the lens of intrinsic skill atoms: a method for gameful design
TRANSCRIPT
the lens of intrinsic skill atoms a method for gameful design Sebastian Deterding / @dingstweets Digital Creativity Labs, University of York May 10, 2016
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<1> introduction
old idea: learning enjoyment design from gamesMalone 1981, Carroll & Thomas 1983, Blythe et al. 2004
gaMification The use of game design elements in non-game contexts
Deterding et al. 2011
recent surge of interest
gamification
serious games
persuasive tech
how do you design gameful systems?Deterding et al. 2013
* obligatory visualisation of ephemeral design work with people pointing at post-its
lots of industry work, little researchDeterding et al. 2013
the paper
• Conceptual development of requirements from literature
• Review of existing methods against requirements
• Iterative design-based development and evaluation of method through 19 projects & workshops with teams of 2-6 (n=335)
the challenge of challenge
<2> requirements
guiding questions 1. What are the enjoyable, motivating experiences
characteristic for gameplay? 2. What game structures and processes afford
these experiences? 3. How does game design create these structures
and processes? 4. How can we integrate this into design methods
for non-game systems?
chief source of game enjoyment: overcoming challengesMalone 1981, Csikszentmihalyi 1990, Koster 2005, Przybylski, Rigby, & Ryan, 2010, Klimmt & Blake 2012
#1
chief formal structure of games: skill atoms/loops Cook 2007, cf. Dormans 2012
#2
chief formal structure of games: skill atoms/loops Cook 2007, cf. Dormans 2012
#2
goal conflict of applied game design
Goal conflict
game design Enjoyable
inefficiency
interaction design Usable
efficiency
how do we make one support the other?
Goal congruence
game design Enjoyment
interaction design Efficiency
intrinsic integration: core challenge = to be learned skill
Habgood & Ainsworth 2011, Echeverría et al. 2012
what about real-world output,
not learning?
john M. Carroll & John C. Thomas
»Tacking on ad hoc complications will not evoke fun.«
fun (1988: 21)
intrinsic integration: restructure inherent learnable challenge
For ticket, drag red dot through labyrinth
Ticket
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
»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)
create find and restructure already-inherent challenge
formative research to elicit challengesKhaled & Ingram 2012
#3
design synthesis: bridging from research to game ideasKhaled & Ingram 2012, Kolko 2010
research game idea
how to get there?
#4
design synthesis: bridging from research to game ideasKhaled & Ingram 2012, Kolko 2010
research game idea
how to get there?
design synthesis
#4
design & test for emergent qualities of experience
Hunicke, LeBlanc & Zubek 2004
#5
epistemic mobilisation: translating game design for others
Goodwin 1994
#6
review: 15 academic & industry methods (2014)
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Design & test for emergence Epistemic mobilisation
review: 15 academic & industry methods (2014)
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Design & test for emergence Epistemic mobilisation
xxx
xx
current practice Intrinsic needs + extrinsic rewards Focus on feedback, not challenge Additive, pattern-based Little research, tokenist player type use Lacking guidance in pattern choice Data-driven design
<3> core parts
of the method
formative research: map skill atom of current system#1
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Design for emergence Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Epistemic mobilisation
Alarm if process is stoppedError # from last shift
No immediate, progress feedback
Feedback
Grab & attach materialHand piece onStop process
Actions & objects
Grabbing # of materialsAttaching things w/o error
Staying in rhythmRemembering sequence
Challenge
Joint pride in craftsmanshipGetting ahead economicallyRecognition by colleagues
Motivation
Finish car piece in timeFinish # pieces/day
Goal
No apparent rules for advancement
Rules
Alarm if process is stoppedError # from last shift
No immediate, progress feedback
Feedback
Grab & attach materialHand piece onStop process
Actions & objects
Grabbing # of materialsAttaching things w/o error
Staying in rhythmRemembering sequence
Challenge
Joint pride in craftsmanshipGetting ahead economicallyRecognition by colleagues
Motivation
Finish car piece in timeFinish # pieces/day
Goal
No apparent rules for advancement
Rules
synthesis: create innovation stems from analysis#2
Alarm if process is stoppedError # from last shift
No immediate, progress feedback
Feedback
Grab & attach materialHand piece onStop process
Actions & objects
Grabbing # of materialsAttaching things w/o error
Staying in rhythmRemembering sequence
Challenge
Joint pride in craftsmanshipGetting ahead economicallyRecognition by colleagues
Motivation
Finish car piece in timeFinish # pieces/day
Goal
No apparent rules for advancement
Rules
synthesis: create innovation stems from analysis#2
Alarm if process is stoppedError # from last shift
No immediate, progress feedback
Feedback
Grab & attach materialHand piece onStop process
Actions & objects
Grabbing # of materialsAttaching things w/o error
Staying in rhythmRemembering sequence
Challenge
Joint pride in craftsmanshipGetting ahead economicallyRecognition by colleagues
Motivation
Finish car piece in timeFinish # pieces/day
Goal
No apparent rules for advancement
Rules
synthesis: create innovation stems from analysis#2
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Design for emergence Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Epistemic mobilisation
lenses capture experiential qualities of gameplay#3
Schell 2008, Scott 2010
Juicy Feedback
Varied, unexpectedly excessive sensual positive feedback on small user actions and achievements can instil a sense of competence even without a big challenge to overcome. Its unexpected variety also stokes curiosity.
▪ What are the small steps of your action (e.g. approaching, touching, lifting, moving, releasing in “drag and drop”)?
▪ When does a user achieve a goal?▪ How might you exaggerate the auditory,
visual, and tactile feedback at these steps and achievements, going unexpectedly “over the top”?
▪ Is there a material or creature whose sensual properties might inspire your feedback (like anemones or bubble wrap or dough or …)?
▪ How might you add some variation to that feedback to keep it interesting over time?
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Lenses to evaluate & tune system for desirable qualities#3
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Design for emergence Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Epistemic mobilisation
iterative experiential prototyping & playtesting#4
method checklist Design around overcoming challenges Design around intrinsic challenge Design for emergence Embed formative research Synthesis bridging research to ideation Epistemic mobilisation
<4> evaluation & future work
evaluation & future work
• Iterative development and evaluation in 19 projects & workshops with 335 participants
• Controlled experiment: implementation designed with method significantly increases user engagement (Buikstra et al. 2015)
• Quantitative testing of designer satisfaction with process
• Quantitative testing of individual components (e.g. lenses vs. other presentation forms)
• Extension to experience-driven design
