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 2012

cb

Education

Sustainability

Activism

Life

Everywhere

The blueprint (still)

pointsTracking, Feedback

badgesGoals, surprise

leaderboardsCompetition

incentivesRewards

The Enablers

success stories

sensors & analytics practices & discourses

1 Gamification isnothing new.

»One purpose of this book is to explore ways in which even routine activities can be transformed into personally meaningful games that provide optimal experiences.«

flow (1990: 51)Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Precursors(1980+)

Repurposings(2001+)

UX(2002+)

Hedonic attributes

Playfulness(2005+)

Serious Games(1960+)

DigitalSerious Games

(2001+)

Alternate Reality/Pervasive Games

(2001+)

Ludificationof culture

(2006+)

Ludic design(2002+)

Persuasive Tech(2006+)

Precursors and parallels

Precursors

User Experience

Playfulness

Ludic Design

Persuasive Technology

Serious Games

Pervasive Games

Alternate Reality Games

Ludification of Culture

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

Gamification:The use ofgame design elements in non-game contexts

Gamification:The use ofgame design elements in non-game contexts

Roger Cailloisman, play, and games (1958)

LudusPaidiaplay

improvisationexplorationtumultuousimmoderate

gameskill, effortstrategizing

orderedrule-bound

Gaming

Playing

Gaming, not playing

Story

Systems Elements

Elements, not whole systems

Game Design Elements

Game-based technology

Controllers, AI, 3D engines, ...

Game-based practices Serious Gaming

Game-based design Gamification

Non-Game Contexts

Story

Syst

emElem

ents

Gaming

Playing

gamification(serious) games

playful design(serious) toys

3 Gamification isan inadvertent con.

Margaret Robertson

»Gamification is an inadvertent con. It tricks people into believing that there’s a simple way to imbue their thing ... with the psychological, emotional and social power of a great game.«

can’t play, won’t play (2009)

Confu

sion

#1

Theodore Sturgeon

»Ninety percent of everything is crud.«

sturgeon‘s revelation (1958)

Games are not fun because they are games, but when they are well-designed.

Con(fusion) #1

Confu

sion

#2

Earn 1,000,000,000,000 points

Score: 964,000,000,000,000(You rock!)

Drop all loot!

Level: 1(You rock!)

Get princess!

Score: 400 princesses(You rock!)

»Fun is just another word for learning.«

Raph Koster

a theory of fun for game design (2005)

Raph Koster

»Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun. With games, learning is the drug.«

a theory of fun for game design (2005)

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

Extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation

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

Edward Deci, Richard Ryan

»An understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.«

the what and why of goal pursuit (2000)

The fun in playing games chiefly arises from intrinsic enjoyment, not extrinsic incentives.

Con(fusion) #2

Confu

sion

#3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/apartmentlife/6559123353/

»Mowing the lawn or waiting in a dentist’s office can become enjoyable provided one restructures the activity by providing goals, rules, and the other elements of enjoyment to be reviewed below.«

flow (1990: 51)Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

»Gaminess« is not a feature you can add.

Con(fusion) #3

4Motivational designis a promising proposition.

How might we ...

restructure a system to support intrinsic enjoyment, using game design as a lens?

Put differently

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

Game Atoms

model/skill

rule system

goal

success! / failure!

action

feedbackimmediate/progress

challenge

Games in class > Class as game

Games in school > School as game

Games in Undergrad > You get the idea ...

GoalsDaily, weekly, monthly, annually w/ progress

Feedback Accuracy, speed, friendliness in comparison, w/ recommendations

Reality Check

ChallengeTraining, job rotation, job enrichment

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

5 Gamification isthinking inside the box.

The BoxGameA designed artifact

PlayingA frame of engagement

»Even though we are involved in a game, we are not always playing … Even though we are playing, we are not always involved in a game ...Playing a game is a special condition of both play and games.«

Bernie de Koventhe well-played game (1978/2002: 7)

debugging

playtesting/reviewing

presenting gameplay

making a machinima

a scientific study

learning (serious games)

sports (e-sports)

work (goldfarming)

So ...

What about this frame 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 how stressful this is.«

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

Johan Huizinga

»First and foremost, all play is a voluntary activity.«

homo ludens (1938/1950: 7)

Element

#1

»The key element of an optimal experience is that it is an end in itself.«

flow (1990: 67)Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Edward Deci, Richard Ryan

»An understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.«

the what and why of goal pursuits (2000)

Fun Voluntary

Voluntary Fun

… vs. Quality and VarietyA safe space

Element

#2

James Paul Gee

»Psychosocial moratorium principle:Learners can take risks in a space where real-world consequences are lowered.«

what video games have to teach us... (2003: 67)

Attunement

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wondermonkey2k/6188527275

Element

#3

»When mother and child have fun together, … they are establishing ... the convention that they take precedence over the fun. When the child cries, the mother stops having fun.«

Bernie de Koventhe well-played game (1978: 18)

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

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

»It is the nature of a fun community to care more about the players than about the game. ... We are having fun. We are caring. We are safe with each other. This is what we want.«

Bernie de Koventhe well-played game (1978: 19-20)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/docentjoyce/3138887652

Element

#4

Shared focus & attitude of exploring ...

… mastery, ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulgorman/1392988135

… benign transgression, ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bixentro/540642579

… and most importantly, fun

Trust

I won‘t let you fall.

I‘ll know and say when it‘s too much.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucianvenutian/439410200

Element

#5

Edward Deci, Richard Ryan

»An understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.«

the what and why of goal pursuits (2000)

Rewarded or mandatory games ...

http://albanyny.bitsbytesbots.com/after-school-enrichment

danger

#1

… curbs autonomy through control

http://www.flickr.com/photos/courosa/4955407599/sizes/l/in/photostream/

… detrains autonomous regulation

danger

#2

the rule ofirrelevance

http://www.rasmusen.org/x/images/pd.jpg

Framing as strategic instrumental action

… crowds out communal ethics, ...

»It is through a community of people who care more about fun than winning that the Well-Played game happens.«

Bernie de Koventhe well-played game (1978: 5)

http://www.rasmusen.org/x/images/pd.jpg

… fixates thinking inside the system and ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5tein/2347819903

… encourages gaming the system

Roger Cailloisman, play, and games (1958)

LudusPaidiaplay

improvisationexplorationtumultuousimmoderate

gameskill, effortstrategizing

orderedrule-bound

In short: a ludic mindset

Utopia lost in amusement

danger

#3

Theodor W. Adorno

»The unreality of games gives notice that reality is not yet real. Unconsciously they rehearse the right life.«

minima moralia (1951)

Theodor W. Adorno

»Simply because the child deprives the things with which he plays of their mediated usefulness, he seeks to rescue in them what is benign towards men and not what subserves the exchange relation that equally deforms men and things.«

minima moralia (1951)

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

Theodor W. Adorno

»Amusement is the extension of work in late capitalism. It is sought out by him who wants to escape the mechanised process of work only to become fit for it anew.«

dialectics of enlightenment (1969)

6Playful reframingis a promising proposition.

Play

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrlerone/405730185/sizes/o/

What we usually design

Who decides whether this is play

(or playing is allowed)

http://ascottallison.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/p1030286.jpg

Support autonomy

Principle

#1

Create a safe space

Principle

#2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charamelody/4613804703

Principle

#3

Metacommunicate: »This is play!«

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/2593920251/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Make a bowhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mccun934/3604759449

Disrupt standing frames

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

… vs. Quality and VarietyModel attitude and behaviors

Principle

#4

Offer generative tools/toys

Principle

#5

Small pieces, loosely joined

Kars Alfrink

»So when designing tools for play, underspecify!«

a playful stance (2008)

(Obligatory Minecraft slide)

FarmVille

MySpace!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/purplemattfish/3205907410/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Provide invitations

Principle

#6

Safe spaceCulture of trust, forgiveness, mutual care, zero blame

Autonomy Choice in goals & strategies, concordant w/ values & needs

Shared attitudeLived focus on exploring, mastery, benign transgression, shared joy

Generative tools/toysInviting openings for exploration and redesign

7 Gamification ismaterializing morality.

Evil mind control?

issue

#1

Jane McGonigal

»If you use the power of games to give people an opportunity to do something they want to do, then you’re doing good. If you’re using the power of games to get people to do something you want them to do, then you’re doing evil.«

digital ethics symposium (2011)

Technologies of power

Get your friends to shop more

Technologies of the self

Help me meditate

… are technologies of control

Fitter.Happier.More productive.Not drinking too much.Regular exercize at the gym.Get out more with your associate employees.Stay in the game. Move on.Stay in the game. Move on.Stay in the game. Move on.Stay in the game. Move on.Stay in the game. Move on.

Stay in the game. Move on.

issue

#2

Implicit values, virtues, normality

Richard Buchanan

»Products ... are vivid arguments about how we should lead our lives.«

design and the new rhetoric (2001)http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_and_rhetoric/v034/34.3buchanan.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanky/1722371602

The Good Life

Compare. Compete. Be on top.

What vision of

The Good Life do your designs convey?

Implicit theory of social change“Extended willpower”

issue

#3

When discipline is reinforced, revolution cannot fail!

»Commentators blithely assure us that it is ‘all about who wants it the most’, as though sporting podiums are arranged exactly according to the amount of willpower that went into the struggle. Bronze: considerable self-belief; silver: still stronger self-belief; gold: self-belief on an epic scale. … Our own age has indulged a pseudoscientific cult of willpower: the deification of determination.«

the voodoo cult of positive thinking (2012)Ed Smith

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 of

social changedo your designs convey?

8 Gamification isworth researching.

Motivational DesignMarrying the psychology of motivation with the practice of design.

Topic#1

The Gameful Classroom

Rule Design StudiesThe holistic study and design of rule systems.

Topic#2

Law

Economics

Sociology

computer science

Game Studies

GovernancePublic PolicyInterpretation

Social orderInstitutionalizationScripts (STS)

AlgorithmsModeling, abstraction,automation, simulation

Game TheoryIncentivesBusiness processes

DesignDynamics & AestheticsSemiotics

Playing StudiesUnderstanding and designing for playful and gameful reframing.

Topic#3

Are you “playing” or “using” it?

Mandatory or optional?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5tein/2347819903

How to counteract a gaming mindset?

9 “Gamification” isa terrible word to use.

Ian Bogost

»Gamification is bullshit.«

gamification is bullshit (2011)http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4294/persuasive_games_shell_games.php

Issue#1

Ian Bogost

»This is why gamification is such an effective term. It keeps the term game and puts it right up in front, drawing attention to the form’s mysterious power. But the kicker comes at the end: the -ify suffix makes applying that medium to any given purpose seem facile and automatic.«

exploitationware (2010)

What is a “game element”?** Most game definitions have multiple necessary conditions

Issue#2

Game Atoms

model/skill

rule system

goal

success! / failure!

action

feedbackimmediate/progress

challenge

gamification

Rules

Goals

Avatars

Story

Story

not game-specific

Redeemable rewards

Commitment

Analytics

NotificationsComments

not game-related

Quantitative feedback

Encourgaing “add-on” thinking

Issue#3

Remember “Playfulness”?

Gamefulness!

Roger Cailloisman, play, and games (1958)

LudusPaidiaplay

improvisationtumultuousimmoderate

gameskill, effort

orderedrule-bound

Story

Syst

em/A

rtef

act

Elements

Gaming

Playing

gamification(serious) games

playful design(serious) toys

Gameful Design

Quality/mode

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Gamification is nothing new.Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.Gamification is an inadvertent con.Motivational design is a promising proposition.Gamification is thinking inside the box.Playful reframing is a promising proposition.Gamification is materializing morality.Gamification is worth researching»Gamification« is a terrible word to use.

9.5 Ceterum CenseoYou should all read The Well-Played Game

»Inscribed in gold in our flag is the motto If you can’t play it, change it, and woven into our banner are the words If it helps, cheat.«

Bernie de Koventhe well-played game (1978/2002)

sebastian@codingconduct.cc

@dingstweets

codingconduct.cc

Thank You.