There Be Dragons: Ten Potential Pitfalls of Gamification

There Be Dragonsten potential pitfallsof gamificationSebastian Deterding (@dingstweets)Digital Shoreditch, London, May 4, 2011cbn

(Grumpy monster talk)

With unexplored territories ...

… comes dangerous ground.

7 3 10 8 9 4 6 2 5 1A (partial) map of troubles ahead

1The Crap CrabAbuse is not a value proposition

8 MillionFoursquare Accounts! But daily checkins/user dropped from 0,5 to 0,4 to 0,34 while growing from 2to 5 to 8 million accounts (foursquare’s own data, 2011).

Who knew?Foursquare has anengagement problem.

http://www.creative360.com/blog/2009/09/why-i-quit-playing-foursquare/

»What we have learned from our users is that anygame aspect has to be, at least for finance, moreoriented toward some specific thing that you areworking toward: I want to buy a house or a car, take avacation, get out of debt ... Otherwise you have asystem of points with no levels or no end game.« Aaron Patzer founder, mint.com (2010)

We give you points User Business value value You check inThe gamification battlefield** Courtesy Buster Benson, “The Game always Wins”

»The marketing dictum that “good marketingcannot compensate for a bad product” ispatently turned upside down in the Funwareworld. Game mechanics and thepsychological conditions they exploit arepowerful tools that marketers can use, andthey’re a lot cheaper … than cash in the longrun.« Gabe Zichermann game-based marketing (2009)

Points and badges for loyalty – you are so cheap! That one coupon and I’m gone!An abusive relationship

Stack Overflow

You get answers & build reputation, we grow our platform User Business value valueThe gamification honeymoon

Playing field  User Business value value OffStay in the playing field

What do users value?*• Getting things done, easier• Self-improvement• Community recognition and belonging• A sense of meaning and meaning• Instrumental value, cash• Fun and enjoyment• Competence and achievement * A completely off-the cuff, non-comprehensive, non-scientific etc. pp. list

Getting things done, easier

Self-improvement

Community recognition & belonging

»Would my non-geek friendbrag about this during dinnerwith colleagues?«(The community status litmus test)

Sense of meaning and contribution

»Imagine a world in whichevery single human being canfreely share in the sum of allknowledge. Thats ourcommitment.« Wikimedia Foundation slogan

Cash, instrumental value

Fun and entertainment

The Feedback BlowfishRewards are not achievements 2

Score: 964,000,000,000,000 (You rock!)Earn 1,000,000,000,000 points

»Fun is just another word for learning.« Raph Koster a theory of fun for game design (2005)

»Fun from games arises out of mastery.It arises out of comprehension. It is theact of solving puzzles that makes gamesfun. With games, learning is the drug.« Raph Koster a theory of fun for game design (2005)

Clear goals ...

plus constraining rules ...

equals interesting challenges.

Plus constant, clear feedback ... http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bodgerbrooks/1315419080

equals experiences of achievement.

Feedback without achievement

The Maelstorm of Misplaced ChallengeGetting in the way of efficiency 3

Ticket To receive ticket, steer point through maze

Ticket Level 2 To receive ticket, steer point through maze

The core challenge of e-mail?• Maximum output?• Error-free, polite, actionable?• Prioritization?• Quick answers?• Checking less often?• Inbox Zero?

Prioritization

Procrastination

The Trapped Sea of StalenessNo fresh content and challenge 4

2010: 85Max. level 2008: 80 2007: 70 2004: 60 YearWorld of Warcraft Expansions

FrontierVille Seasonal Content… vs. Quality and Variety

The Urobus of Unintended ConsequenceNeglecting side effects 5

Tumblarity… vs. Quality and Variety

Mayor Maker

The Social Signal Sea SerpentIgnoring Context Meanings 6

Autonomy Leech and Value VampireThe hidden costs of extrinsic rewards 7

… vs. Quality andthrough controlCurbing autonomy Variety

Devaluing the activity http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/courosa/4955407599/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/courosa/4955407599/sizes/l/in/photostream/

The Ice Shelves of IgnoranceNot knowing your users 8

FarmVille

Fallout 3

Fanlib.com, a cautionary tale

9The Feature ShallowsNeglecting design process

Prototype & playtestVariety “why” … vs. Quality and for “how”,

Analytics for “where”, “how much”

The Panacea PythonLooking for a quick-fix, one-size-fits-allwonder potion 10

»At SCVNGR we like to jokethat with any seven gamedynamics you can get anyoneto do anything.« Seth Priebatsch welcome to the decade of games (2010)

When do people do stuff?* ability (Skills, habits) Usability motivation behaviour (intrinsic, extrinsic) Game design(and other things) opportunity Prompts, (Situation, environment) context* A comprehensive, well-researched, widely adopted etc. pp. model (namely the Motivation, Opportunity, Ability Model)

Four questions to leave with• Is motivation the issue?• Is there a core value that game elements can amplify?• Can this be gamed (does it involve a learnable challenge and autonomy)?• Is gaming the most cost-benefit efficient way of improving motivation here?

Thank You. @dingstweets sebastian@codingconduct.cc codingconduct.cc

http://codingconduct.cc	942
http://www.kommunikationsforum.dk	407
http://madebymany.com	251
http://helpmeinvestigate.posterous.com	226
http://storify.com	137
http://paper.li	93
http://thebroadcaster.tumblr.com	81
http://blog.magicbeanlab.com	67
http://jsh.jasonshamilton.com	62
http://helpmeinvestigate.com	53
http://www.joshholmes.com	46
http://clashofculture.tumblr.com	37
http://adland.tv	37
http://nicpederson.com	36
http://lenkendall.posterous.com	35
http://www.scoop.it	34
http://orchology.com	30
http://www.inspirationoverload.nl	21
http://www.comrz.com	17
http://tiger.comrzdev.com	13
http://safe.tumblr.com	12
url_unknown	12
http://thefutureisalreadyhere.se	11
http://localhost:25060	11
http://www.codingconduct.cc	10
http://www.slideshare.net	10
http://beascientist.tumblr.com	9
http://www.twylah.com	8
http://crossmedium.posterous.com	7
http://feeds.feedburner.com	7
http://futurescape.posterous.com	7
http://twitter.com	6
http://bit.ly	6
http://minestrone.tumblr.com	5
http://www.tumblr.com	5
http://studygrind.no	4
http://posterous.com	4
https://www.memonic.com	3
http://yourails.com	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	3
http://a0.twimg.com	3
http://elgg.ell.aau.dk	2
http://ef01.futurechat.in	2
http://cargocollective.com	2
http://stream.olishaw.com	2
http://staging.xwashier.nl	2
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1
https://twitter.com	1
http://bb.johnstoncc.edu	1
http://yourails.vcc	1
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com	1

There Be Dragons: Ten Potential Pitfalls of Gamification

by Sebastian Deterding on May 03, 2011

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