The DOs and DON’Ts of Gamification Design Thinking, Part 3

The World Explorer is for you if you are interested in designing a gamification strategy for either employee or customer engagement… BUT you’re not sure where to begin.

In Part 1 of this adventure we learned a number of DO's and DON'Ts as Louis and Lindsey took us on an adventure to discover:
Why are we playing?
Who are your players?  
How are you keeping score?

In Part 2 we explored:

How is the game played?
Why would they want to play?
What keeps them in the game?

Now it’s time for Level 7: Exotic Expedition – What’s it like to play?

What kind of experience does the player have as a result of playing the game? What's your story or epic adventure? What does it look like? Do the aesthetics of the game express your key message? Do they add value as far as the target audience is concerned? Technology - What are they playing on? The choice of platform and technology will have a huge impact on what kind of gamification program can be built. And last but NOT least, is it FUN? If not, why should anybody play it?

Let’s summarize. Once you’ve defined your goals, you need to figure out what specific user actions will be required to realize it. What new behavior patterns would they need to adopt in order to sustain your business model? Think in verbs, not nouns. What do you need people to do?

You can rank these from most critical to least critical and also score them from most likely to happen to least likely to happen. Now you know where to focus your game mechanics.

It’s time to finish DOs and DON’Ts of Gamification Design Thinking (See the other DOs and DON'Ts for Part 1 and Part 2):

DOs:

• Answer the questions: What’s your vision for this gamified project? What are your business objectives?
• Think through and answer: Why are you gamifying this project or process?
• Determine how gamification will help you to achieve your objectives.
• Remember:  Gamification ≠ Technology – Although technology can greatly enhance your project – it is foremost about the players experience.

DON’Ts

• Focus on the ‘bells, whistles, and glitter – but DO make it aesthetically pleasing for your players.
• Forget the FUN!

As with any new process, you’ll succeed when you’re willing to evaluate and adapt. You’ll examine both the game mechanics and the behaviors that are critical to motivate the behaviors that you need. Both will change as you learn about your players, and as they learn how to play your game. Remember, we want to make this fun for them, so that you will successfully achieve your business objectives.
 
To view the Slideshare presentation of the World Explorer Playshop that we designed and facilitated for United Airlines, please follow this link:  http://bit.ly/WorldExplorerUnitedAirlines

For more ideas on Gamification:  http://www.sententiagames.com
 

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