Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps

210 Pages·2011·17 MB·English

by  Gabe Zichermann

Gamification by Design
Implementing Game Mechanics in
Web and Mobile Apps

Gamification by Design
Implementing Game Mechanics in
Web and Mobile Apps
Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham
Beijing · Cambridge · Farnham · Köln · Sebastopol · Tokyo
Gamification by Design
by Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham
Copyright © 2011 Gabriel Z, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Printing History:
August 2011: First Edition.
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978-1-449-39767-8
[TI]
This book is dedicated to the designers of the scavenger hunt, tag,
bridge, chess, poker, and solitaire. We may never know your names,
but you truly made the world a whole lot more fun.

Contents
Preface........................................................... ix
Introduction...................................................... xiii
1. Foundations....................................................... 1
The Fun Quotient 2
The Evolution of Loyalty 5
Status at the Wheel 9
The House Always Wins 13
2. Player Motivation................................................. 15
Powerful Human Motivators 15
Why People Play 20
Player Types 21
Social Games 24
Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation 26
Progression to Mastery 29
Motivational Moment: Be the Sherpa 33
3. Game Mechanics: Designing for Engagement (Part I)................... 35
MDA Framework 35
Game Mechanics 36
Points 36
Levels 45
Leaderboards 50
4. Game Mechanics: Designing for Engagement (Part II)................... 55
Badges 55
Onboarding 59
Challenges and Quests 64
Social Engagement Loops 67
viii  Contents
Customization 70
Gaming the System 72
Agile and Gamification Design 73
Empty Bar Problem: Foursquare 74
Dashboards 75
5. Game Mechanics and Dynamics in Greater Depth ...................... 77
Feedback and Reinforcement 77
Game Mechanics in Depth 81
Putting It Together 94
6. Gamification Case Studies.......................................... 95
Nike Plus: Making Fitness Fun 96
Gamify Questions—or Answers 98
Health Month 105
Conclusion 109
7. Tutorial: Coding Basic Game Mechanics.............................. 111
Planning a Gamification Makeover 112
A System for Tracking Scores and Levels 116
Badges 125
Displaying Player Scores and Levels on the Site 128
The Trophy Case 135
Summary 139
8. Tutorial: Using an Instant Gamification Platform...................... 141
Game On 141
Critical Elements of an Online Rewards Experience 142
Planning a Rewards Project 142
Developing a Rewards Program 156
Analytics 165
The Game’s Just Beginning 168
Index........................................................... 169