TM
Thoughts on
Gamification &
Quantified Self
May 2012
Mayfield© 2008 Proprietary and Confidential

Life as a Game?
Elements of a Game:
Goal / Objective: system or user defined?
Score: real-time, explicit feedback after every action or
decision
Rules to influence score, boundaries for play
How are the following like or not like a game?
Dating; Finding a mate?
Income Taxes?
Landing a job?
Buying a home?
Fundraising for your startup?
Updating your status on Facebook or Twitter?
Mayfield© 2008 Proprietary and Confidential 2

Gamification Considerations
Toolkit and Design Framework, not a Bolt-on or Panacea
Single Player vs. Multi-Player (social)
Single Player: achievements, leveling, quests, collecting, private scoring
Multi-Player: seven deadly sins motivators, public scoring and comparisons.
Collaborative vs. Competitive
Explicit vs. Implicit Gamification
Stats vs. Leaderboards
Private vs. Public
Behavior by Identity Type
Anonymous: YouTube comments, early Formspring
Authentic: Facebook
Psedonymous: X-box Live, Reddit, Fark.com
Gamification by User Lifecycle
Leveling curve design
New user onboarding – Levels 0-10 as tutorial
User engagement – getting users to “Grind”
User retention & conversion – Freemium; Iterative Give & Get (data and/or $)
Mayfield© 2008 Proprietary and Confidential 3

Quantified Self Keys to Success
Make it Seamless
Measurement and tracking can’t require upfront behavior change (low
friction, especially for less motivated users)
Continuous tracking
Accuracy vs. Good Enough
Make it Interactive
Insights, not Data
Alerts and Actions, not just Dashboards
Mobile vs. Online UX
Make it Fun
Leverage multiple dimensions of Gamification for different personalities
and “play types” – Single-player vs. Social/Multi-player, Private vs.
Public, etc.
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