Bite-sized Gamification - Vol.2

July 31, 2024

A Purple Gameboy Color with the worlds "Bite Sized Gamification vol.1" alongside bottom text that reads "cooler than a cucumber."

Sunny Summer

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the series that keeps on giving.😄 Hope you are all enjoying your summer because we sure are.

We're happy to have you in on the ride once again this week because this time we're going to focus on Points! 🚗

Points

What are Points

Points are one of the oldest and most identifiable mechanics that predates video games and board games: Sports. Keeping track of soccer goals is a form of points and it shows points as a feedback system for positive performance. In other cases, points can also be a spendable resource for players as this increases the perceived value to the user. However points are just a way of providing feedback to the user on their actions. It’s a starting point for gamification by giving a definitive trackable statistic. Relying on users to want to improve their score isn’t good gamification design.

People compete for high scores after loving the game and want to demonstrate their mastery. If you just add points and make them the only aspect that matters, users will quickly devolve into making the choice for the most points. This leads to a spiral where users will find less and less fulfilment in your system and choose to abandon it. These points are organised under a points system, which determines how the points work, how they are earned, if they are spendable, and events that increase or decrease them.

Effectiveness of Achievements

The scale a points system uses can have a significant effect on how the point will have on users. To illustrate this, a tight points system where users earn points with a maximum of 5 has a different effect than a points system providing points with a maximum of 100. With a tight points system, you get to make each point worth more, which can lead to users planning to earn more points. A high volume point system can provide the user with more autonomy in how they choose to earn their points.

Based on studies about gamification in the wellness space, self-determination theory is frequently used by researchers to analyse the effectiveness of points. Self-determination theory focuses on motivation and how fulfilment of three psychological needs can make an activity something people enjoy doing. Points in gamification fulfill a psychological need for competence.

Competence helps users feel like they can complete and perform tasks that they are assigned to do. Studies show that points which award users for taking correct actions are effective in helping users continue practising those actions. Depending on the system, users can be driven to mastery of tasks as gamification helps them clearly determine if they have improved at the task.

Case Study: Bear in Mind - Points in Gamification

We used points in our Bear in Mind project, a gamified app for mental wellness built in collaboration with SafeCare BC. Bear in Mind is a digital training app which has scenario-based learning for continuing care workers. For this project, points are an excellent solution as it allows awarding users points for taking different actions. More specifically, users are presented with on the job scenarios.

Responding to a less effective action rewards users some points, but an excellent solution gives a greater amount of points. As we are using it for feedback and users can improve their score with better answers users going through to optimise their points will result in them figuring out what actions they should take in their positions.

If you’d like to learn more about Gamification and how it can benefit your company let us know at info@raccoopack.media

References:

Review of several studies about gamification in the wellbeing space. Johnson, Daniel & Deterding, Sebastian & Kuhn, Kerri-Ann & Staneva, Aleksandra & Stoyanov, Stoyan & Hides, Leanne. (2016). Gamification for Health and Wellbeing:A Systematic Review of the Literature. Internet Interventions. 6. 89-106. 10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002.

Self Determination Resource Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2021). Self Determination Theory. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory/