Gamification as Motivational Architecture Prof.
Kevin Werbach Dept. of Legal Studies & Business Ethics Wharton School, Univ. of Pennsylvania werbach@wharton.upenn.edu Twitter: @kwerb

Regulationhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boulton_and_Watt_centrifugal_governor-MJ.jp

Nudges• We are “predictably irrational”
(Ariely), prone to mental “mistakes” (Kahnman & Tversky) – E.g., loss aversion, anchoring, temporal biases• Insight: leverage this knowledge to create “choice architectures” (Sunstein & Thaler) – E.g., changing defaults, mandating disclosure – Governments applying, especially U.S., U.K.

My Grudge with Nudge• Not
the standard conservative critique! – (the “Nanny State”)• Choice limited to behaviorist conception – What people do, not why they do it – Deviations from “rationality” aren’t all “mistakes” – Good data (“RECAP”) doesn’t always produce good results• Architecture reduced to construction – Real architecture is a design practice

Missing Piece: Motivation• How does
the experience satisfy human needs?• Why do people comply?• Can we go beyond basic compliance?• Behaviorism is right… until it isn’t – Teresa Amabile’s research on creativity – Deci & Ryan on motivation in the workplace, school, etc.

Games as Motivational Design• Good
games are fun – Challenges, contingency, competition, teamwork, etc. – Voluntariness necessitates engagement techniques• Games are designed artifacts – Process: iterative, human-centered, goal-oriented – Rich palette (e.g., points, levels, avatars, virtual goods) – Developed practice (e.g. playtesting, narrative, balance) – Focus on the player journey – Recognition that users will game the system

Beyond Nudgesvs. vs.

Average speed in 3-dayStockholm test
decreased from 32 to 25 kmph.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iynzHWwJXaA

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/11/23/games-grand-challenges

Private SectorGamification Models

Pointsification as Motivational Design Recyclebank

Fortunately, it gets better

Social Dynamics OPower

Integrated Experiences Zamzee (Hope Labs)

Rewards+Chance+Social CAPRI (Balaji Prabhakar)

Data Protection Issues• All interactions
trackable• Granular user data feeds analytics – “We’re running several hundred tests at any given time for every one of our games.” – Mark Pincus, Zynga (2010)• To whom do achievements belong?

Reasons for Optimism• Public sector
doesn’t need to monetize – Nascent industry of gamification vendors and adopters seeking guidance• Player-centric design• Gamified UX for privacy policies (Calo)

Gamify the Privacy Policy?

Thank you!