Gamification — exploring the Octalysis Framework - Medium

The octalysis framework (Figure 1), developed by gamification guru Yu-Kai Chou, derives its name from an octagonal shape where everything we ... HomeNotificationsListsStoriesWritePublishedinNamasteTechBlogGamification—exploringtheOctalysisFrameworkWhilethereareseveraldefinitionsofGamification(Deterdinget.al.2011;Huotari&Hamari,2012)thisarticleusestheleadingconsultancyfirmGartner’sdefinition(Burke,2014)whichfunctionswellinrelationtodigitalproducts.Gartnerdescribesitas:“theuseofgamemechanicsandexperiencedesigntodigitallyengageandmotivatepeopletoachievetheirgoals”.Gamificationhasexplodedoverthepast10years,withcompanieslikeFoursquare(Rimon,2014),Strava(Knudson,2017)andHeadspace(Maturo,Mori&Moretti,2016)implementingitwithvaryinglevelsofsuccess.ThisarticleintroducestheconceptofGamification,andexploreshowtheOctalysisFramework(Chou,2015)canbeusedtoanalysetheforcesthatdrivehumanmotivationandusethesedrivestobuildanengagingandrewardingexperiencefortheuser.Gamification—a(very)briefhistoryForcenturieshumanshaveenjoyedplayinggameswitheachother(Radoff,2010).They’reanimportantpartofourcultureandoneoftheearliestexamplesofhumansocialinteraction.Ataribroughtvideogamesintothemainstreaminthelate1970swiththeAtari2600andsincethenvideogameshavebecomeubiquitousthankstothesuccessofcompanieslikeNintendo,SegaandSony.MobilegaminghasgrownexponentiallysincetheiPhone’sarrivalin2007andannualrevenuesareexpectedtoreach$57.7BNin2018(Newzoo,2017).Gamificationtakesadvantageofthetechniquesusedtomakethesegamessosuccessfulandappliesthemtootherapplicationstomakethemmorefunandengaging.Themorefunandengagedapersoniswhenusingtheapplication,themoremotivatedtheyaretouseit.Atitsmostbasiclevel,thesemechanicscouldbeassimpleasintegratingpoints,badgesandleaderboards.However,it’simportanttonotethatinordertomotivatepeopleyouneedtoengagethematanemotionallevelandgivingthemabadgeforsomethingthattheyhavenoemotionalconnectiontowillnotgivethemanysatisfactionorencouragement(Burke,2014).TheOctalysisFrameworkTheoctalysisframework(Figure1),developedbygamificationguruYu-KaiChou,derivesitsnamefromanoctagonalshapewhereeverythingwedoisbasedononeormoreofthe8CoreDrives,witheachdriverepresentedasapointontheoctagon.Thedrivesaresplitintoleft-brainandright-braindrives;left-braindrivesarerelatedtologic,calculationsandownershipandright-braindrivesareassociatedwithcreativity,self-expressionandsocialaspects.Thethirdthingtonoteabouttheframeworkisthatthedrivesinthetophalfoftheoctagonareconsideredwhitehat(theyresultinpositiveemotionssuchasjoy,satisfaction,senseofmeaning)whilethebottomhalfareblackhat(theseproducefeelingsoffear,surpriseanddisappointment).Figure1.TheOctalysisFramework(Chou,2015,p57).The8CoreDrivesareexplainedinfurtherdetailbelow,withexamplesofhowcompanieshaveusedthesetoengageuserswiththeirproducts.EpicMeaning&Calling.Thisisthecoredriverwhereauserbelievestheyarecontributingtosomethinggreaterthantheirownpersonalgoals.SomeexamplesarecommunitiessuchasQuora(Figure2),StackOverflow(Figure3)andDribblewhereusersfreelysharetheirknowledge,orinthecaseofDribbletheirdesigns,toalargercommunityofuserswhichleadstoasenseofself-worth.Figure2.AQuorausersprofile.Quorauserscanchoosetoanswerquestionsoraddquestionsoftheirown.Theyreceiveupvotesforgoodquestionsandgoodanswers.Userscanalsoaccruefollowers.Figure3.StackOverflowalsousesupvotestorateusers’contributionstothecommunity.Usersalsoreceivereputationpointsforcontributingpositivelytothecommunityandwillreceivenegativepointsforspamoroffensiveposts(see8.Loss&Avoidance).Development&Accomplishment.Thisistheintrinsicmotivatorofmakingprogress,developingskillsandeventuallyovercomingchallenges.Examplesarepoints,badges,trophies,leaderboardsandchallenges.Thewordchallengehereisimportant,aswithoutachallenge,badgesandtrophiesdon’tmeanathing.ThesemechanicsarecommonplaceinFitnessappslikeFitbit(Figure4)andStrava(Figure5).AppslikeGoodreads(Figure6)allowyoutosetareadinggoalfortheyeartoencourageyoutoreadmore.Figure4.AselectionofFitbit’sbadges.Thesearegivenforachievingvariousfitnessandhealthrelatedmilestones.Figure5.Stravamedalsforacycle.StravacomparesyourtimeagainstyourownpersonalsbestsaswellasotherusersofStrava.Thisallowsyoutocompeteagainstyourselfaswellasotherpeople.Figure6.Goodreadsreadingchallenge.EachyearGoodreadspromptsyoutosetareadingchallengeforyourself.Youcanviewyourprogressandseeifyouarebehind,on,oraheadofschedule.EmpowermentofCreativity&Feedback.Theuseofthisdriveengagesapersoninacreativeprocess,wheretheyhavetorepeatedlyfigurethingsoutandtrydifferentcombinations.Stravaallowsyoutocreateyourownroutesthroughitsroutebuilderapp(Figure7).InDuolingoandHeadspace(Figure8),usershavethefreedomtofollowtheirownpath.Figure7.Strava’sroutebuilder.UserscanfollowroutescreatedbyothersandcreatetheirownonestosharewiththeStravacommunity.Figure8:EmpowermentinDuolingo(left)andHeadspace(right).Userscanchoosetheirownpathinbothappsandcanfocusontheareasthatreallymattertothem.Ownership&PossessionThisiswhereusersaremotivatedbyasenseofownershipandinnatelywanttomakewhattheyownbetter.Peopletakeasenseofprideinwhattheyownorinwhattheyhavecreated.ThisisalsoreferredtoastheIkeaEffect(Norton,Mochon&Ariely,2011).DuolingorewardsuserswithLingots(Figure9),theirownvirtualcurrency,thatyoucanspendwithintheapp.Youcanpurchasedifferentlanguagepacks,powerups(streakfreeze,doubleornothing)andoutfitsforyouravatar.Figure9.TheDuolingoStore.AftercompletinganexercisesuccessfullyusersarerewardedwithLingots,Duolingo’svirtualcurrency.Theycanusethistocustomisetheiravatar,buypower-upsorlanguagepacks.SocialInfluence&RelatednessThisincorporatespositivesocialelementsthatdrivepeoplesuchas:mentorship,acceptance,socialresponsesandcompanionshipaswellasmorenegativedrivessuchascompetitionandenvy.Ifyouseesomeonewhoexcelsataparticularskillyoucannothelpbutfeelasenseofenvyandadmirationandalsomotivationtobringyourselfuptothatperson’slevel.It’shardtofindanappthatdoesnotintegratesocialinsomeshapeorform.Stravawillgivemenotificationsthatafriendhasjustrun5km.Icanthengivethemkudos(Figure10).Thisisreciprocationinaction(Budiu,2014);ifinthefutureIrunIwouldlikemyfriendtoalsogivemekudosmakingmefeelgoodaboutmyself.Figure10.StravaKudosnotificationsandkudossystem.Theusergetsanotificationwhenafriendhascompletedarun.Youcantheninteractwiththefriendbygivingthemkudosorbyleavingacomment.Instagram(Figure11)givesyouanotificationwhenafriendhasgonelive,youclickonthenotificationtoviewtheirvideo.Youlikeandcommentonthevideo,theactivityisrewardingonitsownandyourFOMOisgone.Byinteractingyouhavealsostrengthenedtherelationshipwithyourfriend.Figure11.Instagramlivevideos.Usersgetanotificationwhenafriendstartsalivevideo.Theycantheninteractwiththevideoinrealtimesimplybylikingit,leavingacomment,orbyreactingwithaphotooftheirown.Scarcity&Impatience.Wehaveallexperiencedthisatonetimeoranother;youwantsomethingyoucan’thave.WhenGmailfirstcameoutisitwasinviteonly.Peoplewouldscourforumslookingforinvites.Revoluthastriedthisonseveraloccasions.Inordertogettheopportunitytobuysharesinthecompanytheyranacompetitionofsortswhereyouwereencouragedtoinvitefriendstojointheapp.Thepeoplewiththemostnumberoffriendswhojoinedwerethenabletopurchaseequity.TheyusedasimilarprinciplewithearlyaccesstotheirCryptocurrencyexchange(Figure12),youcanunlockiteitherbysigningupfortheirpremiumserviceorif3ofyourfriendsjoinrevolut.OthergoodexamplesareAmazonandBooking.com(Figure13)whichportrayasenseofurgencybytellingyouthereisonlyoneitemleft,oronethatsomethingisinhigh-demand.Figure12.Revolut’scryptocurrencyexchange.Youcangetearlyaccesseitherbysigningupforapremiumaccountwhichcosts€7.99permonthorbyinviting3friendstotheapp.Figure13.Booking.com’suseofscarcitytoincreaseconversions.Youcanseethatahotelisinhigh-demandandthatithasbeenbooked163timesinthelast24hours.Thismakestheuserthinktheyneedtoactquicklysoasnottomissout.Unpredictability&Curiosity.Whenyoudonotknowwhatisgoingtohappen,thereisasenseofanticipationandyourbrainisengagedtofindoutwhatisnext.TheclassicvideogameexampleisthequestionmarkblockinSuperMarioBros.(Figure14).Figure14.SuperMarioBros.Usersareintuitivelydriventosmashthequestionmarkblocktoseewhatisinside.SpotifyusesthisprincipleveryeffectivelywithitsDiscoverWeeklyandReleaseRadarplaylists(Figure15).DiscoverWeeklyisaweeklymixtapeoffreshmusicfromartistsyouhaveneverlistenedtobutyoumaylike(basedonacomplexmachinelearningalgorithm).ReleaseRadarcomesoutonFridaysandisaplaylistofnewtracksfromfromartistsyouhavepreviouslylistenedto.Figure15.Spotify’sDiscoverWeeklyandReleaseRadarplaylists.EachweeklistenerswaitinanticipationtoseewhatsongsSpotifyhasinstoreforthem.Thisintroducesthemtosongstheymaynototherwisehavecomeacross.Loss&Avoidance.Thiscoredriveisbasedontheavoidanceofsomethingbadhappening.StreaksareusedinSnapchatandDuolingo(Figure16)toencourageuserstobuildadailyhabitofusingtheirapp.WithToDoist(Figure17)failingtocompleteataskontimewillresultinnegativekarma.Figure16.SnapchatandDuolingostreaks.Streaksareacommonblackhattooltokeepuserscomingbacktoyourapp.Snapchatshowsaleaderboardofyourfriendsandtheirstreaks,whileduolingoencouragesyoutousetheappeachdaybygivingyoumoreXPifyoumaintainastreak.Figure17.Todoist’sKarmasystem.Todoistusesakarmasystemtoboostyourproductivity.Itrewardsyouwithkarmaforsuccessfullycompletingtasksontime,ortakespointsawayifyoufailtomeetyourgoals.ConclusionInthisarticleIwantedtoexplorehowdifferentgamificationtechniquesareusedtoimproveengagementandtheoveralluserexperienceofapps.ThroughaframeworksuchasOctalysiswecanidentifywhatmakessomeofthemostsuccessfulappsworkandapplygamificationtechniqueswhenwe’redesigningproductsofourown.Thekeythingistousegamificationinmoderationandwhenappropriate.Thepointisnottoturnsomethingseriousintoagame,buttousesomeofthesetechniquestomotivateandengagepeopleintasksthathelpthemachievegoalsthatmattertothem.ReferencesBudiu,R(2014).TheReciprocityPrinciple:GiveBeforeYouTakeinWebDesign.March10thfromhttps://www.nngroup.com/articles/reciprocity-principle/Chichester,H.,Burges-Short,G.(1970).RecordsandBadgesoftheBritishArmy.London:Muller.Chou,Y.K.(2015).ActionableGamification:BeyondPoints,Badges,andLeaderboards.OctalysisMediaDeterding,S.,Dixon,D.,Khaled,R.&Nacke,L.(2011).Fromgamedesignelementstogamefulness:defininggamification.InProceedingsofthe15thInternationalAcademicMindTrekConference(pp.9–15)Huotari,K.,&Hamari,J.(2012).DefiningGamification—AServiceMarketingPerspective.InProceedingsofthe16thInternationalAcademicMindTrekConference(pp.17–22)Knudson,P.(2017).Gamificationin2017:Top5KeyPrinciples.RetrievedMarch12th,2018,fromhttps://uxplanet.org/gamification-in-2017-top-5-key-principles-cef948254dadMaturo,A.,Mori,L.,&Moretti,V.(2016).AnAmbiguousHealthEducation:TheQuantifiedSelfandtheMedicalizationoftheMentalSphere.ItalianJournalofSociologyofEducation,8(3),248–268.doi:10.14658/pupj-ijse-2016–3–12Newzoo(2017)TheGlobalGamesMarketWillReach$108.9Billionin2017WithMobileTaking42%.Retrieved16thofMarchfromhttps://newzoo.com/insights/articles/the-global-games-market-will-reach-108-9-billion-in-2017-with-mobile-taking-42/Rimon,G.(2014).Checkinginandcheckingout:whatFoursquare’sevolutioncanteachusaboutEnterpriseGamification.RetrievedMarch12th,2018,fromhttps://www.gameffective.com/what-foursquares-evolution-can-teach-us-about-enterprise-gamification/MorefromNamasteTechBlogLeveragingtechnology,data,anddesigntochangethewaytheworldthinksaboutcannabis.ReadmorefromNamasteTechBlogMorefromMediumTop30BestHomeDecorproductsthatshouldbeboughtrightawayfromAmazonHowtoreviewanduseawireframeHowtoAsadigitalproductdesigner,alargepartofmyeverydayworkisideation.Takingtheproblemsourclientsarefacing,diving…MindinBexley|UIUXRedesignImprovingtheuserexperienceandinterfacedesignofalocalnon-profit’swebsite.Japandi:theHottestNewInteriorDesignTrendthatwillSootheyourSenses.DigitalFabricDesign—InterviewwithJeniBakerTheBellCurveofPeopleGivingaShitWhatIamabouttowriteisnothingrevolutionary.Imakenopromisesoftellingyouanythingyoudon’talreadyknow.Butthisisaconcept…Enterprisedesign — HowtotamethemonsterFromsophisticationtosimplicityOpenBOM:whatdidwedoin2017andplansfor2018GetstartedStephenArmstrong46FollowersUXDesignLeadatpatientMpower.Interests:UXresearch,IoT,Gamification,VR/AR,PersuasivedesignFollowRelatedInformationArchitecture:Morethanjustadeliverable[Part2]Areformsatypeofstorytelling?Todayinternetusersfearoneofthemostdreadedthingsinsurfingtheweb,Formfilling!AppleRagReview3/3PokémonBrilliantDiamondandShiningPearl:Toomuchhand-holdingorjustplayer-friendly?HelpStatusWritersBlogCareersPrivacyTermsAboutKnowable