There's a game inside every product. Use these tips to unravel it.

2. A deck by
DORI ADAR

3. Let’s start with a trivia question.

4. Pong (1972) Solitaire (1990) CryptoKitties (2017)
What do these games have in common?

5. Pong (1972) Solitaire (1990) CryptoKitties (2017)
They all have made technology accessible.
ANSWER

6. Pong (1972) The first commercial hit game by Atari.
For many, it was the first time they’ve
interacted with a computer.

7. Released with Windows 3.0 as means
to teach people how to use the mouse.
The game’s success was overwhelming.
Solitaire (1990)

8. A game about trading cats on the
Blockchain. The game was such a hit
that it clogged ¼ of all the Ethereum
network when it launched.
People bought cryptocurrency for the
first time only so they could play the
CryptoKitties (2017)

9. Throughout digital history, games played an instrumental part
in making technology accessible.

10. Nowadays, every widely adopted product is playful
in its own unique way.

11. To understand games a little bit better
and learn how we can use some of their principles
to our advantage

12. We need to define what a game is.

13. A GAME
Every system with rules and goals.

14. That’s a very broad definition right there.
Which is great! Because it means….

15. That every system with rules and goals
has a game inside that wants to come out.

16. Consider this system for example.

17. Consider this system for example.
One strict goal and one strict rule.
Still, players didn’t play so accurately.
Let’s cast a gaming spell here...

18. Voila!

19. Voila!
This small, photorealistic sticker of a
fly that showed up in restrooms at the
Schiphol Airport, resulted in an 8
percent reduction in total bathroom
cleaning costs!

20. All that was needed was a clear, vivid target, and
people became players.

21. And now, without further adieu...

22. 5 key principles we can learn
from games about UX

23. How to win

24. Everybody loves winning.

25. People show interest in products
that entices them with big wins.

28. Big wins are great. Problem is, that most people
need to feel victorious way earlier in the process.

29. Take this “complete your profile”
minigame.
It works so well for a few reasons:

30. 1. The big goal is divided to smaller goals, each
offers a small win.
2. The rules for achieving the goal are super clear.
3. The activity offers an immediate feedback.
4. The goals are easy to achieve. Anyone can do it!

31. The only thing lacking here is meaning.
Why should we complete the profile? What do we
get from it?

32. Fabulous, an app for developing healthy habits, uses
the same scheme of easy to achieve goals to get
players up and running.
But they also explain why these little goals are
important, thus adding meaning to the game.

33. Question
Do you show your players how to win in your
product?

34. How to teach

35. Games are very good at explaining
how to play them.

36. Some games even do it first thing in the menu!

37. More complicated games will take players by their hands
throughout the tutorial, making sure they interact with it.

38. Telling players how to
play is not enough.
Players are request to
engage with the system
from the get go.

39. People only learn by doing

40. However, most products out there just throw a bunch of non-
interactive tooltips at their players.

41. A good example is the way Slack onboards users.

42. Just like in a game, they force players to engage with the
system

43. Having them learn by doing.

44. Teaching players how to play is crucial.
Otherwise - they won’t play.

45. Here’s a tip.
You remember this mini game, right?

46. Become a Pro User
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Why not make a similar one, this time,
to encourage users to learn the system
better!

47. Question
Are your players engage with the system while
learning how to use it?

48. And there’s another thing. Sometimes, you can’t
teach the ropes of a product in a short time.

49. So you want to make sure that your users
understand its value, as fast as possible.

50. I call the time between the first app launch and
the value demonstartion...

51. Time to Magic

52. Remember that app, Mascarade?
Within seconds, the app’s value is clear.

53. Time to magic - 1 second!

54. This is Duolingo. In less than 20 seconds after firing up the app
- I’m already speaking German.

55. A quick way for a fast TTM (Time to Magic) in B2B apps
is to use templates.

56. 20 seconds after signing up to Wix.com, I already have a
stunning website!

57. After the value is demonstrated clearly (again, by
doing, not by telling),

58. It’s much easier to teach player anything.
Because they are eager to learn.

59. How to Reward

60. We can divide prizes into three groups.
SubconsciousTangibleStatus

61. What do you see here?

62. And now?

63. Of course, there’s no face.
But in our mind’s eye there is.

64. Our brain constantly looks for patterns and rewards us when
we find them. This is what I call subconceous rewards.

65. Match 3 games are like pattern-playground for our brains.

66. But subconscious rewards are not unique
only to games.

67. Our mind rewards us for putting everything in order.
For tapping a notification bubble. For finishing things.

68. Look how organized the UI of Monday.com - a project
management tool.

69. “Your team will get addicted to turn things green” is Monday’s marketing
slogan. For a reason - it’s indeed subconsciously addictive.

70. Let’s talk about tangible rewards, like these trophies here.

71. These Clash Royale’s trophies are not just for beauty. Collecting these
trophies is the only way to advance in the game.

72. In other words, these prizes tangible within the game’s world.

73. Like these prizes from Dropbox, a fine compensation for inviting friends
over to the service.

74. Here’s another practical referral reward. No wonder it works like magic.
Everybody loves tangible rewards.

75. This is a status reward. And also, a good one. It is not easy to earn and
when one does, it fits in nicely in the CV.

76. Unlike these type of status rewards, which I call “Vanity Prizes”.
A status generated only because one is using the app.

77. And doesn’t provide any tangible goods.

78. The same company that offers practical, tangible rewards, also provide
their users with meaningless, vanity prizes.

79. Why don’t give practical prizes?

80. Become a Pro User
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Remember that magical minigame from before?
Now a little present was added.

81. Become a Pro User
Open 2 boards
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wireframes
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Import from CSV
Our best users, that take the time to learn the ropes of our
product, now get real, practical, tangible rewards. Why not?
Pro User Perks
7 more days of free use
10 more templates unlocked
Customization features
unlocked
Discount pro features

82. How to Diversify

83. A games is usually comprised of different layers. Players have
the freedom to choose which layers they interact with.

84. Competitive Layer
Leaderboards, achievements, boss fights etc

85. Competitive Layer
Research layer
The game’s world, different strategies, forums etc.

86. Competitive Layer
Research layer
Creative Layer
Customization

87. Competitive Layer
Research layer
Creative Layer
Social layer
Sharing, commenting, group play etc.

88. Each of these layers appeal to a different sides in
our personality.

89. Competitive
Research
Creative
Social

90. Competitive
Research
Creative
Social

91. Non-game products should also appeal to
different personality sides.

92. Hotjar, an analytics tool,
offers a built in referral
contest to spark our
competitive sides.

93. Monday.com offers a highly customisable work board.

94. Compare that with Jira, the unforgiving and rigid project
management tool, that gives no room for customization.

95. The researchers, users who love to investigate and learn more
about the tools they are using, would appreciate tailor-made
courses on how to use the product.

96. Heck, you can also reward them for their curiosity.

97. Question
Do you encourage creativity, competition,
research and sociality in your product?

98. How to Bring Users
Back?

99. This is an energy system, pretty
common in casual games. When lives
reach zero, the player has to wait
until a new life is generated.

100. Energy systems are like seat belts. Users don’t like it, but it
saves their lives. Or life time value in our case.

101. When game companies tried to
remove the energy system, they
realized that people play a lot on the
first few days, and then neglect the
game completely.

102. The reason: They didn’t get notifications
reminding them to go back.

103. A product has to have some good “excuses” to
call players back to use it.

104. The more appealing your product is to various personality
sides, you’ll have more excuses to use.

105. Grammarly gets appeals to the
researcher types, calling them back
by offering a “writing update”, with
statistics about the player’s
performance.

106. Hotjar gets the competitive
types hooked with constant
updates on their inbound
referral contest.

107. 5 key principles we can learn from games about UX
How to teach
How to win
How to reward
How to diversify
How to bring users back

108. Thank you for reading!
Here’s my website if you want to dig dipper
(and get my Game Design Essentials book FOR FREE!)
www.doriadar.com