Designing with Gamification: Tips for Creating Fun & Engaging User Experiences

1. Designing with
Gamification
Tips for creating fun and engaging experiences

3. Jeff Steffgen
Director of Product at mLevel
(game-based e-learning platform)
Understanding Gamification

4. • Chicago-based SaaS start-up
• Focused on game-based
enterprise eLearning
• No-code game development,
unique content generation,
instant deployment
• Multi-platform,
using Unity3D
• Web-based
admin site
for simple
mission
creation

5. Level 1 Understand Gamification
Level 2 Know the Audience
Level 3 Think like a Game Designer
Level 4 Planning for Gamification
End-goal Apply Gamification into your own
user experiences after completing all 5 ranks
Your Mission…

6. Understanding
Gamification
Level 1
Start your Gamification training
by learning the basics…

7. Meaningful Play
Use of game mechanics applied in
a non-gaming context
Understanding Gamification

8. Goals
• Sticky, viral and engaging
• Make mundane tasks fun
• Drive specific user behaviors
Understanding Gamification

9. Example: Hot Lava Game

10. Example: Kids Star Chart

11. Example: Rewards Programs

12. Example: Urinal Fly Sticker

13. Game ≠ Play
Understanding Gamification

14. Play
Unstructured, flexible & freeform.
Driven by imagination.
Understanding Gamification
fun$

15. Understanding Gamification
WIN$Game
Structured, rigid, stimulating
& focused. Driven by rules.

16. Understanding Gamification
Work already has rules…
Defining a win condition is all that
is needed to make it a game.

17. Congrats!
You’ve successfully
completed Level 1
Level Up!

18. Continue your Gamification training
by gathering intelligence about
your target audience…
Know the Audience
Level 2

19. Killers
Winning, rank & direct peer-
to-peer competition
Engaged by:
Leaderboards & Rankings
Achievers
Attaining status & quickly
completing pre-set goals
Engaged by:
Achievements & ToDo’s
Socializers
Socializing & developing a
friends/contacts network
Engaged by: Newsfeeds,
Friend Lists, Chat
Explorers
Exploring and discovering
the unknown
Engaged by:
Achieving their own goals
Know the Audience
Bartle’s Player Types

20. Know the Audience
Player Type Actions
Acting
Interacting
GameSpace
Players
Killers' Achievers)
Socializers+ Explorers)

21. Know the Audience
Things Guys Like in Games
Mastery
Doesn’t need meaning, just challenge
Competition
Love to prove we are the best
Destruction
We like destroying things — a lot!
Spatial Puzzles
Especially puzzles navigating 3D spaces
Trial and Error
Men hate reading instructions!

22. Know the Audience
Things Girls Like in Games
Emotion
Exploring richness of human emotion
Real World
Prefer games that connect meaningfully
Nurturing
Relationships & healing others (vs. winning)
Dialog & Verbal Puzzles
Love books & cross-word puzzles
Learning by Example
Appreciate tutorials that lead step-by-step

23. Know the Audience
Age Demographics
Games with
parental guidance
Age of reason
Read, make decisions &
solve problems
Age of obsession
Brain growth & passion
Boys: Competition & mastery
Girls: Real-world issues &
communications
Firmly establish tastes
for entertainment & games
Casual gamers due to
families; hardcore gamers
are very influential
Casual gamers due to
career and families; seek
family play
Empty nesters with lots
of time to play games;
enjoy social components
4"6$
7"9$
10#13%
13#18%
18#24&
25#35%
36#50&
50+$

24. Level 2 completed!
Finish 1 more level to see
gamification examples…
Level Up!

25. Think Like a
Game Designer
Level 3
Learn about game theory to
create successful gamification

26. Know the Audience
Flow Theory
Anxiety!
Boredom!
Flow%
Channel%
Low!
High!
Challenges!
Low! High!Skills!

27. Basic Elements of Game Design
Think Like a Game Designer
Aesthe&cs!
Technology!
Mechanics! Story!
Story
Linear or branching
Mechanics
Procedures and rules
Aesthetics
How it looks, sounds & feels
Technology
High tech, materials or interactions

28. Think Like a Game Designer
Game Mechanics
• The Game Space
• Objects, Attributes & States
• Actions
• Rules
• Skills
• Chance & Surprise

29. Think Like a Game Designer
The Game Space
Defines spaces that can exist in a game and how
those places are related to one another

30. Think Like a Game Designer
Objects, Attributes & States
Objects are anything that can be seen or manipulated in
the game space (characters, tokens, props, etc)
Pac$Man'
Power'
Pellet'
Inky'
Pellets'

31. Pac$Man'
Moves&
Is&Yellow&
Eats&Objects&
Can&Die&
Power'
Pellet'
Strategically&Placed&
White,&Round&&&Large&
Enables&PowerCUp&
'
Inky'
Moves&
Is&Blue&
Kills&PacCMan&
Can&Go&to&Cage&
'
Pellets'
StaIc&PosiIon,&Fills&the&Maze&
White,&Round&&&Small&
Is&Worth&Points&
'
Think Like a Game Designer
Objects, Attributes & States
Objects have Attributes such as the current position in the
game space, or other categories of information

32. Think Like a Game Designer
Objects, Attributes & States
Each Attribute’s current State can be static or dynamic,
as shown in the classic Pac-Man example above

33. Think Like a Game Designer
Actions (Operative)
Operative Actions are base actions that a player
can take in the game space (think VERBS)
Climb&Up&
Duck/Climb&Down/"
Enter&Warp&Tube&
Move&
Le:&
Move&
Right&
Jump/"
Swim&Up&
Dash/Throw&

34. Think Like a Game Designer
Actions (Resultant)
Resultant Actions are strategic actions that use operative
actions (or a combination of them) to achieve a goal
Jump%+%
%
Land%on%a%
mushroom%
%
=%Kills%it%
Jump%+%
%
Hit%brick%
%
=%Coins%
Jump%+%
%
Hit%?%Box%
%
=%Power%up%
Jump%+%
%
Land%on%Yoshi%
%
=%Ride%

35. Think Like a Game Designer
Rules
Defines the space, objects, consequences & constraints
of actions, and the overall goals of the game
Concrete
&
Understandable
Achievable
Goal
Rewarding
&
Fun

36. Think Like a Game Designer
Skills Needed
Define various types of skills (both real & virtual) within
the game needed to engage your audience
Physical))
• Strength(
• Dexterity(
• Coordina1on(
• Physical(
Endurance(!
Mental)
• Memory(
• Observa1on(
• Puzzles(
• Problem(
Solving!
Social)
• Reading(
Opponents(
• Teamwork(
• Leadership(
• Banter(

37. Think Like a Game Designer
Chance & Luck
Consider interactions with other mechanics
to create uncertainty & surprise

38. Excellent work, you’ve
finished Level 3!
Level Up!

39. Planning for
Gamification
Level 4
Examples of applying gamification
into your business

40. Business Needs
How can we apply these theories
and mechanics into business
products, processes & services?
Planning for Gamification

41. Step 1:
Define Users & Goal
Planning for Gamification

42. Know your Audience
• What are their needs?
• Employees v. Customers
• What’s the primary playing style?
• What metrics do they care about?
• Achievement v. Enjoyment
• Structure v. Freedom
• Self interest v. Social interest
Planning for Gamification

43. Define your Goal
• Drive specific user behaviors
• Create brand loyalty
• Re-engineer a daily process to
make it more efficient & engaging
• Inject fun into mundane tasks
• Create competition
Planning for Gamification

44. Step 2:
Use Mechanics that Work
Planning for Gamification

45. 3 types of gamification worth
pursuing in a business context:
Validation
Completion
Prizes & Rewards
Planning for Gamification

46. Planning for Gamification
Validation
A strong driver of long-term, quality engagement that forms
communities and allows users to share & express

47. Planning for Gamification
Completion
Guide user progression and persuade useful contributions to
enhance the experience for themselves and others

48. Planning for Gamification
Prizes & Rewards
Reward users with upgraded status, exclusive access,
additional power (decision/budget) and money, gifts or trips

49. Tips for Success
• Provide a reason to play and ways to
feel progression/ accomplishment
• Make sure players understand the goal
and why they should play
• Let players set their own goals, or suggest
goals to motivate mastery
• Use global goals to inspire collaboration
and teamwork
Planning for Gamification

50. Step 3:
Analyze the Data
Planning for Gamification

51. Metrics are important…
• Performance & player behavior
• Set goals & have tools in place to
gauge your progress
• Pinpoint where users drop out
and where they have the most fun
• Use this data to optimize the
experience — play test & iterate!
Planning for Gamification

52. Level 4 completed.
Let’s see how mLevel uses
gamification elements…
Almost Finished!

53. mLevel Examples Missions

54. mLevel Examples Unlocking & Progression

55. mLevel Examples Use of Time & Levels

56. mLevel Examples Freedom of Choice

57. mLevel Examples Use of PLB

58. mLevel Examples Challenges & Social

59. mLevel Examples Guides & Tutorials

60. mLevel Examples Feedback & Stats

62. Questions
email jeff.steffgen@mlevel.com
twitter @_jeffgen_