What Do We Borrow From Games?
For gamification, it is the application of game design techniques to a real-life goal. So what are these game design techniques? How does the digital gaming industry, which is the largest financial sector in the world, apply these techniques and what do we borrow from them in the name of gamification? Let’s take a look together.
1- ) Flow Theory
By nature, human beings flow while focusing on something. Independent of time and space, that activity becomes the most important thing. We can see this from a child playing, to a doctor on the operating table or an artist who sings or paints. Here, external gains, rewards and even money are disrupting the flow.
Flow theory was put forward by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is a situation in which people engage in an activity where nothing else matters. The flow state is the most appropriate intrinsic motivational state in which people are fully immersed in what they do, and it is when they are happiest.
For example, playing a song according to the changing and developing abilities is actually the result of studying the notes, or if you are going to the top of the mountain, first with small walks or with brush strokes if a picture is to be drawn. Therefore, small goals that are actually suitable for the big goal, different but achievable and tailored to people are very important for the flow.
If the gamified systems are constructed according to the flow theory and conditions of Csikszentmihalyi, a deeper and internally motivating system can be designed.
2- ) Juicy Feedback
We generally use feedback as ‘reward’ when designing loops for streaming in game design. However, the feedback in the games is not very similar to the classic daily life. Called “Juicy Feedback”, they are very uplifting and positive thinking.
No game says: “You’re so normal, you’re just a click above mediocre,” or “It didn’t really happen this time, you can’t play me at all, just pick me up and I won’t keep a place on your phone,” does it? Well, didn’t you ever notice that with just one touch of ours he declared us “Super Hero” and said “continue”? I think one of the things games know best is these instant feedback methods. Not only with text, but with visuals and animations, they really successfully prepare you for the next step by making you feel good – even if you take the worst shot in the world.
No game says: “You’re so normal, your level is just above mediocre,” or “It didn’t really happen this time, you can’t play me at all, just remove me and I won’t keep a place on your phone,” does it? Well, didn’t you ever notice that with just one touch of ours he declared us “Super Hero” and said “continue”? I think one of the things games know best is these instant feedback methods. Not only with text, but with visuals and animations, they really successfully prepare you for the next step by making you feel good – even if you take the worst flow in the world.
Famous game designer and author Robin Hunicke listed eight characteristics of juicy feedback as follows:
- Tactile: As it touches, it should be instantaneous and not given later.
- Inviting: It should invite the player to a behavior they believe they can do.
- Repeatable: It should be reproducible.
- Coherent: Within the fiction of game, as the story progresses and the interaction should come out quite spontaneously.
- Continuous: It should appear with an interaction at the moment the player expects.
- Emergent: It should not interrupt the flow of the game, it should be a moment in the game and should not be distracting.
- Balanced: On the one hand, the player should be able to understand that these feedbacks are coming, not confuse them with direct feedback such as end-of-episode victory notifications.
- Fresh: Sometimes it should be in unexpected areas, it should be fresh and energetic.
Gamified feedback on an example case in Juicy style:
Classic Feedback | Positive Feedback | Gamified Feedback |
Müge, you failed this first shot. Would you like to try again? | Müge shot your first shot, it didn’t work; but I’m sure you will succeed if you pay more attention the next time you try it. | Congratulations Müge, this first shot was amazing and history does not forget the firsts! Are you ready to improve your personal record in your second shot? Come on then! |
Famous game designer Jesse Schells’s comment on Juicy Feedback is also distinctive: “Like a juicy peach, we can call it feedback that flows with one touch and creates a feeling of wanting to eat and a sweet reward.”
3- ) Development Cycles and Stages:
The games give you an individual and protected area right from the beginning. A pedometer application does not immediately compare you with competitors, or a competitor in a scouting application does not immediately attack you; It gives you the opportunity and resources to explore your surroundings. Thus, the onboarding process is beginning in the game for you. We call this sheltered and individual stage the “onboarding” stage. Goals such as profile pages, avatar updating, goal setting, making promises, checking the level of knowledge are applied at this stage.
After a certain period of time, a feeling of comparison with other players such as “duel” and “challenge” arises in order to see the flow of the game: “How am I compared to the average users? Am I playing good or bad? “. Here, even if the player loses, he/she does not quit, but develops yourself.
In the final stages, they look for experiences that are called ‘expertise’, which they will show themselves in games that require less but self-effort, but that they want to help and be remembered, not by competition or elimination: Adding new players, first participating in new maps, giving suggestions, forming and winning teams from other players.
If you would like to apply these three game design techniques we borrowed from games to life for our business purposes, contact the Inooster team.
E.Altuğ Yılmaz
Gamification Consultant
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