Gamify it. Review of a book about gamification
The video and other gaming industries use many techniques to maintain attention and skillfully get players to do what they need to do. Because of them, players spend hours, days and years playing games.
Chow figured out how it works, what motives motivate people and how they can be used. In life, for example, when forming new habits; in work to motivate subordinates and yourself.
In this article I’ll tell you how to use gamification techniques and show how it works with examples.
Gamification in simple words
This is when you use game mechanics to perform non-game actions. Remember how some applications praise you for logging in for several days in a row. This is one of the elements of gamification that affects the incentive: Fear of Loss. Because you are afraid of losing the accumulated days.
Essentially, with the help of gamification, we want to force a person to perform actions that are useful for us (and ideally for him). There are a lot of gamification techniques, so below I will give a few examples to make it more clear what we are talking about.
Examples of using gamification
Music and TV series servicesfor example, Yandex Music. Uses the technique Unknown when using smart recommendations. And the technique of Possession and Fear of Loss, when you delete the application, you lose your “Like” and customized recommendations.
Educational sites. For example, an introvert's Right Brain app targets a variety of stimuli. The very logic of the application is to study new information, and this is an incentive Development and self-realization. There is functionality: competitions with other participants based on the number of entries in a row – incentives Social approval And Avoiding losses.
How is gamification built?
There are quite a few construction options, but I propose a systematic and simplest one. As far as possible, because gamification is not a one-time job and there is always something to strive for. We will look at the example of an online store. By analogy, you can do it with almost any site.
Step 1. Determine what motives of behavior there are and how to influence them using gamification.
The essence of Chow's approach is that it is based on eight motives of human behavior. Each game focuses on them, some to a greater extent, and some to a lesser extent. The more motives the game influences, the better. But it’s always better to work on two well than poorly on all eight.
What are the motives for people's behavior?
Significance/Mission. This is when the user/player feels like they are doing something more than just buying a product or playing a game. For example, when a person buys Timberland shoes, he understands that he is making a donation and is concerned about the environment.
Development and achievement. This includes any awards and skills acquired. For example, an English learning service can divide training into levels. And for each level reached, the student receives a reward.
Creation. This incentive works when we are given the opportunity to be creative and do something creative: draw, build, etc. A striking example is Lego. I think there is no need to explain here.
Possession and possession. A rational incentive that influences our need to accumulate resources. In games, this incentive works in the form of in-game currency, weapons and equipment received.
Social influence. This incentive, on the one hand, is about the “herd instinct,” and on the other, about “Showing yourself.” For example, the field “they are watching with you” and the function “you received an achievement – tell your friends.”
Deficit. A classic way to get a reaction from a person is to say that the product is limited edition or that the game item drops very rarely. For the human psyche, rare = valuable.
Unpredictability. If the user knows what will happen next, he is not interested in playing or using the product. This incentive can be influenced by the “Wheel of Fortune”, for example.
Avoiding losses. Usually it is difficult for a person to lose something. For example, progress in a video game or a “pumped up” point card in a store. For 5 years now I have had a card from my favorite customer “Read City” with maximum cashback and I no longer think about which store to buy books from.
Understanding what the motives are, we can choose the most suitable one for our project. We will also understand which tool is best to use in which situation.
Step 2. Select the metrics you want to achieve using gamification.
With their help, you will measure the effectiveness of different tools and approaches. Initially, measure what indicators the project has now. So that after adding gamification there is something to compare with.
What are the indicators:
Applications/purchases on the website or in the application;
Number of commercial offer downloads;
Subscriptions to the newsletter;
Time spent on the website or application.
Focus on several metrics at once. Rank them in descending order of importance. This will allow you to receive adequate feedback from the introduced tools. For example, you can introduce a chat where visitors will communicate with each other. The amount of time spent may increase, but the number of conversions will decrease. Then maybe you shouldn't use this tool or start moderating comments better.
Step 3. Determine who your users are and why they came to the site.
This is to use tools that won't hinder users from achieving their goals. The age of the users and their other characteristics are also important. To find the right tools.
For example, if the audience is older, then it is better to use appropriate gamification tools – not completing a complex game for the sake of a discount. And the wheel of fortune, countdown timer and other tools that do not require any skills.
Step 4: Determine your desired actions.
Describe what actions you expect from the user. Write them down in chronological order as small steps. Chow suggests dividing them into small phases. For example: Desired user actions during the familiarization phase:
Go from the main page to a specific product page;
Click the “Add to comparison” button.
Desired user actions during the habituation stage:
Explore a product or compare several products;
Keep the product for yourself or share with friends;
Subscribe to the newsletter for promotions and discounts.
Desired user actions at the bridge construction stage:
Receive a letter from us by email;
Share a letter with a friend;
Call/ask a question about the product.
Desired user actions at the final stage of interaction:
Buy the product once;
Repurchase the product;
Become an active participant in a bonus or referral program;
View all product categories on the site.
Every element on the site should work to achieve the desired actions. With the help of gamification tools, the user must advance from the first to the last stage. If a tool does not help the user move from one stage to another, it should be removed.
Step 5. Select gamification mechanics with feedback.
You can start implementing gamification mechanics. Such that the user receives feedback from interacting with them.
Need to determine where to place game mechanics:
What mechanics:
Countdown counters;
Leaderboard;
Possibility of obtaining a certificate.
Awardswhich the user receives for performing the necessary actions:
Glasses;
Achievement icons;
Mentions of good users;
Free materials;
Discounts.
Step 6. Come up with ideas based on 8 motives for human behavior.
Go through all eight incentives and write down all the tools you can implement into your website or program to address that incentive. Once you're done, go through it again to get more ideas.
For example, to connect the first incentive (Epic significance and calling), you can say that 10% of sales go to charity. It will be even better if the client can choose a charitable foundation himself.
First, write out all the tools. Then we will choose those that best suit the business.
Step 7: Implement the most suitable tools into your system.
There are no clear instructions on how to choose the most suitable gamification tool and how to implement it. All projects are unique and each requires its own approach.
But I have some advice on this matter:
All incentives must be involved. Firstly, at different stages of interaction with a product a person is motivated by different things. Secondly, different people are motivated by different things. For example, at the beginning of interaction, a person is motivated by curiosity and development, and when the product becomes clear, surprise can be added. In the form of weekly emails with unusual uses of the product.
Most of all, the stimulus that is ideologically close to the application should be “pumped up”. For example, an app for home workouts or habit building can use character leveling tools, depending on the number of workouts/actions.
The first gamification tools can be added intuitively or using prioritization systems. But always track feedback and targets. Infrequently, some gamification tools can degrade performance targets.
Everything that is added to the application/site should help the user achieve his goals. If it doesn’t help or interferes, delete it.
Gamification is too complex a topic to cover in detail in one article. And even Yu Kai Chou's book is just the tip of the iceberg.
Conclusions from the book:
It will be useful mainly for game developers, software developers and marketers. It is not necessary to understand gamification in such detail for personal tasks. Just use ready-made solutions: applications that already use gamification.
The author does not provide instructions for use. He shows only by examples how this can be applied. There may be more detailed information on his website and paid materials. But then the book looks like an advertising campaign for the course.
There is quite a lot of water and optional stories. Even though I usually read books from beginning to end, this time I skipped stories from his past.
Overall, the book is quite simple and most people will only need to read a review or a short recap. I advise you to spend time and money only if this topic is very interesting or you can use this material in your work.
