Yu-kai Chou Describes the Future of Education to Faculty Members of Agder University of Norway.

1. A Framework for
Gamified Education
For: University of Agder
By: Yu-kai Chou

2. Guild Leader:Yu-kai Chou

3. Early Pioneer of Gamification for 10 years
Parter at the Enterprise Gamification Consultancy
Original creator of the Octalysis Framework
Regular Keynote Speaker/Lecturer at Stanford
University, TEDx, Accenture, SxSW, Google, etc.
Rated a #1 Gamification Guru in the world by UKBased Leaderboarded

4. Humans have an innate desire to learn

5. Learning is one of our most
fundamental activities

6. Things become boring when there is nothing
more to learn

7. However….

8. Current school and education
systems break that desire to learn

9. When you ask kids, “What’s work?”

10. When you ask kids, “What’s work?”
They will say, “School! Homework!”

11. When you ask kids, “What’s play?”

12. When you ask kids, “What’s play?”
They will say, “Games!!!!!!!!!”

13. Students like to do the bare minimum to achieve
acceptable score

14. Many students only reach out for help when they feel
like they are failing.

16. Humans don’t like to read through long texts
or sit through long lectures

17. We learn by doing. Trial and error.

18. We learn by watching others go through it.

19. We learn through stories

20. Unfortunately, the things we need to learn
became more complex and more abstract, but
technology and medium of technology could not
catch up to it for the past centuries.

21. Games?

22. Games?
Entertainment Software Association (2012)

23. Games?
Average Gamer: 35 Years Old
68% Gamers Over 18 Year Old
47% Gamers are Women
More Adult Women than Under 18 Male
Entertainment Software Association (2012)
Source: Entertainment Software Association (2012)

24. The Magic
Kids nowadays have bad work ethics?
No Discipline?

25. The Magic
Waking up behind parents’ back 3AM in the
morning to level up = AMAZING work ethics

26. The Magic
In Role-Playing Games (RPG), Leveling up often
involves killing the same monsters in the same stage
over and over again for hours or weeks

27. The Magic
Gamers call this “grinding.”
It’s Fun & Addicting.

28. The Magic
In the real world, this is called Grunt
Work. It’s Boring & Torturous.

29. The Magic
If games can get kids to voluntarily do hours of
secret grunt work, it can get anyone engaged to
anything

30. The Magic
If it is well designed

31. The Magic
If it is well designed

32. “Human-Focused Design”
•
•
As opposed to “Function Focused Design”
•
...instead of assuming the people within are robots
that will complete the task
System that is designed to optimize for the
motivations and feelings of the human inside
vs

33. “Human-Focused Design”
•
•
Gaming industry = first to master Human-Focused Design
•
Now we are learning from games, hence “Gamification”
Games have spent decades/centuries mastering how to
engage people without a mandated purpose
vs

34. Kids who play Card Games like Magic the Gathering
need to remember a ton of information

35. …more information than the periodic table

36. Motivation > Intelligence

37. How do we build motivation?

38. What is Gamification?
Game Elements
Non-Game (Boring) Context

39. Global Movement
Gartner predicts 70% of Fortune 500 will use
Gamification by 2014

40. Except...
Gartner also predicts 80% of the gamified apps
will fail due to bad design

41. The Cause
Agencies and individuals claim to be experts at
whatever is the new “Buzzword”

42. The Cause
Everyone focuses on PBLs (Points, Badges &
Leaderboards)
Points
Leaderboards
Badges

43. The Cause
Similar to “Social Media Marketing” 4 years ago

44. The Cause
Similar to “Social Media Marketing” 4 years ago
Real SMM is not simply creating a Twitter
Profile and Facebook Page

45. The Cause
Beginning with “game mechanics” instead of
the Core Drives

46. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
= ????

47. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
+
+
= ????
+
+

48. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
+
+
= ????
+
+
A game can have all the right “game
elements” but still be stupid/boring.

49. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
+
+
= ????
+
+
In fact, ALL games have “game elements”
but most games suck and are boring.

50. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
+
+
= ????
+
+
It’s naive to think that once you plug game
mechanics into your company, it will be successful

51. Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!
+
+
+
+
+
= ????
+
+
Only a few well-designed games achieve
the status of Winning & Addicting

52. Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to...

53. Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to FEEL?
Inspired? Proud? Scared?

54. Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to FEEL?
Inspired? Proud? Scared?
Hmm, Okay. What game elements do I need in
order to accomplish that goal?
?
?
?
?

55. Good Gamification
!
does not start with
Game Elements
!
but starts with our
Core Drives

56. -Points
-Badges (Achievement Symbols)
-Fixed Action Rewards
-Leaderboard
-Progress Bar
-Quest Lists
-Win Prize
-High-Five
-Crowning
-LevelUp Symphony
-Aura Effect
-Step-by-Step Tutorial
-Boss Fights
-Virtual Goods
-Build from Scratch
-Collection Set
-Avatar
-Earned Lunch
-Learning Curve
-Protection
-Recruitment
-Monitoring
-Appointment Dynamics
-Fixed Intervals
-Dangling
-Prize Pacing
-Options Pacing
-Patient Feedback
-Count Down
-Throttles
-Moats
-Beginners Luck
-Free Lunch
-Destiny Child
-CoCreator
-Narrative
-Elitism
-Humanity Hero
-Higher Meaning
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Progress Loss
-FOMO
-Evanescence Opportunity
-Milestone Unlock
-Evergreen Mechanics
-General’s Carrot
-Real-Time Control
-Chain Combos
-Instant feedback
-Boosters
-Blank Fills
-Voluntary Autonomy
-Choice Perception
-Status Quo Sloth
-Scarlet Letter
-Visual Grave
-Weep Tune
-Friending
-Social Treasure/Gifting
-SeeSaw Bump
-Group Quest
-Touting
-Bragging
-Water Cooler
-Thank-You Economy
-Mentorship
-Social Prod
-Glowing Choice
-MiniQuests
-Visual Storytelling
-Easter Eggs
-Random Rewards
-Obvious Wonder
-Rolling Rewards
-Mischief
-Sudden Rewards
-Oracle Effect

57. Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance

58. Meaning
Octalysis
Epic Meaning & Calling

59. Accomplishment
Octalysis
Development &
Accomplishment

60. Empowerment
Octalysis
Empowerment of
Creativity & Feedback

61. Ownership
Ownership &
Possession
Octalysis

62. Social Influence
Octalysis
Social Influence
& Relatedness

63. Octalysis
Scarcity & Impatience
Scarcity

64. Octalysis
Unpredictability & Curiosity
Unpredictability

65. Skinner Box
Octalysis
Unpredictability & Curiosity
Unpredictability

66. Octalysis
Loss & Avoidance
Avoidance

67. Meaning
Left
Brain
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
Right
Brain

68. Meaning
Left
Brain
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Right
Brain
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Intrinsic (tendency)
Extrinsic (tendency)
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance

69. White Hat Gamification
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
Black Hat Gamification

70. White Hat Gamification
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Zynga figured out how to do a lot of Black Hat techniques,
which led to great engagement and monetization metrics for
Social
Ownership
each user. But in the long run, users leave when they CAN
Influence
because they don’t feel like they are in control over
themselves.
Octalysis
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
Black Hat Gamification

71. Self-Submission to Black Hat Gamification
Just because it’s called Black Hat
doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad

72. -Points
-Badges (Achievement Symbols)
-Fixed Action Rewards
-Leaderboard
-Progress Bar
-Quest Lists
-Win Prize
-High-Five
-Crowning
-LevelUp Symphony
-Aura Effect
-Step-by-Step Tutorial
-Boss Fights
-Virtual Goods
-Build from Scratch
-Collection Set
-Avatar
-Earned Lunch
-Learning Curve
-Protection
-Recruitment
-Monitoring
-Appointment Dynamics
-Fixed Intervals
-Dangling
-Prize Pacing
-Options Pacing
-Patient Feedback
-Count Down
-Throttles
-Moats
-Beginners Luck
-Free Lunch
-Destiny Child
-CoCreator
-Narrative
-Elitism
-Humanity Hero
-Higher Meaning
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Progress Loss
-FOMO
-Evanescence Opportunity
-Milestone Unlock
-Evergreen Mechanics
-General’s Carrot
-Real-Time Control
-Chain Combos
-Instant feedback
-Boosters
-Blank Fills
-Voluntary Autonomy
-Choice Perception
-Status Quo Sloth
-Scarlet Letter
-Visual Grave
-Weep Tune
-Friending
-Social Treasure/Gifting
-SeeSaw Bump
-Group Quest
-Touting
-Bragging
-Water Cooler
-Thank-You Economy
-Mentorship
-Social Prod
-Glowing Choice
-MiniQuests
-Visual Storytelling
-Easter Eggs
-Random Rewards
-Obvious Wonder
-Rolling Rewards
-Mischief
-Sudden Rewards
-Oracle Effect

73. -Elitism
-Staying in touch with friends
-Stalking
-Completed Profile
-More friends
-Increased likes and comments
-Aura Effect
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Ownership
Octalysis Score: 448
-Build from Scratch
-Photos/Profiles
-Friends
-Memories
-Protection
-Recruitment
-Earned lunch
-Monitoring
Scarcity
-Sharing whatever you want
-TONS of Facebook games
-Instant feedback of friends “liking”
Social
Influence
Unpredictability
-Friend Invites
-Conformity
-Social Prod
-Social Treasure
Group Quests
-Touting
-Envy
Avoidance
-Inner Circles
Note: (Early
Facebook has
HIGH scarcity
score with certain
universities only)
-Glowing Choice
-MiniQuests
-Refreshing Content
-Suspense
-Scarlet Letter
-Sunk Cost Tragedy

74. -Farm getting Bigger & Better
-Difficult badges for sorts of crops
-Reward Loops
-No higher meaning besides being a farmer
-Allows the ability to “paint” with
your farm
Meaning
Accomplishment
-Ownership of Farm
-Virtual Goods
Empowerment
-Leaderboard
-Group Farming
-Free Social Gifts
-Neighbors
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Octalysis Score: 414
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Waiting for what’s next in the game
-Appointment Dynamics
-Milestone Unlock
-Real-money Only Crops
-Free Social Gifts
-Season-based Gifts
-Avoid plants withering
-Avoid losing opportunities
-Avoid Sunk-Cost Tragedy

75. -Saving the world of “Sanctuary”
-Diablo II Legacy
-Help others
-Leveling Up
-Plot line
-4 Difficulties
-Skills
-Gear
-Massive Skill Combinations
-Different challenges each stage
Meaning
Accomplishment
-Characters
-Items
-Auction House
Empowerment
Octalysis
-Multiplayer Game
-Friend gear and hours
-Mentoring
Social
Influence
Ownership
Octaylsis Score: 284
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Item Drops
-Skill Sets
-Storyline
-Item Drops
-Randomized Maps
-Randomized Elites
-Repetitive Plot
-Item Durability
-Bottleneck
-Avoid Sunk-Cost Tragedy

76. -Follower Gain
-Retweets
-Responses
-Unique Information
-Microblogging Wave
-Character Limit
-Witty/valuable content
Meaning
Accomplishment
-Followers
-Information
Empowerment
Ownership
Octalysis Score: 267
Scarcity
-Friends on Twitter
-Followers
-Responses
-Companionship
-Thank You Economy
Social
Influence
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Interesting Tweets
-Surprising content
-Will someone respond?
-Quick news
-Fail Whale
-Character Limit
-Follower Count
-Friend Loss

77. -Helping a weird monster solve problems
“Sweet” “Delicious!”
Level tracks and “Boss Stages”
1-3 Stars
Defeating Chocolate
Constantly looking for better comb
and planning boosters
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Quest to accumulate more
points and boosters
Social
Influence
Ownership
Social Treasure - Lives
See friend progress
Octalysis Score: 432
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
Always waiting for the right
gems
Seeing levels ahead
Countdown timer/moves
Balancing Owl Gems
Avoiding Loss
Fear of the chocolate
encroaching candy
Unpredictable Gems
Random Combos

78. “You need a LinkedIn Account”
Finding that dream job you are passionate about
Progress Bar
“X People saw your profile”
Recommendations
Endorsements
Better ways to “dress up” your profile
and build reputation in communities.
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Ownership
Octalysis Score: 294
Your life.Your Job.
Accumulating more contacts.
Scarcity
Social Treasure Recommendations
Social Prodding Endorsements
X People saw my profile
Social
Influence
Unpredictability
Avoidance
Are recruiters Googling my
name and seeing my profile?
How many people view my
profile?
Want to see her profile?
Upgrade to Premium!
Want to connect? Upgrade to
Premium!
Avoiding Loss of Career
Avoiding Bad Reputation

79. Level 2 Octalysis
Design for All 4 Phases
Discovery
Onboarding
Scaffolding
Endgame

80. Level 2 Octalysis
Design for All 4 Phases
Discovery
Onboarding
Scaffolding
Endgame

81. Killers
Socializers
Explorers
Achievers
Discovery
Onboarding
Scaffolding
Endgame

82. Killers
Socializers
Explorers
Achievers
Discovery
Onboarding
Scaffolding
Endgame

83. 1) Epic Meaning & Calling
Part of something bigger than yourself

84. Elitism

85. Elitism
People see themselves as “Apple People” and will do
whatever Apple People “should” do. They will do it until
they feel that Apple is no longer a vision worth believing
in (think 1984 ad: not about specs but on ideals)

86. PainSquad

87. Translating the Web = Higher Meaning

88. 2) Development & Accomplishment
Feeling Progress and Achievement

90. When you buy something on eBay, you didn’t just buy
something - you WON!! Maybe you overpaid, but at least you
beat those 10 other bastards that were bidding against you

92. Most people forget that another one of Twitter’s innovations is
the one-way follow. Because it is one-way, it feels like more of an
accomplishment when people follow you (and you don’t follow
back).

93. Code Spells

94. 3) Empowerment of Creativity
& Feedback
The creator inside of us

97. Piano Staircase: 66% more people used staircase

98. Piano Staircase: 66% more people used staircase
Users will use the stairs more if they can
use their creativity to create music and
hear immediate feedback

99. FoldIt
15 Year Problem Solved in 10 Days!

100. 4) Ownership & Possession
The more you have, the more you want

101. Customizing Your Avatar
Makes you feel more ownership over it as your own identity

102. Mcdonald’s Monopoly Game

104. It feels very awkward when you only have 2
or 3 of the four-season deers, so players
would do a lot to complete their collection
instead of waiting for another 36 months for
the right season

105. DragonBox

106. 5) Social Influence & Relatedness
What others think can kill you

107. Game Technique #22:
Group Quests

108. Game Technique #22:
Group Quests
Group Quests have been in games for a long
time (think guilds in WoW), but it was only
adopted into companies like Groupon and
Kickstarter in recent years

109. Mentorship

110. Mentorship
Because I was assigned a mentor, who gave
me a bunch of free stuff and invested his
time to help me level, I felt bad quitting the
game so stayed on for much longer

111. 6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side

112. 6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side
Mozzy

114. 6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side
Laurelix

115. 7) Unpredictability & Curiosity
What kills the cat

120. The Boy Is the Toy

122. 8) Loss & Avoidance
The threat is stronger than the execution

124. Gamification – Zombies Run!
©2011-2013 Mario Herger. All rights reserved.
www.enterprise-gamification.com | www.gamificationcommunity.com
!124

125. Speed Camera Lottery

126. Speed Camera Lottery

128. Autonomy
Competence
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Relatedness
Octalysis
Social
Influence
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance

131. Motivation for School

132. How do we get people to care about
what they are learning??

133. 6 Steps to Find Your Calling
Industry
Game
Abilities
Skills
Talents
Occupation
Role
Network
Stats
Achievements
Alliance
Quests

134. Pick Your Game
vs

135. Pick Your Game
vs
Based on your passions

136. Determine Your Role

137. Determine Your Role
Based on your interests and skills

138. Access your Initial Stats
What are your innate talents?

139. Access your Initial Stats
What do you do better than everyone
else in this world?

140. Access your Initial Stats
Don’t be an Axeman if your strengths
lie in magic

141. Your Talent Triangle
Associative Thinking
Leadership
Empowerment
Emotional Sensitivity
Creativity
Empathy
Building Trust
Optimism
Learn-Use Conversion
Strategy
Gem Spotting
Group Speaking
Systems Creation
You
Adaptation
Analytical Skills
Interpersonal Speaking
Events Memory

142. Build your Skill Sets

143. Build your Skill Sets
Plan out your ideal skill combo

144. Skill Triangle-Now
Coaching
Networking
Leadership
English/Mandarin
Innovation
Gamification
Social Media
Branding
Recruitment
Finance
Excel
Virtual Worlds
Project Management
You
Pitching
Sustainability
Analytics
Photoshop

145. Skill Triangle-Final
Octalysis Gamification
Business Systems
Game Dynamics
Motivational Psychology
Behavioral Economics
Neurobiology
Technology Implementations
Trustful Persuasion
SEO
Entrepreneurship
Keynote
English/Chinese/
Spanish
Presentation
You
Social Media
Innovation
Analytics
Leadership

146. Find Allies

147. Find Allies
Find people with the same passion and
Complementary Skills

148. Find Allies
Find people who are much higher level
than you are

149. Find Allies
Help lower level people level up

150. Complete Quests

151. Complete Quests
Find small quests that help you beat
the final mission

152. Complete Quests
Level up and grow with
teammates

153. Beat the Game

154. Beat the Game
Fulfill your life with meaning

155. Beat the Game
Retire or find new games to master

156. The Future of Education

157. -Points
-Badges
-Fixed Action Rewards
-Leaderboard
-Progress Bar
-Quest Lists
-Win Prize
-High-Five
-Crowning
-LevelUp Symphony
-Aura Effect
-Juicy Feedback
-Boss Fights
-Virtual Goods
-Build from Scratch
-Collection Set
-Dangling
-Earned Lunch
-Learning Curve
-Protection
-Recruitment
-Monitoring
-Avatar
-Appointment Dynamics
-Fixed Intervals
-Prize Pacing
-Options Pacing
-Patient Feedback
-Count Down
-Throttles
-Moats
-Narrative
-Elitism
-Humanity Hero
-Beginners Luck
-Free Lunch
-Chosen One
-Milestone Unlock
-General’s Carrot
-Real-Time Control
-Chain Combos
-Instant feedback
-Boosters
-Blank Fills
-Step-by-Step Tutorial
Meaning
Accomplishment
Empowerment
Octalysis
Social
Pressure
Ownership
Scarcity
Unpredictability
Avoidance
-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Lost Progress
-Guilting
-Grounded
-Scarlet Letter
-Visual Grave
-Weep Tune
-Friend Invites
-Social Treasure/Gifting
-Envy
-Group Quest
-Touting
-Bragging
-Must Marketing
-Thank-You Economy
-Mentorship
-Social Prod
-Glowing Choice
-MiniQuest
-Visual Storytelling
-Easter Eggs
-Random Rewards
-Sudden Tips
-Rolling Rewards
-Mischief
-Sudden Rewards
-Suspense

158. Mario
Herger
Marigo
Ra7opoulos
Yu-­‐kai
Chou
Roman
Rackwitz

159. Companies
we
have
worked
with

160. Thank You.
Truly.
Octalysis.com
Enterprise-Gamification.com
yukai@yukaichou.com