Chapter 2: Gamification Basics

The next 5 minutes Rahim and Sonal went through varied emotions.

Rahim was playing “Handy Mush” for the first time. He had to get familiar with the game board, understand the rules and reach the set goal in time. He was focused and looked at some of the best scores ever scored in this game. He quickly glanced through the rules and tapped on the start button to get into the game zone.

Sonal was enjoying her “Egg Maggi”. Chander’s café used some special herbs and Masalas to inject excitement into her all-time favourite Maggi.The chopped coriander along with the green chillies balanced out the flavours “Yummyliciously”. Sonal looked around the cafeteria and made eye contact with Ravish. They exchanged smiles and Sonal skipped a heartbeat.

Ravish is from Siwan (one of the districts in Bihar). He was a year senior to both Rahim and Sonal in college. Ravish is the quieter of the lot, very measured in his words and used to be the Counter Strike (CS) champion in college. He always spoke about how he enjoyed reading his opponents move in a game and pitting his skills against another player gave him a high.

Sonal was ushered back into the world of reality by a shout of “Hurray” from Rahim.

Sonal: Have you gone mad (with a surprised look on her face)? Everyone is looking at us.

Rahim: My apology. I got the best score ever in this game in Level 3. At level 2 I missed it by a whisker and I was really miserable at Level 1. I was not able to contain my excitement. Also I see that you have still not finished your Maggi and it is double celebration time. (Rahim’s grinned from ear to ear)

Sonal: Now don’t brag about this for a life time!!!

Rahim: We will see…

Sonal: Now let’s get back to where all this started. This was my effort experiment to give a sneak peek into the power of games which are an integral part of gamification. Tell me what are some of the things that you noticed as you launched the game application?

Rahim: I loved the look and feel of the game. It had vibrant colors, the characters were well sketched and the sound effects used to explain the game were brilliant. I also noticed the game allowed me to build a character on my own and I could see the board with points for the top ten players.

Sonal: That’s a great starting point for our discussion. In the world of games, what you noticed as soon as you started the game is Aesthetics, followed by Avatars and Leaderboards. The advent of technology has allowed companies to make the interface interactive and the games more engaging. If you look at physical game board that is available in the market, the look and feel is so different from the ones that we used to buy as kids. The Avatars allow you to express yourself as a player, depending upon the functionality of the game – you can either choose from the available characters within a game or create your own. An Avatar is your social identify in an online game. The leaderboards bring in a sense of competition as you are able to compare your score with the best in the business.

Rahim: That’s interesting. I really got hooked onto beating the best score in the game and hence the excitement you saw as I was able to achieve it.

Sonal: Not only me but everyone in the food court knew about your excitement (and winked to remind Rahim of the loud celebration he had few minutes back).

Rahim: You never miss a chance do you? (Sounded peeved at the constant reminder)

Sonal:  I was giving you a taste of your own medicine (breaks into a giggle). Anyway, the Aesthetics, Avatars, Leaderboards that you noticed is what I meant by Game elements. There are other elements as well like Quest, Social graphs, Progression, levels, Resource allocation etc. These are the components that make up a game.

(The definition of Gamification that Sonal had quoted was “The use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts”.)

Rahim: So what is a non-game context? Is it the kind of contests we see online to promote a product or sell a service? I have participated in some of these and they create compelling playful experience.

Sonal: I am pleasantly surprised with the connection you made Rahim. Games have this amazing ability to keep people engaged and the moment the design allows for building a relationship with the product or service you are hooked on for life. A non-game context is anything that is not a game, however you bring in the elements and the game design to create an engaging experience. Nike is one such example of a company that uses gamification in a non-gaming context. The Loyalty points that we get by shopping at different retail outlets is another example.

Rahim: The Loyalty points don’t keep me hooked on. I mean they don’t get me to go back to the same store just because I have some points. I would rather have something more engaging for me.

Sonal: Bingo…That is one of the challenge that “Gamification” can solve. The Loyalty points at this moment operate with a mindset that you will shop because you have points, however as you yourself call out the need is for a more engaging and holistic system. This is where Game design techniques can be worth their understanding in gold.

Rahim: Do you need to be a game designer to be able to design such frameworks?

Sonal: Not really. You need to have an understanding of multiple disciplines to design a good Gamification framework. The one thing constant in well-designed games is action. They require the player to be engaged and they move forward by participating in activities which in turn would lead to meaningful outcomes.

Rahim: This has been a great discussion. You have captured my imagination with “Gamification” and I want to explore the possibilities that this new idea presents.

Sonal: Yes Rahim and using this understanding I plan to present an idea on how to drive better engagement for our team. I have started putting together a draft idea.

Rahim: There is something that is bothering me and I need to find an answer to understand the pull effects of game. When I used your phone to play “Handy Mush”. I see that you have played this game few times but your scores are not in the top 10. However I saw a lot of messages from other players in your game inbox. So are you actively playing this game or not?

Sonal: My motivation to play this game is different from your motivation. You were motivated by beating the best, while for me it is about getting to know other players.

Rahim: Does a design take all this into account? Are there people with different motivation then you and me?

Sonal: You are on a roll. That is a great question. My motivation at this moment is to get back to my work station and finish my work for the day in the next three hours, so our discussion will have to wait for another day.

Rahim: I did not realize, it has already been 40 minutes that we have been in the food court. Let us get back, I have some important deliverables for today.

Rahim walks over to the billing counter to clear the amount (the treat was on him) and Sonal walks over to the water cooler for a chilled glass of water. Rahim looks at a yellow color cheque and is bemused by the change in color from white, however his processing hits a halt as he sees Ravish approach Sonal at the water cooler.