Gamification is the application of all the fun and exciting elements of game mechanics into ‘boring’ non-game contexts, with the potential to help motivate us to do things that we don’t necessarily want to but should do (Chou, 2014). Incorporating gamification could be a possible remedy to the lack of motivation users feel to effectively maintain long-term behaviour change in the context of health and fitness.
Good use of gamification doesn’t begin with simply adding game elements like points, badges and leaderboards but, instead, should start with looking at how it motivates our core drives (Chou, 2014). In conjunction with game mechanics it also involves motivational psychology, behavioural economics and neurobiology, ideally while at the same time balancing business goals and creating systems that generate ROI (Chou, 2015). We, as designers, should select gamification techniques with a strong consideration of context of the product that we are building (Hoffman et al, 2017). We want our product to improve the user’s life, so rewards must fit into the narrative of why the user is using our product and align with their internal motivations and triggers (Eyal, 2014).
Chou (2021) designed the Octalysis Gamification Framework, which is structured around 8 core human drives. The left core drives (scarcity, ownership and accomplishment) are more extrinsic tendencies, meaning we do things because we want to obtain a goal or reward. The right core drives (empowerment, social influence, unpredictability) are intrinsic tendencies, meaning we do them because the activity in itself is enjoyable and rewarding and we don’t need any goal or reward. The top core drives are referred to as ‘White Hat’ gamification techniques and are more sustainable long-term and more constructive to users. Users feel more fulfilled and satisfied if they are motivated by the idea of being a part of something much bigger than themselves, improving themselves, growing and using their creativity. The bottom core drives are referred to as ‘Black Hat’ gamification techniques; they are less sustainable in the long-term and can make us feel like we’re not in control of our behaviours. Users doing things because they don’t know what will happen next, or because they want to avoid a loss, can leave them feeling anxious and addicted.
.png)
Hoffman et al (2017) created a taxonomy of gamification techniques. Performance-oriented techniques include elements like leaderboards, levels, ranks of achievement, time pressure and feedback, offering information on a user’s own performance, possibly in comparison to his or her own previous performance, the performance of other users or without any direct comparison. Embedding-focused techniques include creating a narrative context which is a back story that provides assistance and guides the actions taken by the user. Economic techniques include things like digital rewards (badges, game currency, points, resources, powers or abilities that increase as the user progresses) and real world prizes (e.g., deals or discounts or goods/ services). Social techniques include avatars (users are able to represent themselves as a character within the product and have a level of precise control/ customisation over it), agents (supporting characters that offer instructions and support, for example a coach or personal trainer), competition with other users, teams, parallel communication systems (in-app messaging) and social pressure.
According to Chou (2014) a user’s motivation for using a product at the beginning is many times very different from why they are using it after 3 months and so we should factor in at least one of the 8 core drives in each phase of the user journey in order to prevent them from dropping out because they can’t see a reason to keep going on to the next phase. These phases are: Discovery (the reason people would even want to try your product), Onboarding (the phase where users learn the rules to play your ‘game’), Scaffolding (the journey of repeated actions towards a particular goal) and Endgame (how you retain your users).
Chou, Y. (2021) “The Octalysis Framework for Gamification & Behavioral Design,” Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@yukaichou/the-octalysis-framework-for-gamification-behavioral-design-fe381150f0c1 (Accessed: February 16, 2022).
Chou, Y. (2015) Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Milpitas, CA: Octalysis Media.
Chou, Y. (2014) Gamification to improve our world: Yu-kai Chou at TEDxLausanne. TEDx Talks. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Qjuegtiyc.
Eyal, N. (2014) Hooked : how to build habit-forming products. London, England: Penguin Books.
Herrera, L. (2019) Vintage gray game console and joystick photo. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/p0j-mE6mGo4.
