there be dragons: ten potential pitfalls of gamification

There Be Dragonsten potential pitfalls of gamificationSebastian Deterding (@dingstweets)Digital Shoreditch, London, May 4, 2011

cbn

(Grumpy monster talk)

With unexplored territories ...

… comes dangerous ground.

A (partial) map of troubles ahead

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The Crap CrabAbuse is not a value proposition

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† But daily checkins/user dropped from 0,5 to 0,4 to 0,34 while growing from 2 to 5 to 8 million accounts (foursquare’s own data, 2011).

8 MillionFoursquare Accounts! †

Who knew?Foursquare has an engagement problem.

http://www.creative360.com/blog/2009/09/why-i-quit-playing-foursquare/

Aaron Patzer

»What we have learned from our users is that any game aspect has to be, at least for finance, more oriented toward some specific thing that you are working toward: I want to buy a house or a car, take a vacation, get out of debt ... Otherwise you have a system of points with no levels or no end game.«

founder, mint.com (2010)

The gamification battlefield*

Uservalue

Businessvalue

You check in

We give you points

* Courtesy Buster Benson, “The Game always Wins”

Gabe Zichermann

»The marketing dictum that “good marketing cannot compensate for a bad product” is patently turned upside down in the Funware world. Game mechanics and the psychological conditions they exploit are powerful tools that marketers can use, and they’re a lot cheaper … than cash in the long run.«

game-based marketing (2009)

An abusive relationship

Points and badges for loyalty – you are so

cheap!

That one coupon and I’m gone!

Stack Overflow

The gamification honeymoon

Uservalue

Businessvalue

You get answers & build reputation,we grow our platform

Uservalue

Businessvalue

Off

Playing field

Stay in the playing field

What do users value?*• Getting things done, easier

• Self-improvement

• Community recognition and belonging

• A sense of meaning and meaning

• Instrumental value, cash

• Fun and enjoyment

• Competence and achievement* A completely off-the cuff, non-comprehensive, non-scientific etc. pp. list

Getting things done, easier

Self-improvement

Community recognition & belonging

»Would my non-geek friend brag about this during dinner with colleagues?«

(The community status litmus test)

Sense of meaning and contribution

Wikimedia Foundation

»Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.«

slogan

Cash, instrumental value

Fun and entertainment

The Feedback BlowfishRewards are not achievements

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Earn 1,000,000,000,000 points

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

Raph Koster

»Fun is just another word for learning.«

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)

Clear goals ...

plus constraining rules ...

equals interesting challenges.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bodgerbrooks/1315419080

Plus constant, clear feedback ...

equals experiences of achievement.

Feedback without achievement

The Maelstorm of Misplaced ChallengeGetting in the way of efficiency

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Ticket

To receive ticket, steer point through maze

Level 2

Ticket

To receive ticket, steer point through maze

• Maximum output?

• Error-free, polite, actionable?

• Prioritization?

• Quick answers?

• Checking less often?

• Inbox Zero?

The core challenge of e-mail?

Prioritization

Procrastination

The Trapped Sea of StalenessNo fresh content and challenge

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Max

. lev

el

Year

2004: 60

2007: 70

2008: 80

2010: 85

World of Warcraft Expansions

… vs. Quality and VarietyFrontierVille Seasonal Content

The Urobus of Unintended ConsequenceNeglecting side effects

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… vs. Quality and VarietyTumblarity

Mayor Maker

The Social Signal Sea SerpentIgnoring Context Meanings

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Autonomy Leech and Value VampireThe hidden costs of extrinsic rewards

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… vs. Quality and VarietyCurbing autonomy through control

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

Devaluing the activity

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

The Ice Shelves of IgnoranceNot knowing your users

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FarmVille

Fallout 3

Fanlib.com, a cautionary tale

The Feature ShallowsNeglecting design process

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… vs. Quality and VarietyPrototype & playtest for “how”, “why”

Analytics for “where”, “how much”

The Panacea PythonLooking for a quick-fix, one-size-fits-all wonder potion

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Seth Priebatsch

»At SCVNGR we like to joke that with any seven game dynamics you can get anyone to do anything.«

welcome to the decade of games (2010)

motivation(intrinsic, extrinsic)

ability(Skills, habits)

opportunity(Situation, environment)

behaviour

When do people do stuff?*

Usability

Prompts,context

Game design(and other things)

* A comprehensive, well-researched, widely adopted etc. pp. model (namely the Motivation, Opportunity, Ability Model)

Four questions to leave with• Is motivation the issue?

• Is there a core value that game elements can amplify?

• Can this be gamed (does it involve a learnable challenge and autonomy)?

• Is gaming the most cost-benefit efficient way of improving motivation here?

sebastian@codingconduct.cc

@dingstweets

codingconduct.cc

Thank You.