2. Gamification The process of increasing user engagement and/or participation by integrating game mechanics and dynamics into your site, service, community to drive participation and engagement Source: Wikipedia.org
3. Game Mechanics The elements of a game that allow for a fun and engaging user experience. Including, but not limited to: goals, points, collecting badges, awards, trophies, etc.; rankings and leaderboards, levels, exchange of virtual goods and currencies and feedback loops Source: Wikipedia.org
4. Game Dynamics The compelling motivational nature of the game is the result of the desires and motivations: reward, status, achievement, self-expression, competition, altruism Source: Wikipedia.org
5. The 4 Fun Keys Hard Fun Fiero People Fun Amusement Easy Fun Curiosity Serious Fun Relaxation source: xeodesign.com
6. Game Zen “ Games should be easy to pick up, instantly engaging, and offer somewhere to go once you are engaged.” – Trip Hawkins, Founder, Digital Chocolate
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8. Game Mechanics and Human Desires Source: Bunchball: Gamification 101 Whitepaper
21. Future of Kiva Who is Kiva’s biggest competitor? “ I think our biggest competitor is actually, probably Zynga. It’s not other nonprofits it’s actually competing for people’s attention. That fantasy football player in Canton, Ohio who might play two hours of Farmville at night, how do we get them to think about Uganda?…If building a real farm on Kiva can be as compelling as building a virtual farm on Facebook, then I think we’ve done our jobs really well.” - Kiva, President Premal Shah VS
24. Resources Articles: HOW TO: Use Game Mechanics to Power Your Business , Mashable, http://goo.gl/3ubh SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck , Tech Crunch, http://goo.gl/IR6s Mint Turns Personal Finance Into a Game. It’s Better Than It Sounds , Tech Crunch, http://goo.gl/AlPX Kiva President on the Next 5 Years and Why Zynga is Their Biggest Rival , Tech Crunch TV, http://goo.gl/lU3b Jane McGonigal: Gaming Can Make a Better World , TED Talk, http://goo.gl/xiKd Get Ready for the Decade of Gamification, MercuryNews.com, http://goo.gl/7W4r People to Follow: Amy Jo Kim, @amyjokim, http://shufflebrain.com Gabe Zichermann, @gzicherm, co-author of: game-based marketing , http://gamebasedmarketing.com , http://gamification.co Companies Doing Cool Things: Badgeville, http://badgeville.com/ FanAppz, http://fanzpps.com BigDoor, http://bigdoor.com Bunchball, http://bunchball.com
Poor or late planning gives rise to boring (too easy) or frustrating (too hard) games. Since the goal of game mechanics is to keep customers coming back and doing what you want them to do, you want to stay far away from those two zones.