Let’s face it, the buzz surrounding Gamification has reached critical mass in the marketing industry with the bulk of attention directed to points & badges as a panacea for customer engagement and loyalty. While these tools certainly have their place in drafting an engagement plan, there’s more to unlock - much more. By examining the tools game designers use to incentivize and motivate players and mapping these tools to their psychological underpinnings we can arm ourselves with a model for architecting user engagement, directing behavior and satisfying business goals. This presentation is appropriate for anyone looking to level up their understanding of game design thinking, the current state of gamification and how to move it Beyond the Badge.

1. BEYOND THE BADGE
Architecting Engagement Through Game Design Thinking
Dustin DiTommaso | @DU5TB1N

2. INTRODUCTION: WHY GAME DESIGN THINKING?
HYPE CYCLE: 2010/11 Saw a surge in ‘gami ed’ systems
& surrounding media frenzy.
DEBATE: Lack of consensus on usable game-based
vocabulary, including de ning ‘game’ & ‘gami cation.’
EVOLUTION: The de nition and practice of ‘gami cation’
is changing & differentiating.
SUSTAINABILITY: Survival of the ttest. With Evolution
comes continued Presence.
GAMES ARE A MEANS TO AN END
At the the Heart of It, we are designing
Experiences

3. INTRODUCTION: WHY GAME DESIGN THINKING?
HYPE CYCLE: 2010/11 Saw a surge in ‘gami ed’ systems
& surrounding media frenzy.
DEBATE: Lack of consensus on usable game-based
vocabulary, including de ning ‘game’ & ‘gami cation.’
EVOLUTION: The de nition and practice of ‘gami cation’
is changing & differentiating.
SUSTAINABILITY: Survival of the ttest. With evolution
comes continued presence.
GAMES ARE A MEANS TO AN END
At the the Heart of it, we are designing
Experiences

4. INTRODUCTION: WHY GAME DESIGN THINKING?
HYPE CYCLE: 2010/11 Saw a surge in ‘gami ed’ systems
& surrounding media frenzy.
DEBATE: Lack of consensus on usable game-based
vocabulary, including de ning ‘game’ & ‘gami cation.’
EVOLUTION: The de nition and practice of ‘gami cation’
is changing & differentiating.
SUSTAINABILITY: Survival of the ttest. With Evolution
comes continued Presence.
GAMES ARE A MEANS TO AN END
At the the Heart of It, we are designing
Experiences

5. 7.13.2011 $15MIL SERIES B FUNDING
BADGEVILLE
SOCIAL LOYALTY AWARDS VENDOR
09.2010 – Founded – 4 Employees
11.23.10 – Series A Funding – $2.5Mil
A set.
07.13.11 – Series B – 30 Employees
SEE ALSO:
Big Door
Bunchball
CubePoints
Gamify
Get Glue
MindBloom
Mojo

6. 7.14.2011 GOOGLE NEWS ADDS BADGES
HYPE CYCLE: 2010/11 Saw a surge in ‘gami ed’ systems
& surrounding media frenzy.
DEBATE: Lack of consensus on usable game-based
vocabulary, including de ning ‘game’ & ‘gami cation.’
EVOLUTION: The de nition and practice of ‘gami cation’
is changing & differentiating.
SUSTAINABILITY: Survival of the ttest. With Evolution
comes continued Presence.
GAMES ARE A MEANS TO AN END
At the the Heart of It, we are designing
Experiences

7. 4.1.2010 GOOGLE APRIL FOOLS JOKE
HYPE CYCLE: 2010/11 Saw a surge in ‘gami ed’ systems
& surrounding media frenzy.
DEBATE: Lack of consensus on usable game-based
vocabulary, including de ning ‘game’ & ‘gami cation.’
EVOLUTION: The de nition and practice of ‘gami cation’
is changing & differentiating.
SUSTAINABILITY: Survival of the ttest. With Evolution
comes continued Presence.
GAMES ARE A MEANS TO AN END
At the the Heart of It, we are designing
Experiences

8. FOURSQUARE
CURRENTLY, 10 MILLION USERS
03.2009 – Launched!
A set. 09.2009 – 100,000 Users
08.2010 – 1,000,000 Users
BUT !!!
Daily Check-ins/User dropped from 0.5 to 0.34
when growing from 2 to 8 million accounts
(foursquare 2011)
21% report checking in for the Mayorship
challenge and achievements
54% say they check in ONLY when discounts or
coupons are involved

10. TOO MUCH FOCUS ON SHALLOW, EXTRINSIC
REWARDS – POINTS & BADGES –
DOES NOT LEAD TO PLAYER SATISFACTION
OR SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT.

11. TOO MUCH FOCUS ON SHALLOW, EXTRINSIC
REWARDS – POINTS & BADGES –
DOES NOT LEAD TO PLAYER SATISFACTION
OR SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT.

12. WHAT IS A GAME?

13. WHAT IS A GAME?
A Structured, Voluntary Experience with
Rules and Goals that is Engaging and Fun.

14. FUN!!??!!?? O RLY??!!??

15. FARMVILLE

16. THE PROBLEM WITH FUN
IT’S TOO DILUTED OF A CONCEPT
It doesn’t distinguish the unique psychological
experience of gameplay that leads to SUSTAINTED
ENGAGEMENT.
SEE:
RAPH KOSTER – A THEORY OF FUN IN GAMES
NICOLE LAZZARO – FOUR KEYS TO FUN
MARC LEBLANC – EIGHT KINDS OF FUN

17. SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY
SDT argues that human beings seek out (and continue to engage in) activities if these
promise (and succeed) to satisfy 3 intrinsic motivational needs:

18. SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY
SDT argues that human beings seek out (and continue to engage in) activities if these
promise (and succeed) to satisfy 3 intrinsic motivational needs:
COMPETENCE

19. SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY
SDT argues that human beings seek out (and continue to engage in) activities if these
promise (and succeed) to satisfy 3 intrinsic motivational needs:
COMPETENCE
AUTONOMY

20. SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY
SDT argues that human beings seek out (and continue to engage in) activities if these
promise (and succeed) to satisfy 3 intrinsic motivational needs:
COMPETENCE
AUTONOMY
RELATEDNESS

21. COMPETENCE
THE PATH TO MASTERY:
+ The “Path To Mastery” is an Experience over Time
+ Nested, short-term achievable goals that lead to and support success of the overarching
long-term goal.
+ Wherever a player is on their quest there should be a next goal just around the corner.
+ Design Appropriate Challenges and Rewards for All Players along Player Experience Lifecycle.
N00B – Enthusiast – Master
MAKE PROGRESS VISIBLE:
+ Provide Real-Time Granular, Sustained and Cumulative Feedback on Overall Performance
+ Utilize Reward Mechanics to Light a Blazed Path of Accomplishment.
+ NOT About Shiny Digital Trophies, or Badges
+ Ensure that Rewards are Meaningful to Player Competence, during immediate play and
long-term engagement.

22. COMPETENCE
EXPERIENCE OF CHALLENGE
+ Build Player Skill Through Challenges That Cause Them To Reach Just A Bit Out of Their Level
+ Optimal Challenges Stretch Player Ability But Don’t Overwhelm
+ Allow Players to Fail, if they can Learn and Grow from it (Gami cation does NOT do this)
+ Still, a High Success to Fail Ratio Works Best
EXPRESSION OF MASTERY
+ After Hard-Earned Rewards, Allow Players to Enjoy and Express their Dominance
+ Ease-Off Dif culty for a Short Term
+ Provide Social Outlets for Bragging & Peacocking
+ Big “Juicy Feedback” for a Job Well Done.

23. AUTONOMY
THE GAME BELONGS TO THE USER
+ Choice, Control and Mastery lead players to Deep Engagement and Loyalty
+ Provide the Right Information for Players to Best Make Use of their Autonomy
+ Operant Conditioning Tactics such as Time-Based or Loss Aversion Mechanics are a Turn-Off to
those who recognize them and simply Predatory to those who don’t
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION!
+ Goal is to Maximize Opportunities for Action
+ Provide a Variety of Ways to Play (Competitive, Cooperative, Solo)
+ Provide a Variety of Available Actions (Challenge, Social, Side-Quests, Secrets, Unlocks, etc.)
+ Allow Multiple Paths through Nested Goals that still lead to Overarching Goal

24. IMMERSION & FLOW
Flow is completely focused motivation..
It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing
emotions in the service of performing and learning. - Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (1990)

25. RELATEDNESS
THE SPARK OF CONNECTION
+ We are intrinsically motivated to seek meaningful connections with others
+ Data shows that in multiplayer situations, allowing players to connect with others and build
relationships energizes, motivates and sustains ongoing engagement.
+ Focus on mechanics that allow players to both give and receive support of their goals
+ Provide for Communities of interest beyond one-on-one connections
BEYOND OTHER PLAYERS
+ Tap into content that people are passionate about (Health, Wealth, Career, Arts, ProSocial)
+ Allow users to inject their own short & long term goals into the system (Think Mint Goals)
+ Support your players with Informational Feedback that they care about

26. RELATEDNESS

27. RESEARCH INSPIRES DESIGN
CRITICAL STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONS:
1. What is the main reason for Gamifying your product / service?
2. How does it bene t the user?
3. Will they enjoy it?
BUSINESS QUESTIONS:
What Actions do you want your players to take?
What are the goals of the business?
How do you get the users to ful ll those goals?
PLAYER QUESTIONS:
Who are your Users?
What are their needs and goals? Why are they Playing?
What is their Primary Play Style? (Solo, Competitive, Cooperative)
Who are they Playing With?
What Social Actions do they nd enjoyable – and why?
What Metrics do they care about?

28. MAN THE PLAYER
CURRENT PLAYER TYPE MODELS
1996
Richard Bartle: 4 Type Model & 8 Type Model
2005
Nick Yee: 3 components, 10 subcomponents
2006
Klug, Schell: 9 Player Types
2010
Kallio, Mayra and Kaipainen: 9 Types of Players

29. BARTLE’S PLAYER TYPES

30. BARTLE’S PLAYER TYPES
EXPLORER
Gets positive experience by nding new things in the world around them
(Secrets, Unlocks, Easter Eggs)
LIKES TO:
Find own route around the game system
Engage in Open-Ended Play
Learn or acquire information during gameplay
Achieve their Goals in their own way on their own time (Autonomous Play)
DESIGN CHALLENGE:
Prefers to play at own pace. Likes to customize their experience and feels restricted
when game forces them to move on before they are ready.

31. BARTLE’S PLAYER TYPES
ACHIEVER
Motivated by a Sense of Progress and Mastery of the System
LIKES TO:
Measure Objectives in the Game
Make Progress towards objectives
Gain Recognition for their successes
Complete Collections of Rewards
Acquire Unique or Rare Objects or Status
Analyze and Understand Game Mechanics
DESIGN CHALLENGE:
Can be hard to design proper level of challenge for these folks. Flow State.

32. BARTLE’S PLAYER TYPES
KILLER
Similar to Achiever, except play Win/Lose game and want to show others
”Look at Me, I Won!”
LIKES TO:
Compete
Win
Show-Off
Trash Talk, Taunt
DESIGN CHALLENGE:
Hitting the right dif culty level
Keeping them in Check from Hacking the System or Disrupting the Community

33. BARTLE’S PLAYER TYPES
SOCIALIZER
Play games mostly to connect with other people
LIKES TO:
Gain Friends and In uence People
Join or Lead Groups
Organize Cooperative Activities
Comment, Share, Award
Be Liked
Gain Prestige
DESIGN CHALLENGE:
Building a sustainable community for interaction among players

34. CONSIDER THE CONTINUUM

36. BONUS TIPS FOR ENGAGEMENT
ENGAGEMENT IS A JOURNEY
Design the Experience Over Time
Create Journey Maps (Timelines of player actions, reactions & emotions)
What does that Journey Towards Mastery look like?
ONBOARDING
Focus on N00B and First Time Experience
The First 60 seconds are crucial to show First-Time Users how it works
Get In, Get Busy, Tell People, Come Back
Guide the Player Experience - N00B Can’t Lose, Give them endorphin releasing
actions to perform.
GIVE THEN GET
Provide Value immediately when users arrive.
Give them the opportunity to engage, personalize and express preferences before
asking them to register.

37. BONUS TIPS FOR ENGAGEMENT
PICK THE RIGHT REWARDS AND FEEDBACK
Know your audience intimately and create enough Juicy Feedback for all levels of
the Journey (N00B, Regular, Master)
Light the Path of the Journey with Progress Mechanics
Achievable short term goals that work towards overarching long term goals
SOCIAL HOOKS
If you’ve created the RIGHT Rewards/Achievements then your Players will WANT to
share their Status with others.
DESIGN ETHICALLY
Addiction is not the same as Engagement
There is certainly ‘Click-Whir’ Behavioral Psych at work behind many mechanics.
Use them Responsibly.

38. REFERENCES: A PATH TO MASTERY
GAME DESIGN THINKER
Nic Kelman, “Yes, but is it a game?” from Games : Required essay from a not so
required book.
Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design : Fun arises from Learning & Mastery
James Paul Gee, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning & Literacy :
Pairs nicely with Koster’s book
Mihály Csikszentmihályi, Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience : Many
implications for creating engagement architectures
Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens, A Study of the Play Element in Culture : “It is ancient
wisdom, but also a little cheap, to call all human activity ‘play’.”
Ryan, Deci, The Handbook of Self-Determination Research : Perhaps the most well
researched psychological theory of intrinsic motivation

39. REFERENCES: A PATH TO MASTERY
GAME MAKER
Hunicke, Leblanc, Zubek, MDA a Formal Process of Game Design : Origin of the
Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics framework
Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses : Tactical and practical
Bateman, Boon, 21st Century Game Design : Pragmatic approach to Game Design
Jane McGonigal, Reality is Broken : Serious Games will Save the World
Zicherman, Linder, Game-Based Marketing : Enthusiastic, Behaviorist Argument for
Gami cation Pro teering.
BONUS PLAY
Bartle Player Type Quiz : http://www.game-on-book.com/bartle
Jesse Schell, Visions of the Gamepocalypse [VIDEO] : http://bit.ly/jT6LvD

40. Portsmouth | Boston | Louisville
We deliver research-inspired design Dustin DiTommaso
aimed at improving the experiences Experience Design Director
people have with technology, Email: dustin@madpow.net
organizations, and each other. Twitter: @DU5TB1N