Baby Steps & Games

Michael Wu, PhD (mich8elwu) Principal Scientist of Analytics

Mobile Health

May 16th, 2012

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 2

Good games are

very engaging

Great games are

even addicting

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 3

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 4

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 5

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 6

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 7

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 8

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 9

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

what is gamification?

10

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Gamification: • The use of game attributes to drive game-like player behavior in a non-game

context with predictability

what is gamification?

11

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Gamification: • The use of game attributes to drive game-like player behavior in a non-game

context with predictability

• game attributes

• game mechanics, game dynamics, game design principles, gaming psychology, player

journey, narratives, incentives, etc.

what is gamification?

12

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Gamification: • The use of game attributes to drive game-like player behavior in a non-game

context with predictability

• game attributes

• game mechanics, game dynamics, game design principles, gaming psychology, player

journey, narratives, incentives, etc.

• game-like player behavior

• engagement, interaction, competition, collaboration, awareness, learning, obsession,

and/or any other observed player behavior during game play

what is gamification?

13

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Gamification: • The use of game attributes to drive game-like player behavior in a non-game

context with predictability

• game attributes

• game mechanics, game dynamics, game design principles, gaming psychology, player

journey, narratives, incentives, etc.

• game-like player behavior

• engagement, interaction, competition, collaboration, awareness, learning, obsession,

and/or any other observed player behavior during game play

• non-game context

• work, education, health & fitness, sale & marketing, community participation, civic

engagement, volunteerism, goodwill, etc. (anything but a game)

what is gamification?

14

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ 3 of the most common commercial use case of gamification • Deepens engagement

• Internally: collaboration between teams + employees

• Externally: collaboration between customers

• Sustains loyalty

• Onboards new users (employees, customers)

▪ So what?

what can gamification do for your business?

15

average customer

community user 2.5x

customer spending

10x superfan

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

16

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

what’s the magic behind gamification?

17

Achievement

Appointment

Dynamic

Avoidance

Behavioral Contrast

Behavioral Momentum Blissful

Productivity

Cascading

Information

Theory

Chain Schedules

Combos

Communal

Discovery

Communal

Collaboration

Collection

Set Completion

Discovery

Companion

Gaming

Countdown Cross Situational

Leader-boards

Leader-boards

Disincentives

Endless

Games

Envy

Epic Meaning

Extinction

Free Lunch

Fixed Interval

Reward Schedules

Fixed Ratio

Reward Schedule

Free Lunch

Fun Once,

Fun Always

Interval

Reinforcement

Schedules

Level Up

Lottery

Loyalty

Loss Aversion

Micro Leader-boards

Modifiers

Moral Hazard

of Game Play

Ownership

Pride

Privacy

Progression Dynamic

Points

Quest

Rank

Reputation

Ratio Reward

Schedules

Delayed

Mechanics

Reinforcer

Response

Reward Schedules

Rolling

Physical

Goods

Shell Game

Social Fabric of Games

Status Serendipity

Urgent

Optimism

Variable Interval

Reward Schedules

Variable Ratio

Reward Schedule

Viral Game Mechanics Virality

Virtual Items

Social

Cohesion

Real-time

Mechanics

Contingency

Infinite Gameplay

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

angry birds example

18

Immediate feedback:

1. control

2. physics

3. points

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 19

Achievement:

Level unlock

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 20

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 21

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 22

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 23

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 24

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 25

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 27

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Flow: an optimal state of

intrinsic motivation • Forget about physical feelings

(e.g. hunger, sleep), passage of

time, and their ego

▪ Skill ~ Challenge Flow

▪ Certainty vs. Uncertainty • People love the control state

• People hate the boredom state

• People like arousal

• People dislike worry

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow

28

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ People acquire skills over

time move into the

boredom state

▪ We are motivated by

challenges, surprises, and

varieties, to avoid boredom • IRL, matching challenge to

people’s skills exactly is hard

• They are either too easy (boring)

or too hard (frustrating)

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow

29

too easy

a bit too hard

way too hard shallow

learning

curve

steep learning curve

to get back to flow

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

▪ Good games are designed

to maximize flow. How?

▪ Game designers: controls

the difficulty of the levels

▪ Players: the next step they

take is always a baby step

relative to the ability they

already acquired

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow

30

the next step already acquired ability

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

31

A game

||

structured

puppy steps

twitter: mich8elwu

linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD

32

Thank you