Octalysis: Complete Gamification Framework - Yu-kai Chou

Octalysis is an internationally acclaimed Gamification Framework that utilizes 8 Core Drives to analyze challenges, identify opportunities, ... Skiptocontent New?Starthere. GamificationFramework MyBook AdvancedLearning Speaking&Consulting Blog GamificationExamples AboutChou Contact Searchtheblog Searchfor: Levelupinreallife! Iflifeisavideogame,thenOctalysisPrimecontainsthecheatcodes.Learnhowtoavoidprocrastination,findyourpurpose,andliveyourlifelikeagamer. Thispostisahigh-levelintroductiontoOctalysis,theGamificationFrameworkIcreatedaftermorethan17yearsofGamificationresearchandandBehavioralDesignstudy.Withinayearofpublication,Octalysiswasorganicallytranslatedinto16languagesandbecamerequiredliteratureinGamificationinstructionworldwide. WhatisGamification? Gamificationisdesignthatplacesthemostemphasisonhumanmotivationintheprocess.Inessence,itisHuman-FocusedDesign(asopposedto“function-focuseddesign”). Gamificationisthecraftofderivingallthefunandengagingelementsfoundingamesandapplyingthemtoreal-worldorproductiveactivities.ClickToTweet Gamificationisthecraftofderivingallthefunandengagingelementsfoundingamesandapplyingthemtoreal-worldorproductiveactivities. ThisprocessiswhatIcall“Human-FocusedDesign,”asopposedto“Function-FocusedDesign.”It’sadesignprocessthatoptimizesforhumanmotivationinasystem,asopposedtopureefficiency. ThechallengeswithFunction-FocusedDesign Mostsystemsare“function-focused,”designedtogetthejobdonequickly.Thisislikeafactorythatassumesitsworkerswilldotheirjobsbecausetheyarerequiredto.However,Human-FocusedDesignremembersthatpeopleinasystemhavefeelings,insecurities,andreasonswhytheywantordonotwanttodocertainthings,andthereforeoptimizesfortheirfeelings,motivations,andengagement. Whygamesdrivehumanbehavior ThereasonwecallitGamificationisbecause thegamingindustrywasthefirsttomasterHuman-FocusedDesign. Gameshavenootherpurposethantopleasetheindividualplayingthem.Yes,thereareoften“objectives”ingames,suchaskillingadragonorsavingtheprincess,andsometimessavingadragon,butthoseareallexcusestosimplykeeptheplayerhappilyentertained. Sincegameshavespentdecades(orevencenturiesdependingonhowyouqualifyagame)learninghowtomastermotivationandengagement,wearenowlearningfromgames,andthatiswhywecallitGamification. Sointhepastdecade,IhavebeendiggingdeepintoformingacompleteGamificationframeworktoanalyzeandbuildstrategiesaroundthevarioussystemsthatmakeagamefun. IsawthatalmosteverygameisfunbecauseitappealstocertainCoreDriveswithinusthatmotivateustowardscertainactivities.Ialsonoticedthatdifferenttypesofgametechniquespushusforwarddifferently:someinaninspiringandempoweringway,whilesomeinamanipulativeandobsessivemanner.Idrilleddowntofindwhatdifferentiatesonetypeofmotivationtoanother. TheendresultistheGamificationFrameworkcalledOctalysis,designedasanoctagonshapewith8CoreDrivesrepresentingeachside. Withmanyyearsoftrialsandadjustments,Ibelievethat,besidesaninthhiddenCoreDrivecalled“Sensation,”everythingyoudoisbasedononeormoreofthe8CoreDrives. The8CoreDrivesofGamification 1)EpicMeaning&Calling EpicMeaning&CallingistheCoreDrivewhereaplayerbelievesthatheisdoingsomethinggreaterthanhimselforhewas“chosen”todosomething.Asymptomofthisisaplayerthatdevotesalotofhistimetomaintainingaforumorhelpingtocreatethingsfortheentirecommunity(thinkWikipediaorOpenSourceprojects).Thisalsocomesintoplaywhensomeonehas“Beginner’sLuck”–aneffectwherepeoplebelievetheyhavesometypeofgiftthatothersdon’torbelievetheywere“lucky”togetthatamazingswordattheverybeginningofthegame. 2)Development&Accomplishment Development&Accomplishmentistheinternaldriveofmakingprogress,developingskills,andeventuallyovercomingchallenges.Theword“challenge”hereisveryimportant,asabadgeortrophywithoutachallengeisnotmeaningfulatall.ThisisalsothecoredrivethatistheeasiesttodesignforandcoincidentlyiswheremostofthePBLs:points,badges,leaderboardsmostlyfocuson. 3)EmpowermentofCreativity&Feedback EmpowermentofCreativity&Feedbackiswhenusersareengagedinacreativeprocesswheretheyhavetorepeatedlyfigurethingsoutandtrydifferentcombinations.Peoplenotonlyneedwaystoexpresstheircreativity,buttheyneedtobeabletoseetheresultsoftheircreativity,receivefeedback,andrespondinturn.ThisiswhyplayingwithLegosandpaintingarefunin-and-ofthemselvesandoftenbecomeEvergreenMechanics,whereagame-designernolongerneedstocontinuouslyaddmorecontenttokeeptheactivityfreshandengaging. 4)Ownership&Possession Thisisthedrivewhereusersaremotivatedbecausetheyfeelliketheyownsomething.Whenaplayerfeelsownership,sheinnatelywantstomakewhatsheownsbetterandownevenmore.Besidesbeingthemajorcoredriveforwantingtoaccumulatewealth,thisdealswithmanyvirtualgoodsorvirtualcurrencieswithinsystems.Also,ifapersonspendsalotoftimetocustomizeherprofileorheravatar,sheautomaticallyfeelsmoreownershiptowardsittoo.Finally,thisisalsothecoredrivethatmakescollectingstampsorpuzzlepiecesfun. 5)SocialInfluence&Relatedness Thisdriveincorporatesallthesocialelementsthatdrivepeople,including:mentorship,acceptance,socialresponses,companionship,aswellas competitionandenvy.Whenyouseeafriendthatisamazingatsomeskillorownssomethingextraordinary,youbecomedriventoreachthesamelevel.Also,itincludesthedrivewehavetodrawclosertopeople,places,oreventsthatwecanrelateto.Ifyouseeaproductthatremindsyouofyourchildhood,thesenseofnostalgiawouldlikelyincreasetheoddsofyoubuyingtheproduct.ThisCoreDriveisrelativelywell-studiedtoo,asmanycompaniesthesedaysareputtingalotofpriorityonoptimizingtheironlinesocialstrategies. 6)Scarcity&Impatience Thisisthedriveofwantingsomethingbecauseyoucan’thaveit.ManygameshaveAppointmentDynamics(comeback2hourslatertogetyourreward)–thefactthatpeoplecan’tgetsomethingrightnowmotivatesthemtothinkaboutitalldaylong.ThisistheCoreDriveutilizedbyFacebookwhenitfirststarted:atfirstitwasjustforHarvard.Thenitopeneduptoafewotherprestigiousschools,andeventuallyallcolleges.Whenitfinallyopeneduptoeveryone,manypeoplewantedtojoinbecausetheypreviouslycouldn’tgetinit. 7)Unpredictability&Curiosity Generally,thisisaharmlessdriveofwantingtofindoutwhatwillhappennext.Ifyoudon’tknowwhat’sgoingtohappen,yourbrainisengagedandyouthinkaboutitoften.Manypeoplewatchmoviesorreadnovelsbecauseofthisdrive.However,thisdriveisalsotheprimaryfactorbehindgamblingaddiction.Also,thiscoredriveisutilizedwheneveracompanyrunsasweepstakeorlotteryprogramtoengageusers.TheverycontroversialSkinnerBoxexperiments,whereananimalirrationallypressesaleverfrequentlybecauseofunpredictableresults,areexclusivelyreferringtothecoredriveofUnpredictability&Curiosity,althoughmanyhavemisunderstooditasthedriverbehindpoints,badges,andleaderboardmechanicsingeneral. 8)Loss&Avoidance Thiscoredriveisbasedupontheavoidanceofsomethingnegativehappening.Onasmallscale,itcouldbetoavoidlosingpreviouswork.Onalargerscale,itcouldbetoavoidadmittingthateverythingyoudiduptothispointwasuselessbecauseyouarenowquitting.Also,opportunitiesthatarefadingawayhaveastrongutilizationofthisCoreDrive,becausepeoplefeellikeiftheydidn’tactimmediately,theywouldlosetheopportunitytoactforever. LeftBrainvsRightBrainCoreDrives WithinOctalysis,theCoreDrivesontherightareRightBrainCoreDrives,beingmorerelatedtocreativity,self-expression,andsocialaspects. TheCoreDrivesontheleftareLeftBrainCoreDrives,beingmoreassociatedto logic,calculations,andownership. Note:theLeftBrain/RightBrainCoreDrivesarenotconsideredtruebrainscience;theyaremerelysymbolicasitmakestheframeworkeasierandmoreeffectivewhendesigning.It’susefuldividingthingsupbetweenthelogicalandtheemotional,andIjustnamedthemLeftBrain/RightBrainCoreDrivessopeoplecanrememberthemeasily. Interestingly,LeftBrainCoreDrivesare ExtrinsicMotivators –youaremotivatedbecauseyouwanttoobtainsomething,whetheritbeagoal,agood,oranythingyoucannotobtain;ontheotherhand,RightBrainCoreDrivesareIntrinsicMotivators:youdon’tneedagoalorrewardtouseyourcreativity,hangoutwithfriends,orfeelthesuspenseofunpredictability–theactivityitselfisrewardingonitsown. Thisisimportant,becausemanycompaniesaimtodesignformotivationbasedonExtrinsicMotivators,suchasgivingusersarewardattheend.However,manystudieshaveshownthatonceyoustopofferingtheextrinsicmotivator,usermotivationwilloftendecreasetomuchlowerthanbeforetheextrinsicmotivatorwasfirstintroduced. It’smuchbetterforcompaniestodesignexperiencesthatmotivatetheRightBrainCoreDrives,makingsomethinginofitselffunandrewarding,souserscontinuouslyengageintheactivity. WhiteHatvsBlackHatGamification AnotherelementtonotewithinOctalysisisthatthetopCoreDrivesintheoctagonareconsideredverypositivemotivators,whilethebottomCoreDrivesareconsiderednegativemotivators. TechniquesthatutilizethetopCoreDrivesarecalled “WhiteHatGamification”,whiletechniquesthatutilizethebottomCoreDrivesarecalled“BlackHatGamification”. Ifsomethingisengagingbecauseitletsyouexpressyourcreativity,makesyoufeelsuccessfulthroughskillmastery,andgivesyouahighersenseofmeaning,itmakesusersfeelverygoodandpowerful. Ontheotherhand,ifyouarealwaysdoingsomethingbecauseyoudon’tknowwhatwillhappennext,youareconstantlyinfearoflosingsomething,orbecausetherearethingsyoucan’thave,eventhoughyouwouldstillbeextremelymotivatedtotaketheactions,itcanoftenleaveabadtasteinyourmouth. TheproblemwithZyngagames,accordingtotheOctalysisframework,isthattheyhavefiguredouthowtodomanyBlackHatGameTechniques,whichdriveuprevenuenumbersfromusers,butitdoesn’tmakeusers feel good.Sowhenauserisfinallyabletoleavethesystem,theywillwantto,becausetheydon’tfeelliketheyareincontroloverthemselves,justlikegamblingaddiction. KeepinmindthatjustbecausesomethingisBlackHatdoesn’tmeanitisnecessarilybad –thesearejustmotivators–andtheycanbeusedforproductiveandhealthyresultsormaliceandmanipulativeones.ManypeoplevoluntarilysubmitthemselvesintoBlackHatGamificationinordertogotothegymmoreoften,eathealthy,oravoidhittingthesnoozebuttoneverymorning. AgoodGamificationexpertwillconsiderall8CoreDrivesonapositiveandproductiveactivitysothateveryoneendsuphappierandhealthier. OctalysisScore Keepinmindthatagoodgamifiedsystemdoesn’tneedtohavealloftheCoreDrives,butitdoesneedtodoreallywellwiththeonesitdoesimplement.Someextremelysuccessfulproductsdovery,verywellwithSocialInfluence,whileothersjustutilizeScarcity. InordertocomeupwithanOctalysisscore,youtakehowgoodthesubjectofanalysisisineachcoredrive,assignanumberbetween0-10basedonpersonaljudgement,data,andexperienceflows,andthensquarethatnumbertogettheCoreDriveScore.Onceyouaddupall8CoreDriveScores,youwillgetyourfinalOctalysisScore. Ofcourse,theScoreitselfisnotveryusefuloractionable,soIalwaystellmyclientstofocusonwhatCoreDriveislacking,insteadofbeingobsessedwiththeir“score.” HowtoapplyOctalysistoactualsystems NowthatwehavetheGamificationFrameworklaidout,thenextstepistofigureouthowtoutilizethisframework. Generally,anygoodandengagingproductorsystemwillhaveatleastoneofthecoredriveslistedabove. ThewaytouseOctalysisistoidentifyallthegamemechanicsthatareusedtoappealtoeachCoreDriveandlistitnexttotheCoreDriveoftheOctagon. Afterwards,basedonhowstrongthesegamemechanicsare,eachsideoftheOctagonwillexpandorretract. IfasidecrossestheinsideOctagon,thenthatsideisextremelyweakandtheGamificationexpertneedstoimproveonthatarea. Ofcourse,thisisallveryabstract,soletslookatafewexamples. AfewGamificationexampleswithOctalysis Here’sanOctalysisdoneforafewproductsonline: Farmville:414andgenerallyLeftBrainBlackHat. Diablo3:284andprettybalanced Facebook:448withverystrongRightBrainDrives(noticeitfocusesonoppositeendscomparedtoFarmville) Twitter:267whilebeingprettybalancedbutmoreRightBrain. CandyCrush:FairlyBalanced AndthisisjustLevel1Octalysis 10yearsofGamificationstudyandimplementationresultsinaveryrobustframeworkthatcanbecomeactionabletowardsdrivinghigherusermetrics.AspeoplegetmoreandmoreadvancedinOctalysis,theycanlearnhigherlevels(upto5Levels…thereareonlyahandfulofpeopleintheworldwhoknowwhatislevel4andabove),whichincorporatesmuchmoreadvanceddesignprinciplesandin-depthanalysis. Level2Octalysis Oncelevel1ismastered,onecanthenapplyittoLevel2Octalysis,wherewetrytooptimizeexperiencethroughoutallfourphasesofaplayer’sjourney: Discovery(whywouldpeopleevenwanttostartthejourney) Onboarding(howdoyouteachuserstherulesandtoolstoplaythegame) Scaffolding(theregularjourneyofrepeatedactionstowardsagoal) Endgame(howdoyouretainyourveterans). Factoringinthe4PhasesofaPlayer’sJourney Gettingafeelaboutwhatplayersfeelacrossthejourney. Level3Octalysis OnceyoumasteredLevel2Octalysis,youcanthenpushitonelevelhighertoLevel3andfactorindifferentplayertypes,soyoucanbegintoseehowdifferenttypesofpeoplearemotivatedatdifferentstagesoftheexperience. Pushingupalevelfurther–FactoringBartle’sPlayerType ThiswaytheGamificationDesignercanfeeloutthatthere’ssomethingforeveryoneateverystage. The OctalysisTool AlearnerofOctalysis,RonBentatafromIsrael,kindlymadeapublicOctalysisToolformeandotherOctalysisEnthusiasts.Thetoolisnot100%refinedyet,butithasbeenaveryusefultoolformyownclientsandmanypeoplepracticingOctalysisnon-commercially. ClickheretocheckouttheOctalysisTool. TheLongJourneytoGOODGamification Asyoucansee,creatingarichgamifiedexperienceismuchmorethansimplyslappingonvariousgame-mechanicstoexistingproducts.It’sacraftthatrequiresalotofanalysis,thinking,testing,andadjusting. Whilethereare5Levelsintotal,Level1isusuallysufficientforthemajorityofcompaniestryingtocreateabetter-designedgamifiedproductandexperience.HigherLevelOctalysisprocessesarereallytherefororganizationsthataretrulycommittedtomakingsurethattheypushtheirmetricsintherightdirection,whileimprovinglongevityofagamifiedsystem.Manygamesareonlypopularfor3-8months,butonesthathavegoodEndgamedesigncanlastoverdecadesorevencenturies. Iftheworldadoptsgoodgamificationprinciplesandfocusonwhattrulydrivesfunandmotivation,thenitispossibletoseeadaywherethereisnolongeradividebetweenthingspeoplemustdoandthethingstheywanttodo.Allpeoplehavetodoistoplayallday.Thisway,thequalityoflifeforeveryonewillbesignificantlyhigher,companieswillperformbetterbecausepeopleactuallywanttodothework,andsocietyoverallwillbecomemoreproductive.ThisistheworldthatIhavededicatedmylifetoenabling. Checkoutthevideowalk-throughofthe8coredrives Checkoutthevideowalk-throughofOctalysis WatchallofthevideosintheGamificationVideoGuidehere. GetmentoredbyYu-kaiChou EveryweekIhoponaconferencecalltoteach,answerquestions,andgivefeedbacktomembersofOctalysisPrime.IfyouwanttotakeyourGamificationpracticetothenextlevel,thencomejoinus. WouldyoulikeYu-kaiChoutoworkwithyourOrganization? IfyouareinterestedinworkingwithYu-kaiChouforabusinessproject,workshop,speechorpresentation,orlicensingdeal,pleasefillouttheformbelow. YourName(required) YourEmail(required) YourOrganization(required) YourMessage Δ Related 287thoughtson“TheOctalysisFrameworkforGamification&BehavioralDesign” Commentnavigation OlderComments It’strulyinterestingandbeneficialtocomeacrossthisextendedarticle.Thankyouforenrichingourknowledgewiththispost.Iappreciatethetimeandeffortyoutooktowriteandsharethesethoughtsandideaswithus https://www.kw-ads.com/fridge-repair-kuwait/ Reply It’sbeenveryamazingandbeneficialtoreadthisgreatarticle.Thankyouforenrichingourknowledgewiththisinformation.Iappreciatethetimeandeffortyoutooktowriteandsharethesethoughtsandideas. https://www.turkish123.live/ Reply VeryinsightfulYu-Kai!!Thankyoumuch Reply Thoroughexplainationofoctalysisgamificationframework.ThankyousomuchYou-kaichoufortheblog. Reply Thanksforyourkindwords! Reply I’vejustdiscovertheOctalysisframeworkandIreallyloveit!Thanksforthisgreatjobtocreatebettergamifiedexperiences! 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