Gamification vs Pointsification - Essay

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

• Source: Ana Lorena Fabrega; https://afabrega.com/my-blog/gamification-vs-pointsification
• Tags: #games #education
• Notes:

Pointsification ties to ==external motivation==—free time, tasty treats or bragging rights. It’s taking the things that are ==least essential to games like points, badges, and leaderboards and making them the core of the experience.==

The problem isn’t that pointsification doesn’t work. The problem is that it’s ==not sustainable==. While pointsification may help tweak some behaviors in the short term, it doesn’t work for long enough to build actual skills.

According to Jane McGonigal, PhD game designer, a true game has 4 defining traits:

1. A goal or specific outcome that provides players with a sense of purpose.
2. Rules that place limitations on how players can achieve the goal—these are unnecessary obstacles that players choose to tackle with their whole heart.
3. A feedback system that tells players how close they are to achieving the goal—this lets players know that the goal is definitely achievable and provides motivation to keep playing.
4. Voluntary participation. All players must know and willingly accept the goal, the rules, and the feedback—players should be able to enter or leave the game at will to ensure the experience is safe and pleasurable.

In a true game, the player isn’t only motivated by a future prize or reward. The player in a true game chooses to play out of genuine interest. If you stripped away the points and prizes, the game would still be attractive.

Players came away feeling they had truly accomplished something they wanted. The reward of the game tied into something these people genuinely desired.

Here are 3 questions to keep in mind next time you want to create a true game:

1. Is the goal of the game centered around the player’s authentic interest and skill set? “You’re looking for the challenge that’s going to really bring the best out in people and really, when they achieve it, they feel like it was a meaningful and epic achievement.”—Jane McGonigal
2. Are there unnecessary obstacles that players voluntarily choose to tackle? In golf, for example, players have to insert a tiny ball into a tiny hole from a far distance using a club. It’s the most inefficient way to place a ball in a hole, and that’s precisely what makes the game interesting.
3. Is there a reliable feedback system with opportunities for failure and improvement? How do players track their progress? Are there real skills involved that players can get better at and improve with practice? Or is it an arbitrary leaderboard they are trying to move up?

The trick to creating a true game is ==figuring out what your audience is interested in== and ==tapping into those genuine challenges or desires.== It’s about coming up with a challenge that’s so immersive it puts players in a flow state. The results? More engagement, more excitement, and more fulfilling learning.