Techniques on applying gamification ideas to user experience design from UX Architect Joseph Dickerson.

1. Gamification and UX design
Joseph Dickerson

2. Introduction
• There’s been a lot of discussion in the user
experience space over the past few months on
"Gamification"
• Gamification: using techniques and attributes from
video games and applying them to other domains
(such as web or productivity apps) to better
engage users
• I have surveyed the many thoughts on this topic and
have some of my own

3. Keep the "score" positive
• I tested a design with users that used a “score” in a prominent
location
• The number represented assets and liabilities “totaled up”
• Because it could sometimes be a negative number, it was not as
useful as it could be
• If a “score” is perceived as negative or judgmental it may “turn off”
users
• It should represent positive progress
• If progress is slow, don’t take points away, just keep the score
“steady"

4. "Great artists steal"
• Learn from where it’s already being done and done
well
• Do you have reward points on your credit cards? Or
with an airline or a hotel chain?
• These royalty programs are “scores” that
influence behavior
• Look at how successful loyalty programs work and
apply appropriate lessons from them in your design

5. Provide tiny victories
• If you have an design that is used frequently
(or you want it to be used frequently) provide
tiny victories that give positive reinforcement
• The victories can be absolutely meaningless
to anyone except the user
• Positive reinforcement will influence repeat
visits and use

6. Encourage positive behavior
• I just bought an iPod Nano and started using the built-
in pedometer
• It logs every step, and gives me that “score” every
day
• It’s a little thing, but having it on my person has made
me get up and walk around more than I used to
• Awards and points when you accomplish something
(on a to-do list, for example) is a great and simple
motivator

7. Keep the user's core task in mind
• I saw a recent design that “gamified” e-mail
• While it had some good ideas, it didn’t work because it
tried to align a game concept with a communication
medium
• The classic square peg/round hole scenario - It didn’t
fit
• Remember the context of use and the core tasks of an
application… and be mindful that gamification may not
work

8. Avoid timers
• Users are time sensitive as is, and if you have a timer you
immediately add an additional stress to the user’s life…
• ...and you better have a damn good reason to do so
• Ticketmaster’s timer (which counts down how long you
have to buy a ticket) is a good example of why to do it –
but it’s still annoying and pressures the user
• If you use timers to try and “increase productivity” in an
app, you should ask yourself: Would I want my computer
to “time me” doing what I am doing?

9. Don't make your design
too competitive
• If you make a social web app competitive then
you are going to stratify your user base...
• ..and potentially end up creating an experience
that alienates new users who don’t have the
same “experience points” as older users
• Good game “worlds” has “silos” that group users
of similar level, and so there is less “class
warfare” between the 1% and the other 99%…

10. Closing
• Gamification is a tactic, not a roadmap
• It may not work for many different situations or
design problems
• Use these techniques thoughtfully and
carefully

11. http://www.josephdickerson.com
@josephdickerson