

Adding Game Mechanics to a Non-Gaming Service - rafaelc
http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/09/10-tips-for-adding-game-mechan.php

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vyrotek
In case it wasn't clear, the original blog post came from -
[http://www.vcdave.com/2010/09/14/top-10-ways-to-apply-
game-m...](http://www.vcdave.com/2010/09/14/top-10-ways-to-apply-game-
mechanics-to-non-game-services/)

The points shared were great, but it seems a lot of bloggers who cover these
topics never emphasize how hard it can be to 'get it right', let alone
actually develop the system. A lot of thought and work needs to go into making
sure you're rewarding people for the right actions and for the right reasons.
People will do exactly what you reward them to do.

Also, with achievements, points, leaderboards, etc comes the baggage of
needing to manage it and report on it. That's one of the bigger points we try
to make when talking about the services we offer at
<http://www.IActionable.com>

You can't just say "we'll give an achievement when they click this button,
done!" What happens when you want more complex requirements in order to earn
that achievement? Most implementations today require a developer to be always
available to alter the code/logic which drives the reward system.

Of course my perspective is different than most since I'm very passionate
about this stuff and have a startup trying to solve these problems. :)

~~~
teej
Have you seen any documented cases of websites moving real metrics using "game
mechanics"? I'm not talking about Foursquare. I mean an established web
property that added features like these and actually improved revenue or user
acquisition.

I hate to be a skeptic, but I've seen a lot of bs around "game mechanics" ever
since Foursquare hit, but I've yet to see real results.

~~~
vitovito
You're half right: you may not actually be able to think of them like
features. But "game mechanics" were "video games" and "psychology" a long time
before they were distilled out, which means to take advantage of them
properly, you really need to know a lot from both of those fields. Like
anything else, you may have to design with them in mind from the get-go, and
you'll probably get it wrong the first few times out, which means you'll need
to practice (or have betas).

Instead of completely retooling your software, perhaps instead you can add a
meta-game on top: Office Hero was a game added atop Microsoft Word by Lost
Garden writer danc: <http://www.officelabs.com/ribbonhero> &&
[http://www.lostgarden.com/2010/01/ribbon-hero-turns-
learning...](http://www.lostgarden.com/2010/01/ribbon-hero-turns-learning-
office-into.html)

You'll never be able to "let's just add badges!" just like you can't "let's
use gradients and glossy buttons!" to move the needle.

There's even the notion that video games and traditional UI interaction design
are incompatible: IxD is about making things easy, but video games are about
intentionally challenging the user. If your users aren't expecting a game,
they may end up incredibly frustrated instead.

I did a workshop on adding game mechanics to an existing product (a
calendar/dayplanner) and the results varied wildly. One group (Ray and Nicole)
integrated social game mechanics into the application really well. Another
group (Cecy and Brody) treated each mechanic as a feature, and by the end of
the discussion I felt like it was "missing something." You can read the write-
up of the workshop here: <http://vi.to/workshop/20100426/>

My notes include a lot of references, as well as images of the handouts and my
own distillation of these principles: <http://vi.to/gmnotes>

------
agscala
I have a hard time believing that if high-status users give free 'gifts' to
low-status users, the low-status user will pay to reciprocate.

> Make the virtual real. Feinleib recommends adding sound and visual effects
> to make the virtual experience more "real."

Also there's no way in hell I'm about to add sound effects to my website.

~~~
vyrotek
At our company we joke a lot about adding sound effects when users earn a
reward.

And you're right, there is just something taboo and wrong about websites
making unexpected noise.

