Systems &Inputs & Outcomes &Rewards &Balance.(How to trick People into accomplishing their health goals)

Why Games as a solution?- Great games mask boring and

often repetitive tasks.

- Great games are engaging – they require users to interact, and give them just enough reward to want more.

- Great games are accessible and ‘addictive’ even though they are voluntary.

A framework to Examine/Dissect Games…- The System

- What is the goal of the game? What are the rules?

- The Input

- What actions can the player take to accomplish the goal?

- The Outcome

- When the player performs an action, what happens?

…and How to get it all ‘Sticky’- Extrinsic versus Intrinsic Rewards

- What happens when the player performs the “right” action?

- Balance versus “Fairness”

- What happens when the player performs the “wrong” action?

Or…?

How to beat the game

1. Press Start

2. Push Buttons

3. ???

4. Become This :

Exposing the System- What is the System?

- Goals + Rules

- What is the player supposed to accomplish?- What are the boundaries the players have to work within?

It’s a-Me, Mario!- Goal: Get as far right as possible.

- (and also get as many coins as possible)

- Rules:

And More rules

Challenge Accepted- Enable player to form a mental roadmap to the goal.

- After a few moments, player should be able to look at this:

and think to themselves, “Okay, I think I know how I’m going to tackle this. “

Make the System Obvious

- Believe in yourself, player!

- Makes the game accessible.

Getting Input- What are my options here?

- Available Actions

- At each moment in the game, what can the player do to affect the state of the game?

Moving Mario

-Right

-Left

-Jump

-Wait

Enable Planning- Add detail/direction to mental roadmap

- And empowers the player to move forward.

- “Okay, this is what I can do to affect the game state”

Why important- Interaction is the key distinguishing factor of games from

all other forms of authored media.

- Agency

- Feeling control over things that happen

- Leads to engagement

The outcome- What happens when the player jumps right now?

- Level is completed

- Position on flagpole is assessed

- Sounds play

- Fireworks!

- Points awarded

But how does it make you *FEEL*?- In the moments before:

- Relief- Pride- Pressure!

- The moment after:

- Relief (again)- Satisfaction- Okay, now what’s next?

Why both extrinsic and intrinsic Matter

How Are Players rewarded?- Extrinsically, sure

- Nothing inherently wrong with extrinsic rewards

- But, should also intrinsically remind us why we are playing.

- Why do we play Mario?

- Note: Numbers don’t always mean Extrinsic

How *much* are players rewarded?- Balance is important

- Rule of Thumb

- Reward extrinsically for small victories- Reward intrinsically for big victories

- Analog Example

- Paying for Thanksgiving Dinner

Sugarcoat things- Commend effort even if it’s the wrong effort.

- Show them what they did wrong

- Action -> [black box] -> Result

- Black box should never be too ambiguous.

- Example: Rubberbanding in Mario Kart

- Designed to give/release tension.

In other words, help them cheat :)- Well, not ‘cheat’.

- What happens when a player is not performing well?

- “It got too frustrating.”- “I couldn’t find my way out.”

- Beauty of digital medium is ability to respond dynamically

- Fail-proof your game

But Again, not too much.- Reinforce importance of input.

- Don’t lose the sense of agency

Let’s look at the framework again.- Angry Birds

Flinging Birds- Input

- “Circle of Touchability”

Crushing Pigs- Outcome

Why So Angry?

- This guy:

Words with Frenemies- Everyone loves Scrabble right?

- But.

- Problems

- Limited roadmapping- Limited agency- Powerless against Scrabble word experts.

So we broke it down

[ wordoff screen ]

New Dynamics- Two goals

- Two ways to win.

- Allows defensive play

- More options for words

- “Narrative”

Tying it All Together- Examining game design as a structure

- Helps clarify/predict user experience- Identifies possible points for improvement/balance

- Always keep agency in mind

- Action/result cycle should be unambiguous

- Reward the right behaviors, in the right way

- Extrinsic (points) for small victories- Intrinsic (feelings) for big victories

General Tips from Game Production- Test early, test often

- Polish your tutorial or how-to

- Simplify

- Also, scope down

Resources-Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics (Hunicke)

- http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf

-Formal Abstract Design Tools (Church)

- www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3357/formal_abstract_design_tools.php

-Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators (Predictably Irrational, Ariely)

-BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits

- http://tinyhabits.com/

Questions?- Email: robinyang@gmail.com

- Thanks for helping me gain +5 Speaker points!

Activity:- Break down an existing game

- What is the goal? What are the rules?- What are the available actions?- What are the results? How are “wrong” actions

discouraged, and how are “right” actions rewarded? What are the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards?

- Then, make it better

- Identify areas where a player might be frustrated (even if it’s “part of the game.”)

- Suggest improvements in the system, input, outcomes, rewards or balance that would help alleviate it.