Seth Priebatsch's SXSW Keynote on the game layer on top of the world.
Seth Priebatsch is Chief Ninja of SCVNGR (www.scvngr.com) and their new pilot LevelUp (TheLevelUp.com)
3. The Decade of Games
Social Layer à Connections
Last decade
All about connections
Facebook’s Open Graph
Construction is over
Game Layer à Influence
Next decade
All about influence
No set foundations
Construction has just begun (and we’ll all be involved)
4. What can the game layer do for me?
1. School
2. Customer Acquisition
Game Break 1
3. Loyalty
4. LBS à Mainstream
5. Global Warming
Game Break 2
#GameLayer + Questions
5. School
School is a game
(just a poorly designed one)
Schools are near-perfect game ecosystems:
• Motivated Players
• Challenges
• Rewards
• Rules
• Allies
• Enemies
• Levels
• Appointment Dynamics
• Countdowns
• Incentives / Disincentives
• And on and on and on….
6. School
2 Problems, 2 Fixes
Problem Solution
Engagement Progression Dynamic
• Grading is Broken • Status & Levels
• Moral Hazard Of Gameplay
Cheating Social Fabric of Gameplay
• Misapplied Disincentives • Player <-> Player Trust
• Ruins Game Integrity
10. School
Grades Fail As Rewards
Status Quo:
- Grades are simply levels.
- Valedictorians, percentiles, honor students are statuses.
Problem:
- You can lose this game!
- Failing (progressing negatively) is a constant possibility.
- Shouldn’t ever be able to “level-down.”
- A => C or B => C is BAD.
Solution:
- Re-implement grades as a progression dynamic.
- XP++, not a weighted average.
- Focus on the positive end goal, not the negative.
13. School
Grades (status) => Levels (progression)
• Decrease direct correlation of action to reward
• Focus on final goal, not interim ersatz rewards
• Increase engagement levels in school.
57. Rule 5: Objective
1. Each row selects one color.
2. Doesn’t matter what color your row picks. Just pick one.
3. After 180 seconds, hold the cards above your head.
NOTE: If there’s an aisle in your row, it counts as a new row beyond the aisle.
60. All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward.
Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
Time Left
00 03 00
2 59
15
26
37
48
1
2
3
4
Hours Minutes Seconds
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
61. All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward.
Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
Time Left
00 02 00
1 59
15
26
37
48
1
2
3
4
Hours Minutes Seconds
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
62. All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward.
Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
Time Left
00 01 00
0 59
15
26
37
48
1
2
3
4
Hours Minutes Seconds
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
64. How’d we do?
YOU DID IT!
SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to
charity.
Give yourselves a hand!
65. You LOSE! (But that’s ok)
Don’t worry, we’ll still
donate the money!
66. Global Warming
What just happened?
The Power of Communal Gameplay
67. Global Warming
The Analogy
Lack of Communication: You couldn’t talk with far players.
Trading Patterns: Incredibly complex trades in micro-stock exchanges.
Different Countries: Every row is their own country. The aisles are oceans.
Wealth: Different allocation of resources to start. (Wealthy people shared?)
Restricted Movement: Couldn’t stand up and so were forced to work locally.
Decentralized Leadership: No leader, the hive mind made the decisions.
Countdown: Only so much time we could spend on this.
Joint Goal: We all accepted the same goal and were willing to work for it.
68. Global Warming
The Results
Epic Meaning: We were all part of something larger
than ourselves. And it was good.
Blissful Productivity: You just worked incredibly
hard, but feel great! The power of play.
Global Problem, Local Solution: You solved a 3000
person problem with only the 8 people near you.
69. Global Warming
And so….
Game Dynamics Are Powerful
Communal Gameplay
+
Communal Discovery
+
Complex Problem
=
Slightly Less Impossible Problem