9,5 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Gamification

9.5 Theseson the power and efficacyof gamificationSebastian Deterding (@dingstweets)Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research, Hamburg UniversityOctober 2012cb

Education

Sustainability

Activism

Life

Everywhere

points badges leaderboards incentivesTracking, Feedback Goals, surprise Competition Rewards The blueprint (still)

success storiessensors & analytics practices & discoursesThe Enablers

1 Gamification is nothing new.

»One purpose of this book is to exploreways in which even routine activities canbe transformed into personallymeaningful games that provide optimalexperiences.« Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi flow (1990: 51)

Precursors and parallelsSerious Digital Alternate Reality/ LudificationGames Serious Games Pervasive Games of culture(1960+) (2001+) (2001+) (2006+) Precursors Repurposings UX Playfulness (1980+) (2001+) (2002+) (2005+) Hedonic attributes Ludic design Persuasive Tech (2002+) (2006+)

Precursors

User Experience

Playfulness

Ludic Design

Persuasive Technology

Serious Games

Pervasive Games

Alternate Reality Games

Ludification of Culture

2 Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.

Gamification:The use ofgame design elementsin non-game contexts

Paidia Ludus play game improvisation skill, effort exploration strategizing tumultuous ordered immoderate rule-boundRoger Cailloisman, play, and games (1958)

Gaming PlayingGaming, not playing

Systems ElementsElements, not whole systems

Game-based Controllers, AI, 3Dtechnology engines, ...Game-based practices Serious GamingGame-based design GamificationGame Design Elements

Non-Game Contexts

Gaming (serious) games gamification ElementsSystem (serious) toys playful design Playing

3 Gamification is an inadvertent con.

»Gamification is an inadvertent con. Ittricks people into believing that there’s asimple way to imbue their thing ... with thepsychological, emotional and social powerof a great game.« Margaret Robertson can’t play, won’t play (2009)

si on fu 1Con #

»Ninety percentof everything is crud.«Theodore Sturgeonsturgeon‘s revelation (1958)

Con(fusion) #1Games are not fun becausethey are games, but whenthey are well-designed.

si on fu 2Con #

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

Level: 1 (You rock!)Drop all loot!

Score: 400 princesses (You rock!)Get princess!

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

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

Extrinsic motivation http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/diego_rivera/4261964210

Intrinsic motivation http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/areyoumyrik/308908967

»An understanding of human motivationrequires a consideration of innatepsychological needs for competence,autonomy, and relatedness.« Edward Deci, Richard Ryan the what and why of goal pursuit (2000)

Con(fusion) #2The fun in playing gameschiefly arises fromintrinsic enjoyment, notextrinsic incentives.

si on fu 3Con # http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/apartmentlife/6559123353/

»Mowing the lawn or waiting in adentist’s office can become enjoyableprovided one restructures the activity byproviding goals, rules, and the otherelements of enjoyment to be reviewedbelow.« Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi flow (1990: 51)

Con(fusion) #3»Gaminess« is not afeature you can add.

4 Motivational design is a promising proposition.

How might we ...restructure a system to supportintrinsic enjoyment, usinggame design as a lens?

Put differentlyIf this were a game –in what ways is it broken?

Game Atoms model/skill goal action rule system success! / failure! challenge feedback immediate/progress

Games in class > Class as game

Games in school > School as game

Games in Undergrad > You get the idea ...

FeedbackAccuracy, speed, friendliness incomparison, w/ recommendationsGoalsDaily, weekly, monthly,annually w/ progressChallengeTraining, job rotation,job enrichmentReality Check

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/dpstyles/4141140976/sizes/o/in/faves-7834371@N04/

5 Gamification is thinking inside the box.

Game The Box A designed artifact PlayingA frame of engagement

»Even though we are involved in agame, we are not always playing …Even though we are playing, we arenot always involved in a game ...Playing a game is a special conditionof both play and games.« Bernie de Koven the well-played game (1978/2002: 7)

debuggingplaytesting/reviewingpresenting gameplaymaking a machinimaa scientific studylearning (serious games)sports (e-sports)work (goldfarming)

So ...What about thisframe called playing?

»I need to be very routinized;I mustn’t let myself drift.«»I hammer it through.«»Often, you have to force yourself to do it.«»You’re under real pressure.«»It’s extremely exhausting.«»It wears you out.«»My friends usually cannot comprehend howstressful this is.«

»Sometimes, you have toplay, you have to get further –and then, play is work.«

e ntElem #1 »First and foremost, all play is a voluntary activity.« Johan Huizinga homo ludens (1938/1950: 7)

»The key element of anoptimal experience is thatit is an end in itself.« Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi flow (1990: 67)

»An understanding of human motivationrequires a consideration of innatepsychological needs for competence,autonomy, and relatedness.« Edward Deci, Richard Ryan the what and why of goal pursuits (2000)

Fun VoluntaryVoluntary Fun

e ntElem#2 A vs. Quality …safe space and Variety

»Psychosocial moratorium principle:Learners can take risks in a spacewhere real-world consequences arelowered.« James Paul Gee what video games have to teach us... (2003: 67)

e ntElem # 3 Attunement http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wondermonkey2k/6188527275

»When mother and child have funtogether, … they are establishing ... theconvention that they take precedenceover the fun. When the child cries, themother stops having fun.« Bernie de Koven the well-played game (1978: 18)

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/iboy/5709372593

»It is the nature of a fun community to caremore about the players than about thegame. ... We are having fun. We are caring.We are safe with each other. This is whatwe want.« Bernie de Koven the well-played game (1978: 19-20)

e nt em 4El # Shared focus & attitude of exploring ... http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/docentjoyce/3138887652

… mastery, ... http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/paulgorman/1392988135

… benign transgression, ...

… and most importantly, fun http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bixentro/540642579

e ntElem#5 I won‘t let you fall. I‘ll know and say when it‘s too much. Trust http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/lucianvenutian/439410200

»An understanding of human motivationrequires a consideration of innatepsychological needs for competence,autonomy, and relatedness.« Edward Deci, Richard Ryan the what and why of goal pursuits (2000)

er ng 1da # Rewarded or mandatory games ... http://albanyny.bitsbytesbots.com/after-school-enrichment

… curbs autonomy through control

… detrains autonomous regulation http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/courosa/4955407599/sizes/l/in/photostream/

er ng 2da # the rule of irrelevance

Framing as strategic instrumental action http://www.rasmusen.org/x/images/pd.jpg

… crowds out communal ethics, ...

»It is through a community of peoplewho care more about fun than winningthat the Well-Played game happens.« Bernie de Koven the well-played game (1978: 5)

… fixates thinking inside the system and ... http://www.rasmusen.org/x/images/pd.jpg

… encourages gaming the system http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/5tein/2347819903

In short: a ludic mindset Paidia Ludus play game improvisation skill, effort exploration strategizing tumultuous ordered immoderate rule-bound Roger Caillois man, play, and games (1958)

er ng 3da # Utopia lost in amusement

»The unreality of games givesnotice that reality is not yetreal. Unconsciously theyrehearse the right life.« Theodor W. Adorno minima moralia (1951)

»Simply because the child deprives thethings with which he plays of theirmediated usefulness, he seeks to rescuein them what is benign towards men andnot what subserves the exchange relationthat equally deforms men and things.« Theodor W. Adorno minima moralia (1951)

a thing enjoyed for its own sakeis a moment of life well-lived

»Amusement is the extension ofwork in late capitalism. It is soughtout by him who wants to escapethe mechanised process of workonly to become fit for it anew.« Theodor W. Adorno dialectics of enlightenment (1969)

6 Playful reframing is a promising proposition.

Play

What we usually designhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mrlerone/405730185/sizes/o/

Who decides whether this is play (or playing is allowed)

ip le nc 1 ri #P Support autonomy http://ascottallison.ﬁles.wordpress.com/2009/12/p1030286.jpg

ip le nc 2 ri # P Create a safe spacehttp://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/charamelody/4613804703

ip le nc 3 ri #P Metacommunicate: »This is play!«

Make a bow http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mccun934/3604759449 http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/amrufm/2593920251/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Disrupt standing frames

Use cues and associations http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/webatelier/5929298899

ip le nc 4 ri #P … vs. Quality and Variety Model attitude and behaviors

ip le nc 5 ri #P Offer generative tools/toys

Small pieces, loosely joined

»So when designing toolsfor play, underspecify!« Kars Alfrink a playful stance (2008)

(Obligatory Minecraft slide)

FarmVille

MySpace!

ip le nc 6 ri #P Provide invitations http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/purplemattﬁsh/3205907410/sizes/o/in/photostream/

AutonomyChoice in goals & strategies,concordant w/ values & needsSafe spaceCulture of trust, forgiveness,mutual care, zero blameShared attitudeLived focus on exploring, mastery,benign transgression, shared joyGenerative tools/toysInviting openings for explorationand redesign

7 Gamification is materializing morality.

ue iss#1 Evil mind control?

»If you use the power of games to givepeople an opportunity to do somethingthey want to do, then you’re doing good. Ifyou’re using the power of games to getpeople to do something you want them todo, then you’re doing evil.« Jane McGonigal digital ethics symposium (2011)

Technologies of power

Get your friends to shop more

Technologies of the self

Help me meditate

… are technologies of control

Regularthe game.at the gym.Get outin exercize associate employees.Not drinking too MoveMoremoreHappier.Fitter. with your much. on.Stay productive.

Stay in the game. Move on.

ue iss#2 Implicit values, virtues, normality

»Products ... are vividarguments about how weshould lead our lives.« Richard Buchanan design and the new rhetoric (2001) http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_and_rhetoric/v034/34.3buchanan.html

The Good Life http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/amanky/1722371602

Compare. Compete. Be on top.

What vision ofThe Good Lifedo your designs convey?

ue iss#3 “Extended willpower” Implicit theory of social change

When discipline is reinforced, revolution cannot fail!

»Commentators blithely assure us that it is ‘all aboutwho wants it the most’, as though sporting podiumsare arranged exactly according to the amount ofwillpower that went into the struggle. Bronze:considerable self-belief; silver: still stronger self-belief;gold: self-belief on an epic scale. … Our own age hasindulged a pseudoscientific cult of willpower: thedeification of determination.« Ed Smith the voodoo cult of positive thinking (2012) http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2012/09/voodoo-cult-positive-thinking

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/small-painless-behaviour-change

What theory ofsocial changedo your designs convey?

8 Gamification is worth researching.

ic op 1T # Motivational Design Marrying the psychology of motivation with the practice of design.

The Gameful Classroom

ic op 2T # Rule Design Studies The holistic study and design of rule systems.

Law Sociology Governance Social order Public Policy Institutionalization Interpretation Scripts (STS) computer Economics scienceGame Theory AlgorithmsIncentives Modeling, abstraction,Business processes Game Studies automation, simulation Design Dynamics & Aesthetics Semiotics

ic op 3T # Playing Studies Understanding and designing for playful and gameful reframing.

Are you “playing” or “using” it?

Mandatory or optional?

How to counteract a gaming mindset? http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/5tein/2347819903

9 “Gamification” is a terrible word to use.

ue ss 1I # »Gamification is bullshit.« Ian Bogost gamification is bullshit (2011) http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4294/persuasive_games_shell_games.php

»This is why gamification is such aneffective term. It keeps the term game andputs it right up in front, drawing attentionto the form’s mysterious power. But thekicker comes at the end: the -ify suffixmakes applying that medium to any givenpurpose seem facile and automatic.« Ian Bogost exploitationware (2010)

ue ss 2I # What is a “game element”?** Most game definitions have multiple necessary conditions

Game Atoms model/skill goal action rule system success! / failure! challenge feedback immediate/progress

Rules Avatars not game-specific Quantitative feedback Goals Story gamification Notifications Comments not game-related AnalyticsRedeemable rewards Commitment

ue ss 3I # Encourgaing “add-on” thinking

Remember “Playfulness”?

Gamefulness!

Paidia Ludus play game improvisation skill, effort tumultuous ordered immoderate rule-boundRoger Cailloisman, play, and games (1958)

Gaming (serious) games gamification Gameful DesignSystem/Artefact Quality/mode Elements (serious) toys playful design Playing

1 Gamification is nothing new.2 Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.3 Gamification is an inadvertent con.4 Motivational design is a promising proposition.5 Gamification is thinking inside the box.6 Playful reframing is a promising proposition.7 Gamification is materializing morality.8 Gamification is worth researching9 »Gamification« is a terrible word to use.

9.5 Ceterum Censeo You should all read The Well-Played Game

»Inscribed in gold in our flag is themotto If you can’t play it, change it,and woven into our banner are thewords If it helps, cheat.« Bernie de Koven the well-played game (1978/2002)

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