Gamification is a powerful tool but can fail if not designed properly. The document outlines 10 common mistakes in gamification design: 1) Implementing gamification just because it is popular without analyzing fit, 2) Having goals that are not specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based, 3) Gamifying a non-functional process, 4) Thinking gamification is only about points, badges and leaderboards, 5) Overly relying on material rewards, 6) Not evolving the design over time, 7) Viewing it only as a technology solution rather than a psychological one, 8) Not getting support from stakeholders, 9) Not analyzing player types, and 10) Viewing it as a one-size

1. 10 Common Mistakes at
Gamification Design
Ercan Altuğ Yılmaz / twitter@ercanaltug

2. 10 Common Mistakes at Gamification Design
Meaning (Anlam), Empowerment (Güçlendirme), Social İnfluence (Sosyal Etki),Unpredictability (Tahmin
edilemezlik), Avoidance (Kaçınma) , Scarcity(Azlık), Ownership (Sahiplik) ve Accomplishment (Başarı)

3. 10 Deadly Mistakes of Gamification!
‘’ Gamification is a very powerfull tool and solution for every area. But mostly because of poor design
and some other mistakes gamify process can be stop or player of games are not motivate like before.
Lets try to list them with count of 10 and when we start to gamify a process carefully remember
them. ‘’

4. 1 : Just because of gamification sounds cool
Gamification has a big curiosity over people these days,and every big project has a plan for gamification
somehow. But althought it’s a very powerfull tool at people, it maybe not right solution for your business and
it’s problems.It because your player types or business models or else. You have to analyze all of these
gamification frameworks with step by step and decide to use gamification.

5. 2 : Business targets are not SMART!
Gamification is a problem solving and process focusing solution. You have to defined your business
target, and people’s behavior on your business,where is the challange and how you can create a behavior
model for problem solution. These are has to be clear, understandable and reachable like SMART model.

6. What is SMART Target?
What was the SMART model? Smart target’s has 5 subject to have. First is Specific.It didint change by people.
Second is Measurable. You can point with numbers not words. Third is Attainable. Yes throwing a stone to moon
is a good target for productivity but not attainable,also it has to be relevant and time based.

7. 3 : Try to gamify a not working process
Gamification is not a standalone process for a any kind of process. It is focus on a challange or problem on a
real and working a process. If your process not working with some reason if you gamify people will experience
not working process for points,badges or awards,which is another mistakes we will talk under the Award.

8. 3 : Try to gamify a not working process
For example :
- Your website’s login number is low because of some cross platform UX problem or want too much
information to fill up. Let’s gamify it. Give every login a new badges. People will still faces with UX problems or
long forms but they love to have these badgesiso they will do these but love it.

9. 3 : Try to gamify a not working process
Another example :
- Our training videos has very low complete percentage. If you will start to give points to complete and a
dayoff for 10 points,they will definitly complete these trainings. But you have to ask what is the problem? What
if your videos are not playing streamly with every platform,or they are just boring! You have to focus
problems and after better experience for player you can gamify the process.

10. 4 :Gamification is not just PBL
In 2011 when the gamification word has became buzzword everyone saw examples with Point, Badges and
Leaderboard. People thing it’s a set and has to be include every gamify process. Which is wrong. This wrong
approuch now called ‘PBL’ is mostly prefer for gamify solution. Yes these PBL game mechanics are very
powerfull to integrate your model but they are not only mechanics or even more.

11. 4 :Gamification is not just PBL – Duolingo’s Badges
For examle Duolingo website also use PBL. But Duolingo’s Badges has power status which discrese by time. So
you have to come back and take some quiz to full them up and keep your badges. Great solution for revisiting
site and retention for knowlegde. Use and think with your needs on PBL mechanics.

12. 4 :Gamification is not just PBL – Create a new!
Another example you can create your own mechanics,dont use only existing like PBL. For example a game
company call «Pixofun» has a quiz based game and it has a ‘Quarantine’ mechanics that every wrong answer goes
to Quarantine with how many it had answered wrong it has got that much points,and if you answer these
questions correctly you can eanr those points. Great game thinking!

13. 5 :Carefully use Awards
Awards has high potential to create a motivation on people and take action. But if you put too much
awards with material based, people’s motivation will not to do an action on your solution just for winning
an award. Don’t forget even Mario Bros had a motivation to saving Princess!

14. 5 :Gamification Awards : SAPS Model
Remember that not every awards has to be a stuff like ipad or money related things. You can use Gabe
Zichermann’s SAPS model for that. After staff you can use Power,power to people has some power each
other like removing another user’s comment or decided to his avatar ext. Also Access to some secret
documents, or place or someone like CEO. And status that has some power on people and also on system
like majorship at fousquare-swarm.

15. 6 :Gamification is not plug/play thing
Gamification not a one action deployment like plug/play solution. In the game flow you have to follow players
actions and decided to next flow. Even if you just use PBL mechanics it will work on people but after couple
months and earned millions of points , same game design won’t motivate people, you have to add mechanics and
more changes for gameflow.

16. 7 :Gamification is not only technology
Some people thing gamification is intergration with an existing engine,and system has to use these engine’s
mechanics. Gamification mostly people focus and psychological background. You have to define people’s
problem, create a solution on motivational and then choose a game mechanic or design or engine.

17. 7 :Gamification is not only technology
For example ; in these days some smart watches can measure your heart beat instanly.
And some company directly to used this feature at their watch application,and called it
gamified.

18. 7 :Gamification is not only technology
Even it looks like game because there is a play design on it,it’s not real gamification because it is not
challange based and solving a problem with heart beat. It’s just using technology for a playfull
experience.

19. 8 : Take support from target ecosystem
Like all games, at gamification player need to know game rules and they are in a gamified process. Explain
all game flow to target audience, it could be your boss at office, family at your home or else? Gamification
has always some surprise,sometimes good,sometimes bad because of games own nature, take support from
your management team and target ecosystem.

20. 9 : Analyze and talk with your player types
Like every project,if you gamify something it has to be for player’s. We can call it Player Centric Design. You
have to analyze your target audince. Or even maybe doing some interview and test with them. Some player
like we metion before at Bartle Player Types loves to achivie some tasks,other loves to socialize but other
just try to eliminate other players. So figure it out and desing your process and choose your game elements
with player motivations.

21. Phillip Toledano
Phillip Toledano took lots of people while they play a game. And these interesting photos came from.

22. Phillip Toledano
Even these people played same game with same tasks for couple minutes,

23. Phillip Toledano
You can easly realise that every people has different reactions.

24. Phillip Toledano
Some of them having fun, some of them nervous,other just enjoy!

25. Phillip Toledano
İt show us that every person has a differen motivational background to play a game and it creates player types.

26. Phillip Toledano
It s very important to analyse and critical for gamification design.

27. Phillip Toledano
Some player always focusing to achivie some tasks,

28. Phillip Toledano
Others just enjoying to explorer to game and meeting with other players,

29. Phillip Toledano
Or just killing other player!

30. In product design process product managers always use Persona Cards. It is a brief that which users will
use this product and why? Persona is always help desingers to focus on customer. So gamification for
people then it needs a persona cards too.

31. Mario Herger create a Player Persona Cards like this. You can ask these questions and analyze your
players and deciden how your gamify process focus to.

32. User Centric Design & User Experience
User centric desing is very important also for gamification. Because gamification focus on people problems on
real world. If you dont put users to centric and if you design for yourself it wont work except yourself. It becomes
some how to User experience. Starbucks is User experience nirvana. You can drink same coffea all over the world
and not only coffea, with smell,with service and store’s quality has complete the user experience.

33. User Centric Design & User Experience
If you have a good user experience design users will use your solution by themselves. Couple best user
experience solution is chair,door and water battery’s hot and cold water sign. If someone see door and if
use handle directly that will be a good user experince,if everyone understand that red is hot and blue is
cold that will be a good design and user experience.

34. 10 : Gamification isnt a ready to use solution
Gamification has lots of elements. You dont have to use them all. It doesnt have to point or badges. You can start
with one elements like avatar and track it then update the game design flow and integrate other elements over
these. For example if you gamify a sell process and if seller doesnt know his target and effect of what he sells,you
can just start witj progress bar and if he sells just 1 shoes how it will effects on progress bar with percentage,that
will be a good start.No need extra points,leaderboard or else for starting to gamify. You can start with one
elements focus on problem then you can continiue with other elements.

35. 10 : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Gameflow
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi show that if you give player quest with challange that they can
achieve,these game flow keep going.

36. 10 : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Gameflow
This gameflow theory is very important for long term gamification IF challanges to easy with
the player abilities,player will bored and leave the flow. Or if its too hard to dı they also after
couple try leave. If you can hold them at «Flow Zone» player has a good path to flow.

37. 10 : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Gameflow
Then if you have a good game flow the results will be very fantastic.

38. Thank you!
 ercanaltug@twitter.com
 www.oyunlastirma.co