progress at their own pace without feeling judged or feeling anxious about keeping up
with their classmate.
7. Play-based learning improves a students attention span.
Researchers looked at how teachers beliefs in early education impacted the classroom
environment, and found out that when teachers have confdence in a childs ability to learn by
himself, the child/teacher relationship was stronger. In this case teachers can then assume a
more facilitative role and observe the student as he actively learns. Educators also discovered
that when students are allowed to learn through play, they spend less time on behavior
management. They found it also extended a students attention span. They recognized that
play-based learning shifted the focus of learning from the goal to the process.
8. Game-based learning urges students to set clear goals, persevere when faced with an
intellectual challenge, and of course, celebrate their achievements.
An expert says gamifcation presents the opportunity to focus our energies on something
we are good at or getting better at and enjoying it. In other words, gameplay teaches
uncompromising optimism and is the direct emotional opposite of depression. Furthermore,
digital gaming tools like the iPad provide students with the resources to manage their learning
experience and actually own and love the results of their work. This efectively incorporates
the gamifcation mentality into the classroom and can boost student achievement. More
importantly it promotes a desire to learn.
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9. Game simulations can help students hone their ability to come up with creative
solutions or work out original solutions, and they may view a game-style coursework
more as a challenge than hard work.
The most usually cited beneft of gamifcation is that it fosters student engagement, as a key to
increasing student retention. Where efective, gamifcation promotes the formation of learning
communities, giving new opportunities online or during course discussions to socialize or
work as teams. In this sense, gamifcation has the potential to help build connections among
members of the academic community, drawing in shy students, supporting collaboration, and
stimulating interest in course content that students never explored.
10. Playing scary and violent video games help children master their fears in real life.
In the wake of numerous research on the negative impacts of video games, studies have been
conducted to research positive psychological efects of game playing. It appears, whether
they were aware of it or not, boys who had difculty dealing with stress, fear, and anger that
could have violent consequences, used video games as a safe alternative for the release of
pent up emotion. Other results pointed to other efects such as the fun of unreality. It provided
them with an outlet for experimenting with a world where natural laws are suspended and
gave them the chance to enjoy the challenge, mastery of the game, and playing with diferent
identities. These fndings reveal that video games can be an alternate way to release negative
emotion, and help children assuage their innate desire for risk and adventure.
11. The ordinary chess game makes kids smart.
The Youth Coordinator for the Ontario Chess Association has documented the benefts of
chess, highlighting its positive efects on education. His research says chess makes students
slow down, concentrate, use precise thinking, and use both inductive and deductive reasoning.
They also recognize difcult and complex patterns. Many online chess games provide another
method in which computerized gaming can have a positive impact on a childs educational
development. This does not discount the playing of chess in the conventional way as it can
provide the same benefts as well.
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12. Music and movement enhance childrens language profciencies during the preschool
years.
Research indicates that children who involve themselves in some form of music from a young
age show more competency speaking and communicating. Though a majority of modern
education centers mainly on visual media for learning, auditory processes are critical for
learning languages. The younger the child, the more important music becomes. Gamers know
that background music is an essential part of many electronic games, which brings another
beneft of gaming in the instructional context.
Disadvantages of Gamifcation in Education
What are the downsides?
Some stakeholders feel introducing game elements in learning trivializes content. Their concern
revolves around possibilities that students will not be motivated as it has promised. Students
might also see game elements as patronizing or they may feel dissatisfed and unfulflled if
their application does not make them feel the kind of satisfaction from winning that they
expected. Some students may fnd the competitive element intriguing, but the same element
may discourage others, especially those who have difculty with course content. They might
feel the competition makes learning more complex or that it will show their other classmates
why they have so much difculty in understanding the content.
Gamifcation can be deceptively difcult to apply efectively, and examples of failed eforts
are easy to fnd. Students might fail to see the purpose of the game in relation to learning
and instructors might have trouble keeping track of student progress.For example, awarding
points to students whose blog entries accumulate the most responses might encourage some
bloggers to enlist their friends to comment, without taking into account the quality of the
content. What will drive them to do that are the extrinsic rewards rather than the quality of the
work they submit. Furthermore, designers must carefully consider the administrative details
of gamifcation, in case instructors get overwhelmed by the workload of tracking student
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progress through points, tokens, badges and other game elements.
A game developer believes motivation achieved between using actual games and
gamifcation are at opposite ends of the continuum. It does not pose a problem when the
activity involves routine work or chores since there is really no actual worry or need for
motivation there. Strangely enough one researcher found that when the task rises to the level
of even elementary reasoning skills or anything above mechanical tasks, the incentives start
to work in reverse. The studies show that the greater the rewards, such as higher pay, in this
case leads to poorer performance with things like creative tasks.
In economic theory, this result is contradictory but the results have been remarkably consistent.
Another common misconception is that sparking competition by using leaderboards increases
productivity and leads to long-term improvements. But there is research that shows the reverse
side of this beneft saying that in some situations interest in competition dies down quickly
especially for those who think they can never be in the running to win anyway.
Samples of Gamifcation in Education
Proponents of gamifcation see a lot potential for gamifcation in education because of an
individuals innate desire to learn, but some school organizations sometimes serve to be the
obstacles to education.
If kids respond to play more positively than schoolwork which they consider the opposite, then
there should be ways to let them learn from what they do best play. This is why many educators
are looking into a variety of new tools and techniques in education gamifcation.
The modern educational challenge is no longer considered as a routine process for presenting
information while testing for retention and understanding. These days it involves tasks for engaging
students, stimulating their interests, retaining their attention, and maintaining a positive attitude
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in a nurturing environment.
The key to these goals is working towards establishing and keeping a rich communications
environment that encourages feedback and reinforcement, not only between the instructor/
teacher and students, but also between the students themselves.
There are many gamifcation samples that educators can use. These socially interactive
mechanisms, managed correctly ofer efective ways for fun learning situations. They include some
ingenious approaches to improve the learning process and generate more efective educational
environments.
1. DuoLingo: Learn a language while translating the Web. Duolingo is a massive online
collaboration which combines a free language-learning website with a paid crowdsourced text
translation platform. The service is designed to help students learn a given language online,
while helping to translate websites and documents.
Beginners start out with basic, simple sentences from the web, while advanced users
receive more complex sentences. As one progresses, so does the complexity of the
sentences they are asked to translate. Duolingo provides the learning and translation tools
so students understand and memorize the words that they come across. Each student can
also vote on the quality of the other students translations, providing valuable feedback for
comprehension and learning. The top rated translations for each sentence are made available
for public viewing and collection.
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As students learn a language, they earn skill points when lessons are completed or web
content is translated. Lessons associated with a skill are successively completed when a give
number of translations are completed. Since web content is integrally more interesting than
made up sentences, the translation assignments are more engaging.
The site also comprises time-based elements, such as skill points and time bonuses when
questions are answered correctly within a given time limit. Incorrect answers cause a loss of
points and lives, as well as the delay of leveling up. The system tracks each completed lesson,
translation, test, and practice session to provide feedback to the student and plan future
lessons and translation assignments to better address their needs.
2. Ribbon Hero: Epic game that teaches you how to use Microsoft Ofce. Ribbon Hero is an add-
in game, available as a free Microsoft download that helps teach users of Ofce 2007 and 2010
to use tools available in the new ribbon interface. The game can easily be initiated from any
of the key Ofce programs, like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Once in the game, the user is
presented with challenges which can yield points if completed.
It has been lauded as the best corporate education gamifcation sample in the market.
The challenges are grouped into four sections: text manipulation, page design and layout,
artistic presentation, and a more generalized quick points section. With the frst three
sections, each challenge is designed to introduce users to a key feature and have them
edit a sample document using that feature. The quick points section doesnt ofer specifc
challenges, but lists features instead. This can be outside the game to collect points. Half
of all available points can be earned through the game challenges ofered in the frst three
sections, while the remaining points must be earned from implementing the same features
outside of the game.
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Microsoft has taken great care in designing the challenges by creating short, relevant tasks
and providing immediate feedback and reinforcement to help keep the user engaged
and interested. Reviewers say the difculty level is manageable, yet challenging, and
provides enough support to ensure reasonable success which encourages further play and
development of Ofce skills.
Ribbon Hero can also track the users progress in learning how to use the Ofce features and
tools, and adjust the challenges accordingly. Not only by following the game to progress,
but by monitoring the features used outside of the game. The game can then adjust the
order of training content so users see only features and tools that they havent seen before.
Ribbon Hero can also link to Facebook, and each player can share their scores and compare
their progress with friends on Facebook who also play the game. In essence, Ribbon Hero is a
software tutorial within a game that can be socially connected.
3. ClassDojo: Turns Class into a Game of Rewards and Instant Feedback. ClassDojo is a classroom
management tool that can help teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and
easily. It corrects or enhances particular student behavior and helps engagement through
awards and recording real-time feedback.
Each student gets an avatar which can be seen in ClassDojo. Feedback and awards for
positive behavior is easy for the teacher to give with a simple click on her mobile device or
computer. This instantly reinforces good behavior and engages other students. Because
feedback is quick, the resulting positive reinforcement helps students develop a sense of
purpose in the classroom, which enhances intrinsic motivation over time. By letting students
see the data on their own behavior, the class becomes less disruptive, creating a more
positive learning environment.
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The system also provides print or email reports for behavior-tracking analytics. These help
engage parents and school administrators, all with a simple click on a mobile device, laptop,
or tablet. No data entry is required. Teachers save time, freeing them up to devote more time
to the student and delivering instruction.
4. Coursera: Interactive Ivy-League Education in Your Home. Coursera is an educational
technology and social entrepreneurship company that partners with top universities to make
some of their online courses available for free.
Subjects include courses from the Sciences and Engineering to Humanities and Business. The
courses are designed as a series of short video lectures on diferent topics and assignments,
which are submitted on a weekly basis.
Progress is measured by completing assignments and tests online where the machine can
grade and assess. In good education gamifcation spirit, the results are immediately sent to
the student, as well as the instructional staf, providing feedback and reinforcement to the
student. Leveling up, badges and other rewards systems are implemented in some cases.
Interactivity is stressed to urge student engagement and help in long-term retention of
concepts. This also provides frequent feedback which enables the student to monitor his
progress and assess his own understanding of the material. Interestingly, the most popular
course on Coursera is the Gamifcation course.
5. KnowRe. KnowRe is an online adaptive Math learning platform, that aims to help students
succeed in Math by assessing, personalizing and engaging students with game-like features,
attractive graphics and social learning.
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Knowre (beta) is a Math tool for both teachers and students who want to learn Math easily and
quickly. It requires a true user login so that the platform can diferentiate content on the basis
of student and teacher. Knowre allows students to choose chapters from the giant map or they
can choose a chapter which allows them to practice or challenge their learned skills. Educators
can begin a course by clicking the map location or from the start button near the chapter. After
completing a chapter educators can look for tests to check the ability of students, in relation to
how many minutes he completes a question or test.
Conclusion
Combining learning institutions and gamifcation could be benefcial to students and teachers or
administrators but it can also result in the opposite. There are signifcant ways in which gamifcation
and schools could each make the other worse.
Gamifcation can motivate students to engage in the classroom, give teachers better tools to guide
and reward students, and get students to commit completely to learning. It can provide ways for
them to enjoy learning and mask the boundaries between informal and formal learning.
It inspires student to learn in the same way life lessons are learned. The challenges should also be
considered because of their signifcance. The not so good ramifcations could be that gamifcation
might absorb teacher resources, or teach students that they should learn only when provided
with external rewards. Conversely, playfulness requires freedom to experiment, to fail, to explore
multiple identities, to control ones own investment and experience. By making play mandatory,
gamifcation might create rule-based experiences that feel just like school.
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Gamifcation is not a universal cure-all, and it will need to provide more value to schools and
therefore must be designed carefully. Gamifcation projects should address the real challenges
of schools, centering on areas where gamifcation can provide the most value. These may be
grounded in existing research, and address the potential dangers of gamifcation for both games
and schools. Meaningful evaluations must also be created to fnd out if they achieve their aims.
As gamifcation use spreads throughout the real world, it will also impact schools everywhere. By
leading with research-based, theory-driven gamifcation projects, the impact of gamifcation can
be directed towards positive ones.
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Questions
1. Which requirement guarantees gamifcation success by making sure it achieved its intended
objectives?
a. It must be a good game
b. A Game should be seamlessly joined to content
c. It should have good content
d. A Game should be integrated well with teaching
2. How does gamifcation in education help ADHD kids?
a. Provides tasks to reach a goal
b. Lessens disruptive behavior and enhances positive development
c. Improves their intellectual social growth
d. Engages students in learning and keeps their attention
3. Which sample of gamifcation in education helps students learn languages while translating
documents and websites?
a. Ribbon Hero
b. ClassDojo
c. Coursera
4. Which sample of gamifcation of education helps teachers improve student behavior easily?
a. KnowRe
b. Coursera
c. ClassDojo
d. Duolingo
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5. How does gamifcation in education beneft preschool kids in relation to music and
movement?
a. Chess game makes kids smart
b. Enhances childrens language profciencies
c. Scary video games teach children to master fear
d. Game simulations sharpen childrens problem-solving skills
6. What is the most commonly cited beneft of gamifcation that is considered a key to
increasing student retention?
a. Fosters student engagement
b. Helps students work independently
c. Teaches students to avoid hard work
d. Helps students face their fears
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Chapter 6
Gamifcation in Business
Objectives
To learn about Gamifcation in Business.
To understand its applications.
To study the benefts of Gamifcation in Business.
The Gamifcation of Business
Introduction
Gamifcation can be employed successfully in business as long as it is designed correctly. It
efectively engages people and motivates them to change behaviors, develop skills or solve
problems. By leveraging some of the features used in real games, gamifcation can turn many
other types of activities into games.
Currently, gamifcation is applied for customer engagement, employee performance, training and
education, innovation management, personal development, sustainability, health, and wellness.
Nike built the Nike+ platform to engage ftness enthusiasts to boost their workouts to the next
level. Khan Academy uses gamifcation to enhance the learning experience for students. Quirky
uses gamifcation to crowdsource ideas from inventors for product development. These bright
spots in gamifcation are both inspirational and instructional but may be overshadowing the
reality of gamifcation in early enterprise implementation.
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Early Hype
Gamifcation is close to its peak and like most new trends and technologies, the initial hype
generates unrealistic expectations for success which results in a number of poor implementations.
Like any new trend, gamifcation will move through the hype cycle from the peak of overblown
expectations into the disenchantment.
While most theorists are optimistic about the long term impact of gamifcation, some are less
optimistic of the short term efect. These people predict that by 2014, 80% of current gamifed
applications will not meet business objectives, mainly because of poor design. This design should
include defning business objectives, application defnition, deployment and adoption. In the
long term, as design practices advance and organizations get better at defning clear business
objectives, gamifcation will have a signifcant business impact and become an important means
for enterprises to engage audiences at a deeper level.
Organizations that focus more on business objectives will allow gamifcation to make the workplace
more engaging and productive because it motivates employees to change behaviors. Predictions
also say by 2015, 40% of Global 1000 organizations will use gamifcation as the main strategy to
transform business operations.
To implement gamifcation successfully organizations need to consider the following precautions.
Do not Confuse Activity with Success
To date the hype surrounding gamifcation is flled with stories of companies leveraging this trend
but not enough of its results. Experts say careful examination shows that many of the leading
edge companies leveraging gamifcation easily describe the solutions they are implementing but
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are not too quick about relating the business results they have achieved. Undoubtedly there have
been measured successes, but apparently there have been more accounts that simply describe
what has been done.
Think of the Audience as Players not Puppets.
Apparently questionable, is the belief of many businesses that they can make people eagerly
do their bidding just by slapping some meaningless badges, points and leaderboards onto their
websites.
Doubts about came up in the Google News Badge campaign. About two years ago Google
introduced Google News Badges which gave badges to readers of Google News. It showed what
type of news they were reading whether it was politics or sports, etc. But Google has withdrawn
that campaign as part of their so called spring cleaning eforts. Some say it could have involved
more meaningful incentives.
Clearly Identify the Business Objectives.
Many businesses want to explore leveraging gamifcation because of all the hype. While identifying
opportunities for leverage is not basically wrong, companies should be cautious about turning
gamifcation into a solution looking for a problem to solve. To protect against this mistake, business
leaders should make sure that when the opportunity to leveraging gamifcation comes up, they
should defne business objectives clearly frst. Then they would need to conduct analysis of the
suitability of gamifcation to achieving those defned objectives.
Design for Player-Centricity.
Leaders in gamifcation such as Nike, Quirky and Khan Academy have similar design characteristics,
but most importantly the characteristic of player-centric design. Their key design point is to
motivate the players to achieve their objectives. One thing some companies overlook is identifying
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the players goals while defning the companys objectives. The ideal for gamifcation is when
business objectives seamlessly connect with player objectives. Gamifed applications must be
designed to motivate players to achieve their goals which should overlap with business goals.
Using Gamifcation to Engage Employees
More companies adopt gamifcation to enhance both employee and customer engagement. The
problem with items used as rewards, is that they do not scale very well and people want increasing
rewards for the same activity in order to feel motivated. Its a common feature of humanity called
habituation. Habituation means youve become accustomed to a stimulus over time and it no
longer afects you as much as it did in the beginning.
Another common consideration is how gamifcation is appropriate with managing employees.
Status, access and power are virtual rewards and so are recognitions of employee achievement.
These are things that can scale cheaply and easily versus unspecifc items and cash. Thats part of
why businesses are attracted to gamifcation it is extensible.
The other part of it involves making work progressively fun by leveraging the concepts of
gamifcation. Its about fnding ways to align incentives and motivation.
This increases productivity and performance and can attract a higher-quality employee. The next
generation of employees brings with them their increased technology skills.
Gamifcation Penetration
Gamifcation has been utilized in diferent ways in the workplace for some time now. Changes
introduced come mainly from new sets of tools, technologies, design disciplines and frameworks
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that allow businesses to employ gamifcation in a more extensible and repetitive way. It also
involves understanding the developing science of human engagement and interaction that
generates better long-term results.
One of the most classic examples of gamifcation is Targets approach. A cashiers job can be an
isolating job as the only time you may get feedback is when your drawer count is not incorrect.
Target has engaged employees by encouraging them to get in the fow when checking out
customers by making it more game-like.
Target stores introduced a little game for cashiers to play at checkout. It shows the cashier in red
and green based on whether the item that was just scanned was done so in the most efcient time.
Then they see their immediate score on screen and know how they fared against the ideal.
This gamifcation hits the point of this discipline. It is not about turning everything into a game.
Its about using the best ideas from games, like loyalty programs and behavioral economics, to
drive the behavior that businesses want from their employees. The preference that people have
of winning something is how achievement-oriented people see the world. People driven by
achievement want some sort of payof or prize, but people who are not winning-oriented are
rewarded by feeling that they control their own destiny.
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Before this application a cashier would only get feedback after check out if people complain that
she did something wrong. Their boss then calls her and yells at her. The idea of this application
brings the feedback as close to the action as possible and makes it as constructive and positive as
possible.
Omnicare is more of an IT-centric organization that produces pharmacy management software. It
is a kind of outsourced helpdesk for pharmacies.
Omnicare was experiencing long wait times at its helpdesk. Although its employees were
experienced and knowledgeable about the service, the company wanted to improve efciency by
gamifying a solution. First, they put up a leaderboard and showed the reps the board. Then they
also gave out cash rewards to employees with the fastest service times on the foor.
Unfortunately the strategy backfred, wait times increased and employee turnover shot up as
people started quitting. Customer satisfaction also took a nose dive. The problem was the client
did not take into account what was motivating the representatives. The helpdesk employees were
technically skilled and felt they already had a sense of control over their own lives. When Omnicare
introduced a scoring system the employees felt like Big Brother was watching them.
Omnicare revisited their gamifcation and changed the design of the system. Instead of setting
goals for time and motion, they set up a series of achievements that reps could reach, a challenge
given at the beginning of every shift. For example, a helpdesk support analyst could receive a
challenge of fnding three customers who have a specifc problem with billing and help them with
billing. As they progress through these series of challenges, they are given short-term rewards
that recognize their achievement, not cash incentives. This tells you there is no one answer for all
scenarios.
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Bunchball worked with the Ford Motor company in Canada to help add gamifcation to its learning
portals.
They wanted it to help sales and services teams become familiar with new car models, fnancing
plans, technologies and options every year. After testing and implementing the methodology,
Fords learning portal saw a 417% increase in use and its younger audiences, in particular, were
more engaged.
It pulled their sales up, increased engagement from younger participants and increased customer
satisfaction.
Tips on how to get your gamifcation project started.
1. Assign an employee as your point person to press your gamifcation idea forward. The best
person for the job would be someone who can promote engagement internally.
2. Get your point person certifed in gamifcation design. This is an important step and will
provide the basic framework to get started.
3. Identify where the engagement issues are with your employees and/or customers. Using this
gamifcation framework and methodology your point person learned, allows him to apply the
knowledge against whatever engagement issues your company faces.
You can do a low-tech or a high-tech implementation. For example, a car dealership sometimes
puts up a leaderboard that shows monthly sales. Many hotels hang leaderboards in the back ofce
to show most rooms cleaned or best customer satisfaction rankings.
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Key Benefts Gamifcation Brings to Businesses
Gamifcation is a concept that has been used many times in business, education and in other
industries but what may be causing companies not to implement it is the lack of success stories
from huge companies.
It could also be because they do not see the ROI of gamifying their website or product. Companies
who havent employed it probably just need that little push. Following are some reasons for
gamifying business that enterprises would do well to explore.
The following key points emphasize why organizations should employ a gamifcation project.
1. Collects powerful customer data.
Gamifcation allows the company to collect important data from its consumers. Most
gamifcation platforms require users to log in with a valid email address or social media
credentials. From there your company is able to gather data on that person and see what they
do on your website.
Each person is linked by clicks, points, badges and achievements, all of which generate large
amounts of data. This translates to valuable customer information and insights for companies.
Regardless of the type or the success of the game, data is still collected and that data can only
beneft the company if it is analyzed properly. Businesses need to fgure out how to use this
because it provides real-time feedback.
Some gamifcation vendors ofer analytics as part of their product. For example, Badgeville
ofers the Behavior Analytics software that measures customer engagement, behavior, growth
and user activities. Bunchball has Nitro Connectors, which link their gamifcation platform to
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enterprise software such as SAP, SharePoint or Yammer to collect activity and behavior from
employees.
2. Gamifcation can be an educational tool.
Gamifcation introduces a new product in creative ways. You can actually let your customers
sample your product in the form of a game designed to teach them how to use the product. Its
almost like a free trial of your product. An analyst says that games should give people a sense
of achievement which is connected to motivation.
Its almost like a free trial of your product. Adobe has implemented an onboarding program
called LevelUp for Photoshop that teaches the basics of the software by giving assignments
that can give the player points and badges upon completion. Those who have seen it say that
it breaks it down into bite-size pieces and the audience sees its progression towards mastery.
But bear in mind that if you give rewards you have to make certain it is for the right audience.
A company that ofers a discount in exchange for an email address could tempt others to just
provide the address, get the discount and leave. He could even keep doing this over and over
providing diferent addresses that could very well be bogus.
3. Crowdsourcing helps you solve complex business problems.
Another beneft you can get from customers logging onto your website is you can use them to
give you feedback. Companies like Allstate and GE have turned to crowdsourcing to help them
come up with answers to complex business questions.
Gamifcation can be a path to crowdsourcing if the company uses customer feedback from
games and applies it as a solution to a business problem. Companies cannot design, test and
implement innovation all on their own. In fact using an R&D department put up only for this
purpose is reportedly obsolete.
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Games With A Purpose is a gamifcation site that crowdsources information to better train
computers to produce more accurate answers. A game called ESP Game involves two players.
Both see the same image and type in various one-word captions for it. Once the two people
agree on a caption, they get points and move onto the next round. The object is to agree on as
many captions and earn as many points as possible in two minutes. The agreed-upon images
are made into tags that get recorded so search engines have a better idea of what each image
contains.
4. Gamifcation ofers a way to give back to the community.
Through gamifcation some companies get an opportunity to give back to communities
connected to their industry, in addition to fnding solutions for their business. Opower, a
Software-as-a-Service company that works with utility providers, has been using Facebook to
encourage people to monitor and share their energy consumption and compete for the title
of most energy-efcient.
RecycleBank rewards people with gift cards and discounts to stores and restaurants for who
recycle paper or use less energy in their homes. It is their efort to help the environment.
5. Stay relevant to your customers.
Gamifcation can help remind your customers how important your website is to them.
Companies have to keep content up on their websites regularly so their customers see them
all the time. Its very easy to gamify in a social environment or when you have a lot of content
to keep the engagement fresh.
Games should bring people together, urge players to achieve a goal and give them a stake in
the outcome. The rewards should be more than smiley faces and thumbs up images, but could
be tangible rewards. There are many benefts to gamifcation but they are mainly strategic and
even that will still evolve.
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Questions
1. To make sure gamifcation is successful, what should organizations do frst when leveraging
gamifcation opportunities come up?
a. Business should be seamlessly joined to content
b. Clearly Identify the Business Objectives
c. Learn a language while translating the Web
d. The Emergence of Customer Engagement Platforms
2. Which tip for starting a gamifcation project is a relevant step in providing the basic
framework?
a. Get your point person certifed in gamifcation design
b. Assign an employee as your point person
c. Identify where the engagement issues are with your employees
d. Encourage employees to develop skills
3. Which of the following can motivate people to change behaviors, develop skills or solve
problems if designed correctly?
a. Crowdsourcing
b. RecycleBank
c. Rewards
d. Gamifcation
4. What is part of the reason businesses are attracted to gamifcation?
It involves cheap scalability.
a. It is fexible
b. It is visible
c. It is extensible
d. It is compatible
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5. Which of the following means you have become used to an incentive over time and it no
longer motivates you?
a. Gamifcation
b. Habituation
c. Penetration
d. Acquisition
6. What key beneft of gamifcation in business states that regardless of type or success of the
game, it still accumulates information?
a. Gives back to the community
b. Solves complex business problems
c. Can be an educational tool
d. Collects powerful customer data
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Chapter 7
Real-World Applications
Objectives
To examine real world applications of Gamifcation.
To learn about some Gamifcation sites.
Real World Applications of Gamifcation
In the real world, gamifcation has been widely applied in marketing.
Over 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies are poised to use gamifcation for the marketing
and customer retention. In November 2011 Australian broadcast and online media partner
Yahoo launched its Fango mobile app, which TV viewers use to interact with shows via
gamifcation techniques like check-ins and badges. As of February 2012, the app had been
downloaded more than 200,000 times.
Gamifcation has also been used in customer loyalty programs.
In 2010, Starbucks gave custom Foursquare badges to people who checked in at multiple
locations and ofered discounts to people who became mayors of an individual store. Some
users have proposed using gamifcation for competitive intelligence, encouraging people to
fll out surveys, and to do market research on brand recognition.
Gamifcation has also been integrated into Help Desk software.
In 2012, Freshdesk, a SaaS-based customer support product, integrated gamifcation features,
allowing agents to earn badges based on performance.
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Gamifcation has also been used as a tool for customer engagement, and for encouraging desirable
website usage behavior. Furthermore, gamifcation is easy to use for increasing engagement on
social network sites. For example, in August 2010, DevHub announced that they had increased
the number of users who completed their online tasks from 10% to 80% after adding gamifcation
elements.
On the programming question-and-answer site, Stack Overfow users received points and/or
badges for performing a variety of actions, including spreading links to questions and answers
via Facebook and Twitter. A large number of diferent badges are available, and when a users
reputation points exceed various limits, he gains additional privileges, including a higher end
privilege of helping to moderate the site.
Gamifcation in ideation focuses on incentives. In the past, participants in a brainstorming session
were given incentives in two ways. Participants were either rewarded based on their individual
contribution or they are rewarded based on the groups collective output. Neither is perfect.
Rewarding participants based only on the groups collective output encourages freeloading where
all receive equal credit regardless of their level of participation or lack thereof.
Gamifcation has been widely used in education and training:
Microsoft released Ribbon Hero 2 as an add-on to their Ofce productivity suite to help train
people to use it efectively. It is one of their most popular projects.
The New York City Department of Education set up a school called Quest to Learn, centered
on game-based learning, with the intent to make education more engaging and relevant to
modern kids.
SAP has used games to educate their employees on sustainability.
The US military and Unilever have also utilized gamifcation in their training.
The Khan Academy uses gamifcation techniques in online education.
In August 2009, the educational location-based game Gbanga Zooh for Zurich Zoo was
launched. Participants try to actively save endangered animals and physically bring them back
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to a zoo. Players maintained virtual habitats across the Canton of Zurich to attract and collect
endangered species of animals.
Applications like Fitocracy and QUENTIQ use gamifcation to urge users to exercise correctly and
improve their overall health. Users are given difering numbers of points for activities they perform
in their workouts. They also gain levels based on points collected. Users can also complete quests
and gain achievement badges for ftness milestones. Health Month adds facets of social gaming by
allowing successful users to restore points to users who have failed to meet certain goals.
Gamifcation has been used as a tool for improving employee productivity.
RedCritter Tracker, Playcall, and Arcaris are examples of management tools that use gamifcation
to increase productivity.
Games like Foldit, have gamifed crowdsourcing.
The ESP Game is used to generate image metadata.
Google Image Labeler is a version of the ESP Game that Google has licensed to produce its own
image metadata.
Research from the University of Bonn used gamifcation to increase wiki contributions by 62%.
Gamifcation Sites
eBay
eBay has long used a points system allowing users to show their status on the site. The success of
this system, which also issues badges to the best sellers, shows the importance of reputation as a
reward to both buyers and sellers. Regular users know these are key game mechanics.
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Mint
Mint.com uses indirect gamifcation mainly through progress bars and fun feedback. This helps
members manage their personal fnances. Members can also post details about their fnancial
goals to increase their chances of reaching those goals. There may be no badges or prizes but the
game mechanics is said to be efective.
MuchMusic.com
The Canadian MTV version MuchMusic.com gamifed its site with a program called MuchCloser.
Members gain points by watching videos, reading blogs, leaving comments and sharing content. As
points increase, users receive rewards and trophies and become eligible for prizes and giveaways.
The most active users are marked as important members of the MuchMusic community.
Samsung Nation
Samsung uses gamifcation in its social loyalty program to recognize and empower its most
passionate supporters. Users earn points, level up, unlock badges and gain entry into contests and
promotions for watching videos, commenting on articles, reviewing products and participating
in user-generated Q&As. Top users appear on a leaderboard, and an activity stream keeps users
updated on site activities.
sneakpeeq
Retail site sneakpeeq ofers products including gourmet foods, accessories, apparel and more at
discounted prices. The more you buy, share, love (similar to liking) an item, and peeq (viewing an
items price), the more badges and rewards you unlock, and the more incentives and surprises you
receive. Leaderboards make the experience more social and competitive.
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Xbox Live
Microsofts game platform Xbox utilizes a game within a game concept, using elements of
gamifcation within its games. It is Similar to Shakespeares play within a play.
Gamifcation - Mobile
Foursquare
With this free mobile app, users get points and win rewards when they check in at various places
and share their experiences with others. It uses points and badges for this. Users can also get
special deals, such as a discount at a restaurant or a freebie for bringing friends. Foursquare also
helps users move to the next level by suggesting actions the user should take. Checking in enough
times can also make a user a mayor of the community which brings with it privileges, such as a
special parking place.
GetGlue
GetGlue is a bit similar to Foursquare, but instead of checking in at favorite restaurants and shops,
users check in while watching shows, listening to music, reading books or engaging in other
entertainment-related activities. Users receive relevant recommendations, exclusive stickers
(similar to badges), discounts, and other rewards.
Nike+
Is a service that encourages health and ftness activities. Users log their physical activity using a
mobile app or other Nike gear. Rewards include NikeFuel, a term Nike uses to describe points. Users
can also share accomplishments with friends and with other Nike+ members. Earning NikeFuel,
unlocks awards, trophies and surprises.
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Recyclebank
Recyclebank is a company that gives members points for doing everyday green actions. This
could be using less water, recycling, making greener purchases, using energy more efciently or
walking to work instead of driving. Members can take online quizzes about ecology and share
information from the site with friends on Facebook, Twitter and mobile applications to earn more
points. Users can convert points at participating local and national retailers to rewards such as gifts
and fowers, books and magazines, or health and beauty items.
#Nwplyng
This music app rewards users badges they call records, for identifying and sharing their music
preferences with friends via Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. They also give special artist records
which a user can earn by sharing 12 of an artists lesser known tracks to unlock points and more
music.
Starbucks
Starbucks program is really simple. The more cofee you buy, the more rewards you get and the
more you fll up your cup. This visual aspect of reaching a goal by flling up the cup motivates users
to accomplish the highest level of earning.
Viggle
Viggle rewards users for watching television and users earn points by checking in while watching
their favorite shows, playing trivia and interacting live as the shows air. You also get points for
sharing any shows, Facebook, or Twitter content.
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FuelGood
FuelGood gamifes the driving process and encourages users to decrease their carbon footprint.
FuelGood monitors driving and ofers tips for improving gas mileage. The feedback system helps
the driver beat his personal best and ofers diferent trips with similar distances to see how fuel
consumption is improving.
Mobee
This gamifcation involves pairing secret shoppers with retailers. Mystery shoppers play games
which they call missions to earn points towards rewards. You can earn points to get a free cofee in
less than fve minutes of playing.
Red Robin
Red Robin uses gamifcation in their loyalty program ofering many diferent ways to interact and
earn points. Their Burger Board Games allow users to really experience game mechanics while
enjoying Red Robin products. Their Toss the Onion Ring game allows customers to earn points
toward rewards. They also reward check-ins and social shares.
Other Applications
Fruit Ninja Kinect, Neuroscience Research Australia
Players smash virtual fruit in this game which is used to help the elderly recover from medical
problems, stay ft and even prevent devastating falls. As part of Neuroscience Research Australias
iStoppFalls program, a slowed down version of the game is available on Xbox Kinect, allowing the
elderly to play along with their grandchildren.
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Fallen Angels, Lynx
Lynx involve commuters interacting with the reality game.
Passengers who stepped on patches on the foor of the open concourse, triggered virtual angels
falling to earth. Participants could then watch themselves interact with the virtual angel on a big
screen overlooking the concourse. Branding was the main purpose of the gamifcation.
Coinland, Commonwealth Bank
The game was intended for children aged fve to 10 years old. The game teaches them about the
benefts of earning, saving and investing money through a series of tasks aimed at developing
fnancial literacy skills.
Children can also play with friends by adding other users to their buddy lists.
Dream Team, AFL
This game is for everyone and you get to play it free. Users choose a team of 30 players, and receive
points based on the performance of those players to qualify for the prize pool. Participation rates
in the game are high, and the AFL generates content around the game including a Dream Team
show and news updates on player performance. Players also compete in public or private mini-
leagues against friends to qualify for the grand prize of a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Re-Mission, HopeLab
HopeLab developed this game specifcally for young adults with cancer.
Players of the game pilot a nanobot named Roxxi as she travels through the bodies of fctional
cancer patients destroying cancer cells, battling bacterial infections, and managing side efects
associated with cancer and cancer treatment. Messages delivered through this game are apparently
efective that observers say it encourages patients to take their tablets and had better recovery
rates than those that didnt play.
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Sparx, New Zealand Ministry of Health and University of Auckland
SPARX is a self-help computer program to help young people who shows signs of depression.
This 3D fantasy game was developed by teenage depression specialists from the University of
Auckland to engage youth in a self-learning depression management program. It teaches
cognitive behavioral therapy techniques by travelling through diferent stages of the role-playing
game design to address diferent aspects of depression. Results from testing the game showed its
marked efectiveness against medication and even face-to-face treatment.
Investorville, Commonwealth Bank
Investorville combines market data creative technology that gives users a try at property investing
without risking their money. Banks can deliver complex messages about investing and give
potential investors a taste. 100,000 visitors have clicked on the site and 23,000 of them have
registered and entered their details into the game, resulting in 630 loans.
Jay-Z: Decoded, Random House Publishing Group (RHPG)
The campaign was launched to stimulate interest in reading books. RHPG launched the product
with a unique social game engaging the curiosity of customers. They pre-released pages of the
memoir, printed on various surfaces and hidden around the world. They were inside food wrappers
and even in the silk lining of a Gucci jacket. The campaign targeted an audience of non-readers and
encouraged them to read books. Players were tasked to fnd over 300 pages in 600 placements in
15 locations worldwide. Players had to assemble and decode the book together online before its
release date.
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Optimal Applications
Companies who want to jump into gamifcation all at once would do well to examine the following
optimal environments for gamifcation applications:
1. Call Centers.
Using leaderboards is a good start and is actually a current practice in many call centers and is
a simple gamifcation technique. This could improve morale and boost results. Dashboards are
also used as motivators in call centers that mostly result in improved productivity.
2. Social media and knowledge sharing.
It is obviously more fun to participate in consumer-oriented social networks than corporate
networks. Social networks where people can see pictures of their grandkids, check on high
school crushes, and catch up on the latest puppy videos would be a more ideal environment
to try out a gamifcation project. Employees might need some incentives to share information
and expertise in a more enjoyable setting.
For example, a management consulting frm in New York called Bluewolf uses Salesforce.
coms Chatter platform as its internal social network. At the beginning of the year, the platform
was gamifed, with employees getting points when they post comments. They earn more
points if the comment stimulates a conversation. They also get points for sharing reports to
their outside social networks, or publishing a blog post, or making presentations on weekly
knowledge management calls.
Employees can earn points and exchange them for fight upgrades, lunch with the CEO, and
trips to the Salesforce.com annual conference. Challenges came up with the rewards employees
would want to receive and new tasks for the participants to complete.
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The good news was results from Bluewolf say participation in the companys social network
increased 57% during the frst quarter of the year and continued to grow in the second quarter.
Inbound trafc to the corporate website also increased.
3. Crowdsourcing.
Appirio, a cloud solutions vendor trying to compete against much larger consulting frms, like
Accenture and Deloitte, launched CloudSpokes two years ago. It is an online community where
thousands of developers compete to solve programming challenges.To make it efective the
company involved the developers themselves to check for loopholes in the contests and in
judging the results. Strategists say it allowed participants to learn in a diferent way.
4. Training.
Gamifcation in training has been regular fare in industries for some time now. Learning games
and simulations are efective for teaching complex skills and conveying large amounts of
content. In fact, companies these days go beyond the mere quiz-style games.
Designing Digitally in Ohio is developing a massive territorial 3D immersive sales game which
works with government agencies, universities and corporations, including the U.S. Air Force
and TD Ameritrade. It has been described as multi-user Grand Theft Auto, but with salesmen.
Business can look into best-selling games for ideas by analyzing the way they are structured
and how they can be used as content.
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Questions
1. Aside from leaderboards, which of the following are used as motivators in call centers that
mostly result in improved productivity?
a. Dashboards
b. Gamifcation
c. Crowdsourcing
d. Rewards
2. Which gamifcation application teaches people how to use Microsoft Ofce efectively?
a. SAP
b. The Khan Academy
c. Quest to Learn school
d. Ribbon Hero 2
3. Which gamifcation site uses a points system and shows the importance of reputation as a
reward to buyers and sellers?
a. Sneakpeeq
b. eBay
c. Nike+
d. Viggle
4. Which area of education has gamifcation been commonly used and has been efective in
teaching complex skills?
a. Training
b. Crowdsourcing
c. Social media
d. Call Centers
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5. When gamifcation is applied in ideation, what does it focus on?
a. Crowdsourcing
b. Incentives
c. Dashboards
d. Training
6. Which of the following activities does the gamifcation site SamsungNation give rewards for?
a. Participating in user-generated Q&As
b. Recommending unknown music
c. Updating sites
d. Creating blogs
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Trends and Future of Gamifcation
Objectives
To learn about trends in Gamifcation.
To study the future of Gamifcation.
Gamifcation Trends
Gamifcation is currently growing faster than any technology of its kind as organizations across
market segments leverage challenges, goals and tasks, as well as points, badges and leaderboards,
designed to engage employees and customers. With this evolution fundamental mechanics
developed over the past few years will continue to be the essential sustaining elements of most
gamifcation campaigns.
Mechanics are tools you use to achieve objectives. Tools such as leaderboards are not going to
go out of style but they can be leveraged either very efectively or very badly, but none of the
fundamental components of gamifcation are expected to just disappear in the near future.
2013 onwards will see the continued use of gamifcation mechanics or tools in retail. Organizations
will continue to use mechanics such as leaderboards, badges and titles in the coming years.
Experts forecast this year as pivotal for gamifcation in retail. More executives are discovering
and understanding the growing integration and relationship between mobile platforms, social
media and gamifcation for digital campaigns. They feel the potential for gamifed behavior is just
in its beginning phase, particularly in relation to product consideration and purchases in retail.
Chapter 8
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GAMIFICATION
Consumer behavior, the ways they share information via social media, and the devices they use to
connect with brands and friends in places where retail is possible are just the tip of the iceberg. If
the last couple of years showed its ability to grasp its place in the industry in the coming year will
establish its secure hold.
A business expert not a gaming expert actually identifed the many diverse opportunities where
marketers can connect with consumers across channels. He predicts a more exciting time for
retailers because gamifcation drives the consumer as a participant and not just someone sitting
at a computer. A retailer can use gamifcation to engage customers when theyre in the store or
out running errands.
One particular obvious area to engage customers is in communication devices. The increasing
popularity of Smartphones across all age demographics is providing retailers with perfect
opportunities to combine game-infused campaigns and strategies into actual physical stores. This
may be practiced by certain sectors but a business expert says it is not performed well.
The feedback one can get inside a store is instantaneous and one needs the ability to send very
fast feedback to customers. In banking and retail, a customer will be rewarded points sometimes
90 days after the fact. That does not work anymore against some other stores or instantly received
feedback on my phone.
Overall, experts predict no gamifcation tools will be unused or discarded this year but will in fact
be used more and extensively as more robust tools especially as gamifcation establishes stronger
ties with superior company performance.
The term gamifcation might not be frequently used, but the concept of data motivating people
is just going to be good strategy. It would be a waste not to beneft from all the data that your
employees and customers are generating. Business gurus say smart organizations will use
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gamifcation to become even more successful, and predict it will become even more rooted in
everything people do.
Future of Gamifcation
There are proponents convinced beyond a doubt of the future of gamifcation, but there are also
those skeptical about its shelf life. Despite the confdence of some gaming and business experts
there are those who are unconvinced. A look at the future of gamifcation might give insight to
whether it could be useful or not. It is also noteworthy to remember that gamifcation should
be integrated with other elements of business to become a successful application. There still
are organizations not sure of the viability and longevity of gamifcation as a means to engage
and motivate target audiences. Some enterprises have difculty understanding the trend and its
longer-term implications. A recent survey revealed 53% of people surveyed believe that by 2020,
the use of gamifcation will be widespread and 42% expected that, by 2020, gamifcation will not
grow into a much bigger trend, except in specifc industry sectors.
Some skeptics still fnd it a challenge to understand and believe the power of gamifcation
to engage users. Organizations have trouble understanding the mechanics and question the
practicality and permanence of gamifcation not to mention the cost. Since marketing works in
trends and buzzwords that have their peaks and bottoms it explains why they think it will be a
short-lived trend. The term has only become well-known in 2010.
Strategists and decision makers need to understand the long-term impact of gamifcation and
acknowledge the prospects that they can leverage.
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Some technologies that helped gamifcation evolve are:
Mobile technology (Smartphones/tablets).
Cloud (Connecting digital networks).
Social (Online networks that have brought people together).
Location based services.
While the technologies cited above have helped gamifcation grow, the emerging technologies
that follow will help keep gamifcation alive in the future.
Augmented reality (apps that come to life).
Gesture control (controlling a smart TV with your hands).
Head mounted displays (Google Glass).
Wearable technology.
Organizations will be able to design new marketing strategies by combining the existing proven
technologies and emerging technologies, one of which is gamifcation. It will enable many sectors
and industries to seamlessly integrate technology into our daily lives, just like social networks and
Smartphones have.
Future uses of gamifcation will establish emerging trends and available technologies and will
more than likely impact the following areas:
Increasing Employee Performance
Predictions center around objectives of increased employee engagement, better productivity and
reduced company costs. Gamifcation is expected to improve employee engagement and increase
retention rates. It is also expected to improve productivity, both leading to more efcient workers
and reduced costs for the company. Game mechanics is not a new concept used in the workplace,
chiefy to entice with cash and extrinsic rewards, possibly commission incentives to increase
sales performance. More sophisticated game methods and advances in technology can help
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management align employee activities to support business goals, hopefully at a departmental
basis.
They hope to make it an intrinsic motivator (social capital/self-esteem) which has been proven to
produce better outcomes than extrinsic motivations or specifcally money. Employee performance
feedback can then be changed as a top-down and yearly process to a social, peer-based process
done in real time.
Gamifed Personal Development
Gamifcation can be used strategically for personal development by applying it in healthcare or
organizations that promote health and wellness. Combining it with social environments can help
its personal development as well.
It may be difcult to believe but gamifcation can beneft a personal trainer, football coach, or
even a weight loss consultants business in the future. Gamifying services will reinforce your
customers motivation and increase customer retention. One can do it by simple integration with
social networks (Tweet your results/Share on Facebook), which could also increase their social
recognition which helps intrinsic motivation. If you want a more sophisticated and investment-
centric approach to gamifying personal development, you can tap healthcare outfts or companies
including gyms, spas, or hospitals. You can also use it in other types of businesses that promote
healthier lifestyles, as they can integrate emerging technologies, as mentioned previously, into
their services.
The Emergence of Customer Engagement Platforms
Game mechanics can be used in something as simple as grocery shopping, fostering loyalty to a
particular company through rewards given to customers. One example is through cross branding
and platforms.
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Common industries such airlines and supermarkets can actually use gamifcation to make their
businesses better. Brands have recognized the signifcance of loyalty marketing with promos like
Air Miles and other notable programs like Nectar points and Tesco Clubcard. This basic model
of buying from a particular company to receive extrinsic rewards uses basic game mechanics.
Consumers know about this and are probably already participants of many loyalty schemes.
They might also get tired of the same loyalty scheme that gives them a Store Card where the
investment outweighs the returns. An example of a customer loyalty platform that gamifcation
can be integrated into in the future is gamifed loyalty.
Gamifed Loyalty or Cross Branding & Platforms use game mechanics in a program that allows
consumers to use points or rewards across many other retailers and brands that are part of the
loyalty program. One can create points that can be used as currency for exchanging goods, services
or other rewards. The ability to attain and spend points from various outlets makes the rewards
more signifcant to the consumer.
An Explosion of Innovation
The Department for Work and Pensions in the U.K. and Allstate have already leveraged more
advanced game mechanics to motivate employee engagement in the innovation process and they
expect it to continue. Predictions say more than 50% of organizations that manage innovation
processes will gamify those processes by 2015. Benefts already witnessed from early users show a
trend toward leveraging employees to push innovation and for it to accelerate.
Organizations are also starting to use gamifcation to control broader audiences in innovation.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Defense Department
recently announced its Fast, Adaptable, Next-Generation Ground (FANG) Design Challenge to
crowdsource design and manufacturing processes for its FANG Vehicle. Quirky is crowdsourcing
product innovation. It uses game mechanics to forecast product ideas with the greatest potential
for success. Another example is FoldIt from the University of Washington, which recruits citizen
scientists to solve complex problems in protein folding, and advances science in the process.
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Predictions say gamifcation will play a major role in innovation management, by engaging a target
audience and weighting the collective intelligence of the crowd to accumulate ideas, develop
them and predict success using prediction market mechanisms.
Innovation management is a good way to introduce gamifcation in an organization. Vendors
can usually help out organizations looking for individuals who have extensive experience in
gamifcation in innovation. Practitioners see innovation management as a natural domain
for gamifcation, and the advancement of innovation game design. A broader target audience
participation and a greater number of organizations using this approach, will push gamifed,
crowdsourced innovations by 2020.
Innovation management and gamifcation closely complement each other. Organizations that
want experience in gamifcation could use innovation management as an ideal application,
because it has a low risk of problems and a huge opportunity for benefts to the business.
Frequently vendors are those that possess considerable experience in leveraging gamifcation for
innovation management.
Organizations can use the services of these individuals who can provide software to support idea
management. Spigit and Brightidea are two samples of software that can provide such services.
The Design of Employee Performance
Game mechanics have long been applied to infuence employee performance. Contests have been
regular fare in that area. Using game mechanics to improve employee performance is far from a
new concept.
For example, contests may be unsophisticated tools but are often used to push sales performance.
More advanced game design techniques supported by technology can be employed to infuence
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employee behaviors, such as fne-tuning exercises that support organizational goals. The most
current applications of game mechanics in employee performance depend on monetary or other
extrinsic rewards and competitive game theories, but it has only been successful up to a certain
extent.
A survey discovered only 29% of employees are engaged at work, 52% were unengaged and 19%
as disengaged. It has been said that intrinsic rewards work better than extrinsic rewards when
creating higher levels of engagement and improved results.
Gamifcation takes advantage of intrinsic rewards such as social capital, self-esteem and fun for
currency outweighing extrinsic rewards as motivators for improved performance. Competitive
games will be employed less in employee performance and will be displaced by collaborative
games designed to maximize business outcomes, in place of rewarding a few top performers. This
moves employee performance feedback from top-down and regular to social, peer-based and
real-time.
Game mechanics are applied in diferent ways to diferent types of work to drive diferent types of
behavior.
Scripted games are usually employed for low-skilled jobs like that of a service desk analyst.
These include specifc tasks and rewards to be accomplished. Social recognition within the
workgroup and mastery of the tasks will motivate these workers. Scripted games may be
benefcial for low-skilled workers but they can pose some risks.
With knowledge work like those of project managers or product designers, what would work
are emergent game structures more than scripted games. Emergent games provide players
with the goals, tools, rules and space to play, but their actions are not scripted, and most often,
the process or outcome is unknown. Ideation or innovation management platforms commonly
use them. This type of emergent game structure is efective for knowledge work where the
outcome is indistinct, but the goal defned. If you want to extend this approach for complex
goals you will need multiple players by using self-organizing teams.
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Game design skills are now being replaced by top-down approaches using command and control
management. Sources predict successful managers will become great game designers in the
future who will engage employees through either scripted or emergent games to achieve defned
business outcomes.
Even though employee-behavior design is an ingenious approach, organizations have to be careful
about using employee-facing gamifcation applications. Employees must not feel manipulated
or intimidated, but helped in realizing their objectives. Organizations have to clearly defne the
organizational objectives of high-interactivity applications, understand employee objectives and
focus on where the two overlap. They should make sure applications are people-centric and allow
employees to reach their goals aligned with organizational objectives.
The Globalization of Advanced Education
Difculty in gaining access to advanced education is generally known as a problem in developing
countries caused by mostly fnancial issues and is most often only accessible to those in the upper
economic brackets.
A degree from an accredited university is commonly the key to entering the workforce, but trends
including gamifcation could be changing that. Gamifcation together with other technologies is
changing the engagement of students in learning, recognition of skills attainment, and access to
advanced education.
Training and education programs have been using gamifcation for more than twenty years and
has improved the engagement of students in the learning process. Game mechanics, like points,
badges and integration in the social network, are used as a game layer for course material to fast
track feedback and give social recognition rewards that increase student/player engagement
in learning. Some course material is entrenched in game environments that include simulation,
animation and storylines to engage student/players even more. This apparently results in better
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learning.
Globalizing education is important overall even if this trend does not incorporate game
mechanics. Many courses ofered by universities have recently become accessible online and free
for anyone who has an interest in signing up. Coursera for instance, ofers about 200 courses from
33 universities and more than half a million students have signed up. Class sizes often reach the
tens of thousands, but the professors time commitments are lessened through on-demand video
lectures, online tests and peer review of work assignments. Although most courses taken online at
no cost do not provide course credits, sources say that may change soon.
Recognition of skills attainment is a concern as well. A major element of education is the broad
recognition of the skills that have been acquired. These may be attained through higher education,
work experience or independent study, but higher education institutions have control over
recognition of knowledge attainment, and usually only provide that recognition (in the form of
a degree) to students who have paid their fees and attended the classes. This could change soon.
For example, P2P University (P2PU) provides a collaborative learning environment for students to
create course material on topics of interest to the community. While this is an important advance in
providing education, another important one is the use of badges (a game mechanic) to recognize
skills attainment. Using Mozillas Open Badges framework, collaborators in P2PU courses can gain
recognition for skill attainment without the involving of a higher education organization. For now
P2PU badges may have little recognition beyond the P2PU community, they say this could change
in the coming years.
Experts predict 2020 will see gamifcation helping to advance global education, allowing access to
a wider audience. Practitioners see gamifcation used in the near future to develop more engaging
course material.
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They say advanced education will be global, allow more equal access to education and more open
recognition of skill attainment through badges. Alternate options to formal higher education
can make education more engaging, more accessible to a wider group of people and broadly
recognized.
Organizations need to assess gamifed training applications for internal deployment, such as
employee onboarding. They also need to encourage employees to develop skills using alternative
resources.
Business managers and HR departments should continually assess quickly changing certifcation
alternatives to fnd out when and if alternative certifcations are accepted as a recognition of skill
attainment.
The Gamifcation of Personal Development
Several gamifed applications are currently available in the market for companies to use. These are
designed mainly to modify personal behavior, but they are moderately simple, using only basic
game mechanics.
They are frequently little more than reminder systems with some points and badges added to
them. The more efective systems incorporate with social networks to reinforce motivation with
additional social recognition. Some examples include gamifed applications to coach people
to lose weight, quit smoking, improve ftness, correct posture, manage personal fnances, take
medication and improve memory.
Game design approaches are predicted to improve to deliver motivation for personal development,
with the use of personal development applications increasing signifcantly. This would be driven
by new technologies such as enhanced reality and natural-language interfaces that allow a more
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natural interface.
Gesture control and emotion detection technologies will allow gamifed personal development
applications to measure your progress and modify it based on your status. Consolidating expert
advice with gamifed personal coaching systems, will provide a richer coaching experience.
For example, a simple gamifed personal development system can tell you to do 20 pushups and
gives you points for completing them because thats what the program tells it to do. Incorporating
these emerging technologies with expert advice in the future will allow a gamifed personal ftness
coach to tell you to do pushups, assess and correct your posture while doing those pushups,
evaluate your eforts, and modify the number of pushups to match your level of ftness.
Gamifcation can beneft healthcare organizations, governments and other organizations that
promote healthier lifestyles, improved personal fnance or other lifestyle improvements for a
deeper engagement of the target audience. They would have to identify the specifc behavior
change and the target audience, and begin to use gamifcation in applications that focus on
these behavior changes. Experts say many of these cases would pose little risk and encourage
organizations to begin developing and using applications focused on personal development now.
The Emergence of Customer Engagement Platforms
The biggest benefts of gamifcation today in business is customer loyalty and marketing
applications with consumer brands. Samsung, Nike and Pepsi, are the forerunners of gamifcation.
Although big brands have the resources to develop customized gamifcation applications, there
are many opportunities for coalition loyalty platforms to develop that combine loyalty programs
from many retailers, services and brands. Some examples of these aggregators are Air Miles in
Canada, Nectar in the U.K., and Shopcade and Womply in the U.S. But, these programs use only
117
basic game mechanics and extrinsic reward schemes. The opportunity for loyalty platforms is to
urge members to engage more by using more intrinsic rewards and more advanced game design
approaches.
Sources say that in less than ten years a small group of dominant loyalty platforms will emerge. The
following factors are reasons why this will happen.
Cross-brand sponsorship and participation Loyalty platforms are appealing to consumers
if many of the retailers, services and brands that they already use are part of the same program.
Aggregation of points and levels By accumulating points, rewards can be more important,
and players can level-up by virtue of their total program involvement, rather than involvement
with a single loyalty marketing program.
Levels are broadly recognized Becoming a silver or gold member provides recognition
and entitlement across the brand network.
Players become loyal to the platform and the brand community Brands that are not part
of the community are considered outsiders and are less attractive to consumers.
Points become a transferable virtual currency Points can be exchanged in diferent ways
for goods, services or other rewards, and can be transferred to other people.
Platform consolidation will occur through network efect Multiple customer engagement
platforms will combine to create a small number of dominant platforms.
Brands, retailers and service providers will have to monitor the development of loyalty platforms
to identify emerging or existing loyalty management organizations that combine more advanced
game design and game mechanics into their loyalty programs. Enterprises have to choose to
partner with those loyalty programs because gamifed loyalty coalition platforms will begin to
develop. They ofer both engaging game design methods and a critical mass of compatible loyalty
partners.
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Final Thoughts
Industries will change as technology grows and becomes more accessible. The hotel industry has
experienced most of these changes. The important message from gamifcation is to assess how
relevant it is to your business. Large successful companies may be using it but it doesnt mean that
you have to.
What you need to look for will be specifc to each industry. Look for early signs of impact of new
technology, whether it be new processes or even a whole new business model. It would help to
be aware of the changes taking place and most importantly the behavior change that its bringing
with it. You can think about leveraging gamifcation for your beneft once you have realized this.
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Questions
1. Which of the following are tools used to accomplish objectives in gamifcation?
a. Campaigns
b. Gamifcation
c. Mechanics
d. Behavior
2. Which of the following is a good way to introduce gamifcation in an organization?
a. Innovation management
b. Game mechanics
c. Advanced education
d. Personal development
3. In business today, which of the following are the biggest benefts of gamifcation?
a. Personal development
b. Customer engagement
c. Success in personal development
d. Customer loyalty and marketing applications with consumer brands
4. Which area will future gamifcation applications afect that could result in less company costs
and better productivity?
a. Increasing employee performance
b. Gamifed personal development
c. Performance evaluations
d. Increased customer activity
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5. Which of the following uses game mechanics to forecast product ideas with the greatest
potential for success?
a. Quirky
b. Gamifcation
c. Brightidea
d. Education
6. Which technology will allow gamifed personal development applications that will measure
your progress and modify it based on your status?
a. Game design technologies
b. Gesture control/emotion detection technologies
c. Gamifed social technology
d. Augmented reality
Chapter 9
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Answers
Chapter 1
1. c
2. a
3. c
4. d
5. c
6. c
Chapter 2
1. b
2. a
3. b
4. d
5. c
6. b
Chapter 3
1. c
2. a
3. b
4. a
5. d
6. a
Chapter 4
1. c
2. d
3. a
4. c
5. b
6. a
Chapter 5
1. a
2. b
3. d
4. c
5. b
6. a
Chapter 6
1. b
2. a
3. d
4. c
5. b
6. d
Chapter 7
1. a
2. d
3. b
4. a
5. b
6. a
Chapter 8
1. c
2. a
3. d
4. a
5. a
6. b
Chapter 9
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Index
A
achievements 7, 23, 33-5, 38, 46-9, 68, 84-5, 87-8
actual games 21-2, 29
advanced education 113, 115, 119
applications 9, 11, 14, 18, 37, 49, 65, 70, 80, 85, 94, 98, 112-13, 116
attention 16, 60, 63, 67, 71, 78
B
badges 7, 16-17, 19, 23, 28, 33-5, 38-9, 42, 47, 49, 52, 82, 87-8, 92-6, 105, 113-15
Badgeville 18-19, 36, 87
behaviorism 8, 54-5, 61-2
behaviors 15, 23-4, 37, 49, 54-6, 58-9, 62, 66, 74, 84, 87-8, 112, 119
desired 11, 20-1, 23, 46, 55, 60
beliefs 66, 68, 82
book 1-3, 13, 96-7, 100
brands 1, 59, 106, 110, 116-17
Bunchball 17-19, 36, 86-7
business objectives 81-3, 90
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123
businesses 9, 12, 15-16, 23, 31-2, 35, 37, 42, 75, 80, 82-4, 87, 89-91, 102, 109-11, 118-19
buyers 25-6, 94, 103
C
challenges 7, 11, 22, 43-4, 47, 51, 73-4, 76, 85, 101
children 66-7, 70, 99
classes 49, 74, 114
classroom 67-8, 74, 76
collection 21, 25, 28, 40, 42, 72
community 15, 20, 47, 49-50, 89, 91, 96, 114, 117
companies 2, 18, 25, 35-7, 46, 54-5, 59, 82-3, 85, 87-9, 92, 97, 101-2, 108-9, 115
Compassionate Gamifcation 8, 53, 59, 61-2
competition 7, 33-4, 37-9, 43, 45, 48, 50-1, 59, 70-1
Constraints 7, 41, 51
consumers 21-2, 31, 38, 46, 87, 106, 110, 117
content 26, 49, 63-4, 69-70, 76, 78, 89-90, 99, 102
contests 95, 102, 111
context 1, 11, 16-17, 57-8, 67
control 44, 57, 66, 76, 84-5, 110, 114
cooperation 7, 24, 29, 43, 45, 50
Coursera 75, 78, 114
Crowdsourcing 38, 88, 90, 102-4
Chapter 10
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currencies 20, 28, 110, 112
customer engagement 12, 16, 80, 83, 93, 119
customer loyalty 21, 116, 119
customers 15, 20-2, 25, 31-2, 35, 57-9, 84-6, 89, 98, 100, 105-6, 109
D
Dashboards 101, 103-4
degree 36, 113-14
depression 60, 68, 100
design 22, 24, 60, 81-2, 85, 88, 108
designers 16-17, 20, 59, 65, 70
developers 22, 59-60, 102
devices, mobile 37, 74-5
discounts 69, 88-9, 92, 96
E
earning 49, 97, 99
eBay 25-6, 94, 103
education 1, 8-9, 12, 63, 66, 68-71, 78, 80, 87, 93, 103, 114-15, 120
education gamifcation 68, 71, 78
educators 12, 68, 71-2, 76
Emergence of Customer Engagement Platforms 90, 109, 116
emotions 7, 42, 51, 69
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Emphatic feedback 8, 60-2
employee performance 80, 111-12
employees 15, 20-2, 31-2, 35, 37, 46, 54, 81, 83-6, 88, 90, 93, 101, 105-6, 112-13, 115
engagement 14, 17, 30-1, 34-6, 74, 86, 89, 112, 116
Engagement Gap 36, 38-9
evidence 8, 33, 56, 58, 61-2
experience 20, 23, 42, 76, 95-6, 111
non-game 14-15, 20
extrinsic motivations 54, 60-1, 109
F
Facebook 23, 31, 74, 93, 97, 109
feedback 3, 7, 21, 25, 32-5, 38-9, 43, 45, 51, 61, 66-7, 72-4, 84-5, 88, 106
feedback loop 8, 53, 55-8, 61-2
Foursquare 17, 19-20, 48, 96-7
framework 40, 47, 51, 83
fun 16-17, 20, 22, 28, 36-7, 39, 64, 69, 83, 101, 112
G
game design 16, 18-19, 36
game designers 19-20, 113
game elements 18, 36, 40, 51, 70-1
game mechanics 14, 17, 30, 34, 43, 45, 51, 95, 108-14, 117, 119-20
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basic 110, 115, 117
gamers 36-7, 70
games 14-16, 18-23, 28, 30, 32, 34-8, 40-8, 50-1, 53, 58-9, 63-6, 73-4, 77-8, 84, 87-9, 98-100
gamifcation, word 16, 18-20
gamifcation applications 1, 11, 37, 101, 103, 119
gamifcation design 17, 19-20, 86, 90
gamifcation elements 6, 12, 22, 40, 93
Gamifcation in Education 8-9, 12, 63, 66, 70-1
gamifcation platforms 18-19, 87
gamifcation projects 58, 77, 86-7, 90, 101
Gamifcation Sites 9, 89, 92, 94
gamifcation techniques 35, 92-3
gamifed applications 19, 37, 81, 83, 115
gamifed systems 40-2, 60
gamifying 23, 85, 87, 109
gaming 11, 15, 18, 70, 107
gifting 7, 48-9
goals 18, 21-2, 24, 32, 45, 47, 57, 68, 72, 78, 83, 85, 89, 94-5, 97, 112-13
goods 25-6, 117
group 44, 47, 93, 115
H
health 37, 59, 80, 94, 96-7, 100, 109
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humans 11, 24-5
I
ICD (Incentive-centered design) 6, 24-6, 28-9
incentive-centered design 6, 24-6, 29
incentives 20, 24-6, 28, 30-1, 34-5, 50, 54, 66, 82-3, 91, 93, 95, 101, 104
individuals 12, 15, 48, 52, 56, 111
industries 1, 11-12, 18, 49, 87, 89, 102, 106, 108, 118
information 1-2, 24-5, 32, 55-8, 62, 71, 91, 97, 101, 106
information security 25, 28-9
innovation 88, 110-11
innovation management 80, 111, 119
interact 50, 59, 92, 98-9
Interdisciplinary concepts 24, 28-9
items 19, 25-6, 45-6, 48, 50, 83-4, 95
J
job 15, 21, 31, 86
K
kids 64, 67, 69, 71, 79
knowledge 11-13, 66, 86, 101
Knowre 75-6, 78
128
GAMIFICATION
L
language 72-3, 78, 90
leaderboards 7, 16-17, 19-20, 34, 48, 52, 59, 82, 85-6, 95, 103, 105
learning 14, 16, 64, 66-8, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 113-14
leveling 34, 73, 75
levels 7, 33-6, 38, 41, 43, 48-9, 52, 60, 67, 71, 80-1, 93, 95-6, 116-17
leveraging gamifcation 82, 111, 118
log 3-4, 87
love 3, 49, 68, 95
loyalty programs 84, 98, 110, 116-17
M
material 44-5, 63, 75, 113-14
Math 67, 75-6
mechanics 11, 14, 23, 28, 46-7, 105, 107, 119
members 69, 95-7, 117
money 46, 49, 54, 99-100, 109
motivation 8, 20, 25, 33-5, 39, 53-5, 59, 61-3, 67, 71, 83, 88, 115
intrinsic 8, 55, 60-2, 74, 109
motivators 21, 24, 60, 101, 103, 112
music 70, 79, 96-7
129
N
Nike 80, 82, 96, 103, 116
non-game applications 11, 14-15
O
objectives 6, 8-9, 14, 21, 24, 30, 37, 40, 42-3, 47, 51, 53, 63, 80, 82, 105
online 3, 11, 50, 59, 69, 75, 100, 114
organizations 11, 23, 54, 81, 87, 90, 105, 107-11, 113, 115-16, 119
P
participants 14, 23, 36, 53, 93, 99, 101-2, 106, 110
paths 15, 40, 57, 59, 88
person 1-2, 15, 59-60, 87
personal development 80, 109, 115-16, 119
Pitfalls 6, 12, 30, 35, 38-9
platforms 17-18, 76, 80, 101, 109, 117
players 15, 19, 32-3, 35, 38, 41-9, 51-3, 56-8, 64, 74, 82-3, 89, 94, 99-100, 112-13, 117
playing 5, 21-3, 43, 64, 66-7, 69, 98
points 8, 16-17, 19, 21, 23, 48-50, 52, 57-9, 64, 70-1, 73, 89, 93-9, 101, 110, 115-17
Predictions 81, 108, 110-11
principles 24, 55, 64-5
prizes 46, 54, 84, 95
processes 14-15, 24, 34, 68, 110, 112
130
GAMIFICATION
product 2, 20, 24-6, 35-6, 39, 44, 87-8, 95, 100
productivity 31, 35, 38, 71, 83, 94, 108, 119
program 4, 13, 35, 95, 97-8, 110, 116-17
Progression 36, 39, 88
psychology 16, 24, 53, 60-1
Psychology of Gamifcation 8, 12, 53
psychology theories 8, 60-1
pushes 31, 45, 49, 87, 111
Q
quality 25-6, 70, 72
quests 7, 43-4, 46, 48, 93, 103
R
ranks 33-5, 38, 52
Real-World Applications 9, 12, 92
recognition 20, 25-6, 47, 54, 83, 113-15, 117
reinforcement 68, 72, 74-5
positive 30, 33, 53, 74
research 17, 60, 66, 69-71, 77, 94
Resource Acquisition 7, 43, 45
resources 68, 115-16
retailers 98, 106, 110, 116-17
131
review 3, 11, 25, 63
reward system 31-2, 54
rewards 7, 15, 18-21, 23, 28, 31, 33, 35-6, 43-9, 54-5, 71, 88-90, 94-8, 103-4, 109-10, 117
extrinsic 70, 108, 112
intrinsic 19, 21, 28, 112, 117
Ribbon Hero 73-4, 78, 103
S
sales 20, 27, 86
samples 63, 78, 111
schools 44-5, 76-7, 93, 103
scores 45, 48, 52, 63, 74, 84
sellers 2, 25-6, 94, 103
services 2, 25-6, 36-7, 72, 85, 96, 109-11, 116-17
site 4, 18, 26, 32, 34-8, 49, 73, 93-5, 97, 100
situations 31, 59, 67
skills 44, 47, 73, 80, 90, 114-15
social media 31, 58, 101, 103, 105-6
social networks 17, 26, 59-60, 101-2, 108-9, 113, 115
software 17-18, 88, 111
status 46, 49, 83, 94, 116, 120
stories 19, 21, 81
strategy 58, 81, 85, 106
132
GAMIFICATION
student engagement 69, 75, 113
students 13, 15, 22, 45, 63-4, 66-76, 78-80, 113-14
subject 1, 59, 67, 75
success 67, 74, 81, 87, 91, 94, 110-11, 119-20
system 24-6, 31-2, 35, 60-1, 64, 75, 85, 94
T
target audiences 36, 107, 111, 116
teach 16, 63-4, 88
teachers 63, 67-8, 72, 74-6, 78
teaching 64, 78, 102-3
teams 8, 45, 50, 52, 69, 99
technologies 19-20, 81, 83, 86, 105, 108, 111, 113, 118, 120
emerging 108-9, 116
term 15-17, 106-7
tools 1, 5, 12, 43, 73-4, 76, 83, 93-4, 105, 112, 119
Transactions 7, 43, 46, 51
trophies 30, 95-6
Twitter 31, 93, 97
U
users 5, 11, 19-20, 22, 24-6, 28-9, 32-6, 38-9, 45, 49-50, 73-4, 87, 92-100, 107
133
users progress 34-5, 74
V
video games 16-17, 66, 69
virtual goods 8, 49-50
W
websites 14-15, 17, 23, 25, 72, 78, 82, 87-9
winning 44-6, 59, 65, 70, 84
work 3, 12, 16, 22, 24-5, 31, 44, 47, 65, 67-71, 97, 106, 110, 112
workplace 16, 42, 81, 83, 108
134
GAMIFICATION
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Demand for Gamifcation products, services, and technologies is growing exponentially. Gamifcation represents a new era in engage-
ment, and upon completing this course, you will be uniquely positioned to help clients navigate this transformation. Now is the time to
take steps to ensure your success with Gamifcation.
Gamifcation can be described as the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications. It also strives to encourage users to
engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications. Gamifcation works by making technology more engaging, and by
encouraging desired behaviors, taking advantage of humans psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. With so many benefts,
the IT industry is scrambling to get expert in the know. So knowledge of the application and benefts of Gamifcation is a key for anyone
looking to get a jumpstart in the IT industry, gain respect from fellow IT enthusiasts, and make a diference in your organization! This
certifcation course would be benefcial to Individuals looking for work within Public or Private Sector organizations, marketers, and
website product managers needing a tool for customer engagement and for encouraging desirable website usage behavior, educators
looking to implement a new motivational tool, and businesses looking to implement new employee training and motivational tools.
This certifcation validates your knowledge of specifc methods, models, and/or tools. This is essential to professionals in order to be
updated on the latest marketing trends, and to add to their Gamifcation toolbox.
The industry is facing a bold new world with the amazing technological developments of Gamifcation, and the challenges and the
opportunities this presents are unprecedented. The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit serves as a complete introductory guide for
anyone looking to grasp a better understanding of Gamifcation concepts and its practical application in any environment.
The Art of Services introductory Gamifcation training and certifcation helps IT practitioners develop the skills that are crucial as busi-
nesses embark on this massive transformation. It provides an industry credential for any IT professional to help them transform into the
world of Gamifcation applications.
This training and certifcation enables you to move both the industry and business forward, and quickly take advantage of the benefts
that Gamifcation presents.
Take the next step: Get Certifed!
The Art of Service IT Service Management programs are the #1 certifcation programs in the information management industry. Being
proven means investing in yourself and formally validating your knowledge, skills, and expertise by the industrys most comprehensive
learning and certifcation program. The Gamifcation Complete Certifcation Kit course prepares you for Gamifcation Certifcation.
Why register?
- Easy and Afordable.
- Learning about Gamifcation technologies has never been more afordable.
- Latest industry trends are explained.
- Acquire valuable skills and get updated about the industrys latest trends right here. Today.
- Learn from the Experts. The Art of Service ofers education about Gamifcation and 300 other technologies by the industrys best.
- Learn at your own pace. Find everything right here, when you need it, and from wherever you are.
What will you learn?
- Learn all the most important techniques and winning methodologies.
- Learn about Gamifcation trends.
- Examine the many benefts, common pitfalls, and characteristics.
- Explore how Gamifcation has adapted in both business and education.
- How to use Gamifcation as a marketing and motivational tool.
Course Outline - The topics covered in this course are:
- What is Gamifcation?
- Benefts, Pitfalls, Characteristics, and Facts about Gamifcation.
- Gamifcation Elements.
- Psychology of Gamifcation.
- Gamifcation in Education.
- Gamifcation in Business.
- Real-world Applications.
- Trends and Future of Gamifcation.

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