A Framework for

Gamified Education
For: University of Agder By: Yu-kai Chou
Guild Leader:Yu-kai Chou
Early Pioneer of Gamification for 10 years

Parter at the Enterprise Gamification Consultancy

Original creator of the Octalysis Framework

Regular Keynote Speaker/Lecturer at Stanford
University, TEDx, Accenture, SxSW, Google, etc.

Rated a #1 Gamification Guru in the world by UK-
Based Leaderboarded
Humans have an innate desire to learn
Learning is one of our most
fundamental activities
Things become boring when there is nothing
more to learn
However….
 Current school and education
systems break that desire to learn
When you ask kids, “What’s work?”
When you ask kids, “What’s work?”

They will say, “School! Homework!”

When you ask kids, “What’s play?”
When you ask kids, “What’s play?”

They will say, “Games!!!!!!!!!”

Students like to do the bare minimum to achieve
acceptable score
Many students only reach out for help when they feel
like they are failing.
Humans don’t like to read through long texts
or sit through long lectures
We learn by doing. Trial and error.
We learn by watching others go through it.
We learn through stories
 Unfortunately, the things we need to learn
became more complex and more abstract, but
technology and medium of technology could not
catch up to it for the past centuries.
Games?
Games?

Entertainment Software Association (2012)

 Games?

Average Gamer: 35 Years Old

68% Gamers Over 18 Year Old

47% Gamers are Women

More Adult Women than Under 18 Male

Entertainment Software Association (2012)

Source: Entertainment Software Association (2012)

 The Magic
Kids nowadays have bad work ethics?

No Discipline?
 The Magic
Waking up behind parents’ back 3AM in the
morning to level up = AMAZING work ethics
 The Magic
In Role-Playing Games (RPG), Leveling up often
involves killing the same monsters in the same stage
over and over again for hours or weeks
 The Magic
Gamers call this “grinding.”
It’s Fun & Addicting.
 The Magic
In the real world, this is called Grunt
Work. It’s Boring & Torturous.
 The Magic
If games can get kids to voluntarily do hours of
secret grunt work, it can get anyone engaged to
anything
 The Magic
If it is well designed
 The Magic
If it is well designed
“Human-Focused Design”
• As opposed to “Function Focused Design”

• System that is designed to optimize for the

motivations and feelings of the human inside

• ...instead of assuming the people within are robots

that will complete the task

vs
 “Human-Focused Design”
• Gaming industry = first to master Human-Focused Design

• Games have spent decades/centuries mastering how to

engage people without a mandated purpose

• Now we are learning from games, hence “Gamification”

vs
Kids who play Card Games like Magic the Gathering
need to remember a ton of information
…more information than the periodic table
Motivation > Intelligence
How do we build motivation?
 What is Gamification?

Game Elements Non-Game (Boring) Context

 Global Movement
Gartner predicts 70% of Fortune 500 will use
Gamification by 2014
 Except...
Gartner also predicts 80% of the gamified apps
will fail due to bad design
 The Cause
Agencies and individuals claim to be experts at
whatever is the new “Buzzword”
 The Cause
Everyone focuses on PBLs (Points, Badges &
Leaderboards)

Points Leaderboards

Badges
 The Cause
Similar to “Social Media Marketing” 4 years ago
 The Cause
Similar to “Social Media Marketing” 4 years ago

Real SMM is not simply creating a Twitter

Profile and Facebook Page
 The Cause
Beginning with “game mechanics” instead of
the Core Drives
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????

+ +

+ +
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????

+ +

+ +

A game can have all the right “game

elements” but still be stupid/boring.
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????

+ +

+ +

In fact, ALL games have “game elements”

but most games suck and are boring.
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????

+ +

+ +

It’s naive to think that once you plug game

mechanics into your company, it will be successful
 Bad Game Designer
We need swords...where can they go? Oh yes, monsters. Of
course! We need cows! And friends that can fertilize crops!

+ + + = ????

+ +

+ +

Only a few well-designed games achieve

the status of Winning & Addicting
Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to...
Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to FEEL?
Inspired? Proud? Scared?
Good Game Designer
How do I want my users to FEEL?
Inspired? Proud? Scared?

Hmm, Okay. What game elements do I need in

order to accomplish that goal?

? ? ? ?
Good Gamification
!

does not start with

Game Elements
!

but starts with our

Core Drives
 -Narrative -Beginners Luck

-Points -Elitism -Free Lunch

-Badges (Achievement Symbols) -Humanity Hero
-Destiny Child
-Milestone Unlock

-Fixed Action Rewards -Higher Meaning -CoCreator -Evergreen Mechanics

-Leaderboard -General’s Carrot

-Progress Bar
-Real-Time Control

-Quest Lists
-Chain Combos

-Win Prize
-Instant feedback

-High-Five -Boosters

-Blank Fills
-Crowning
Meaning -Voluntary Autonomy

-LevelUp Symphony

-Aura Effect
-Choice Perception
-Step-by-Step Tutorial

-Boss Fights Accomplishment Empowerment
-Friending

-Social Treasure/Gifting

-Virtual Goods
-SeeSaw Bump

Octalysis
-Build from Scratch -Group Quest

-Collection Set
-Touting
-Avatar Ownership Social
-Earned Lunch Influence -Bragging

-Learning Curve
-Water Cooler

-Protection
-Thank-You Economy

-Recruitment
-Mentorship

-Monitoring
-Social Prod
Scarcity Unpredictability

-Glowing Choice

-Appointment Dynamics
Avoidance -MiniQuests
-Fixed Intervals

-Visual Storytelling

-Dangling

-Easter Eggs

-Prize Pacing

-Random Rewards

-Options Pacing

-Obvious Wonder

-Patient Feedback

-Rolling Rewards

-Count Down
-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Status Quo Sloth
-Mischief

-Throttles
-Progress Loss
-Scarlet Letter
-Sudden Rewards

-Moats -FOMO
-Visual Grave
-Oracle Effect
-Evanescence Opportunity -Weep Tune
 Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment

Octalysis
Ownership Social
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance
 Meaning

Octalysis
Epic Meaning & Calling
Accomplishment

Octalysis
Development &
Accomplishment
 Empowerment

Octalysis
Empowerment of
Creativity & Feedback
 Ownership &
Ownership

Octalysis
Possession
 Social Influence
Octalysis
Social Influence
& Relatedness
 Octalysis
Scarcity & Impatience

Scarcity
 Octalysis
Unpredictability & Curiosity

Unpredictability
 Skinner Box

Octalysis
Unpredictability & Curiosity

Unpredictability
Octalysis
Loss & Avoidance

Avoidance
 Meaning

Left Accomplishment Empowerment

Right
Brain Brain
Octalysis
Ownership Social
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance
 Meaning

Left Accomplishment Empowerment

Right
Brain Brain

Extrinsic (tendency)
Octalysis
Ownership Social
Influence

Intrinsic (tendency)

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance
White Hat Gamification

Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment

Octalysis
Ownership Social
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

Black Hat Gamification

White Hat Gamification

Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment
Zynga figured out how to do a lot of Black Hat techniques,
which led to great engagement and monetization metrics for
Octalysis
each user. But inOwnership
the long run, users leave when
Social
Influence
they
because they don’t feel like they are in control over
CAN

themselves.
Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

Black Hat Gamification

Self-Submission to Black Hat Gamification

Just because it’s called Black Hat

doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad
 -Narrative -Beginners Luck

-Points -Elitism -Free Lunch

-Badges (Achievement Symbols) -Humanity Hero
-Destiny Child
-Milestone Unlock

-Fixed Action Rewards -Higher Meaning -CoCreator -Evergreen Mechanics

-Leaderboard -General’s Carrot

-Progress Bar
-Real-Time Control

-Quest Lists
-Chain Combos

-Win Prize
-Instant feedback

-High-Five -Boosters

-Blank Fills
-Crowning
Meaning -Voluntary Autonomy

-LevelUp Symphony

-Aura Effect
-Choice Perception
-Step-by-Step Tutorial

-Boss Fights Accomplishment Empowerment
-Friending

-Social Treasure/Gifting

-Virtual Goods
-SeeSaw Bump

Octalysis
-Build from Scratch -Group Quest

-Collection Set
-Touting
-Avatar Ownership Social
-Earned Lunch Influence -Bragging

-Learning Curve
-Water Cooler

-Protection
-Thank-You Economy

-Recruitment
-Mentorship

-Monitoring
-Social Prod
Scarcity Unpredictability

-Glowing Choice

-Appointment Dynamics
Avoidance -MiniQuests
-Fixed Intervals

-Visual Storytelling

-Dangling

-Easter Eggs

-Prize Pacing

-Random Rewards

-Options Pacing

-Obvious Wonder

-Patient Feedback

-Rolling Rewards

-Count Down
-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Status Quo Sloth
-Mischief

-Throttles
-Progress Loss
-Scarlet Letter
-Sudden Rewards

-Moats -FOMO
-Visual Grave
-Oracle Effect
-Evanescence Opportunity -Weep Tune
 -Elitism

-Staying in touch with friends

-Stalking -Sharing whatever you want

-Completed Profile

-More friends
-TONS of Facebook games
-Increased likes and comments
-Instant feedback of friends “liking”
-Aura Effect Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment

Social
Ownership
Influence
Octalysis Score: 448 -Friend Invites

-Conformity

-Build from Scratch -Social Prod

-Photos/Profiles -Social Treasure

-Friends
Scarcity Unpredictability Group Quests

-Memories
-Touting

-Protection
-Envy

-Recruitment

-Earned lunch

-Monitoring Avoidance

-Inner Circles

-Glowing Choice

Note: (Early
-MiniQuests
Facebook has
-Refreshing Content
HIGH scarcity
-Suspense
score with certain
universities only)

-Scarlet Letter
-Sunk Cost Tragedy
 -Farm getting Bigger & Better
-No higher meaning besides being a farmer
-Difficult badges for sorts of crops
-Reward Loops
-Allows the ability to “paint” with
your farm

Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment -Leaderboard

-Group Farming
-Free Social Gifts

-Ownership of Farm -Neighbors
-Virtual Goods

Octalysis
Ownership

Octalysis Score: 414

Social
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

-Waiting for what’s next in the game

-Appointment Dynamics
-Milestone Unlock
-Real-money Only Crops -Avoid plants withering

-Free Social Gifts -Avoid losing opportunities

-Season-based Gifts -Avoid Sunk-Cost Tragedy
 -Leveling Up
-Saving the world of “Sanctuary”
-Plot line -Diablo II Legacy
-4 Difficulties
-Help others
-Skills

-Gear -Massive Skill Combinations
-Different challenges each stage

Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment

-Multiplayer Game
-Characters -Friend gear and hours

Octalysis
-Items
-Mentoring
-Auction House
Social
Ownership
Influence

Octaylsis Score: 284

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

-Storyline
-Item Drops
-Randomized Maps
-Randomized Elites

-Item Drops
-Repetitive Plot
-Skill Sets
-Item Durability

-Bottleneck
-Avoid Sunk-Cost Tragedy
 -Follower Gain

-Retweets
-Character Limit
-Responses
-Microblogging Wave
-Witty/valuable content
-Unique Information

Meaning
-Friends on Twitter

Accomplishment Empowerment -Followers
-Responses

-Companionship
-Thank You Economy

-Followers

Ownership Social
-Information
Octalysis Score: 267
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

-Interesting Tweets
-Fail Whale -Surprising content
-Character Limit
-Will someone respond?
-Follower Count -Quick news
-Friend Loss
 -Helping a weird monster solve problems

“Sweet” “Delicious!”
Constantly looking for better comb
Level tracks and “Boss Stages”
and planning boosters
1-3 Stars

Defeating Chocolate
Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment

Quest to accumulate more Social Treasure - Lives

points and boosters See friend progress
Ownership Social
Influence
Octalysis Score: 432

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

Always waiting for the right

gems

Seeing levels ahead

Countdown timer/moves
Unpredictable Gems

Balancing Owl Gems Random Combos
Avoiding Loss

Fear of the chocolate
encroaching candy
 “You need a LinkedIn Account”

Finding that dream job you are passionate about
Progress Bar

“X People saw your profile”

Better ways to “dress up” your profile
Recommendations

and build reputation in communities.
Endorsements

Meaning
Social Treasure -
Recommendations

Accomplishment Empowerment Social Prodding -
Endorsements

X People saw my profile

Ownership Social
Influence
Octalysis Score: 294

Your life.Your Job.

Accumulating more contacts. Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance

Are recruiters Googling my

Want to see her profile? name and seeing my profile?

Upgrade to Premium!
How many people view my
Want to connect? Upgrade to profile?
Premium!

Avoiding Loss of Career

Avoiding Bad Reputation
 Level 2 Octalysis
Design for All 4 Phases

Discovery Onboarding Scaffolding Endgame

 Level 2 Octalysis
Design for All 4 Phases

Discovery Onboarding Scaffolding Endgame

 Killers
Socializers
Explorers
Achievers

Discovery Onboarding Scaffolding Endgame

Killers
Socializers
Explorers
Achievers

Discovery Onboarding Scaffolding Endgame

1) Epic Meaning & Calling
Part of something bigger than yourself
Elitism
 Elitism

People see themselves as “Apple People” and will do

whatever Apple People “should” do. They will do it until
they feel that Apple is no longer a vision worth believing
in (think 1984 ad: not about specs but on ideals)
PainSquad
Translating the Web = Higher Meaning
2) Development & Accomplishment
Feeling Progress and Achievement
 When you buy something on eBay, you didn’t just buy
something - you WON!! Maybe you overpaid, but at least you
beat those 10 other bastards that were bidding against you
 Most people forget that another one of Twitter’s innovations is
the one-way follow. Because it is one-way, it feels like more of an
accomplishment when people follow you (and you don’t follow
back).
Code Spells
3) Empowerment of Creativity
& Feedback
The creator inside of us
Piano Staircase: 66% more people used staircase
Piano Staircase: 66% more people used staircase

Users will use the stairs more if they can

use their creativity to create music and
hear immediate feedback
 FoldIt

15 Year Problem Solved in 10 Days!

4) Ownership & Possession
The more you have, the more you want
 Customizing Your Avatar
Makes you feel more ownership over it as your own identity
Mcdonald’s Monopoly Game
 It feels very awkward when you only have 2
or 3 of the four-season deers, so players
would do a lot to complete their collection
instead of waiting for another 36 months for
the right season
DragonBox
5) Social Influence & Relatedness
What others think can kill you
Game Technique #22:
Group Quests
 Game Technique #22:
Group Quests

Group Quests have been in games for a long

time (think guilds in WoW), but it was only
adopted into companies like Groupon and
Kickstarter in recent years
Mentorship
 Mentorship

Because I was assigned a mentor, who gave

me a bunch of free stuff and invested his
time to help me level, I felt bad quitting the
game so stayed on for much longer
6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side
6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side

Mozzy
6) Scarcity & Impatience
The Grass On The Other Side

Laurelix
7) Unpredictability & Curiosity
What kills the cat
The Boy Is the Toy
8) Loss & Avoidance
The threat is stronger than the execution
Gamification – Zombies Run!

©2011-2013 Mario Herger. All rights reserved. www.enterprise-gamification.com | www.gamificationcommunity.com !124

Speed Camera Lottery
Speed Camera Lottery
 Autonomy

Competence Meaning

Accomplishment Empowerment
Relatedness

Octalysis
Ownership Social
Influence

Scarcity Unpredictability

Avoidance
Motivation for School
How do we get people to care about
what they are learning??
6 Steps to Find Your Calling
Industry Occupation Talents

Game Role Stats

Abilities Network Achievements

Skills Alliance Quests

Pick Your Game

vs
 Pick Your Game

vs

Based on your passions

Determine Your Role
 Determine Your Role

Based on your interests and skills

Access your Initial Stats

What are your innate talents?

 Access your Initial Stats

What do you do better than everyone

else in this world?
 Access your Initial Stats

Don’t be an Axeman if your strengths

lie in magic
 Your Talent Triangle
Associative Thinking

Leadership Empowerment

Emotional Sensitivity Creativity

Empathy Building Trust

Optimism Systems Creation

Learn-Use Conversion You Adaptation

Strategy Analytical Skills

Gem Spotting Interpersonal Speaking

Group Speaking Events Memory

Build your Skill Sets
 Build your Skill Sets

Plan out your ideal skill combo

 Skill Triangle-Now
Coaching

Networking Leadership

English/Mandarin Innovation

Gamification Social Media

Branding Project Management

Recruitment
You Pitching

Finance Sustainability

Excel Analytics

Virtual Worlds Photoshop

 Skill Triangle-Final
Octalysis Gamification

Game Dynamics Business Systems

Motivational Psychology Behavioral Economics

Technology Implementations Neurobiology

Trustful Persuasion Presentation

SEO Social Media

You
Entrepreneurship Innovation

Keynote Analytics

English/Chinese/ Leadership
Spanish
Find Allies
 Find Allies

Find people with the same passion and

Complementary Skills
 Find Allies

Find people who are much higher level

than you are
 Find Allies

Help lower level people level up

Complete Quests
 Complete Quests

Find small quests that help you beat

the final mission
Complete Quests

Level up and grow with

teammates
Beat the Game
 Beat the Game

Fulfill your life with meaning

 Beat the Game

Retire or find new games to master

The Future of Education
 -Narrative -Beginners Luck
-Milestone Unlock

-Points -Elitism -Free Lunch
-General’s Carrot

-Badges -Humanity Hero -Chosen One -Real-Time Control

-Fixed Action Rewards -Chain Combos

-Leaderboard -Instant feedback

-Progress Bar
-Boosters

-Quest Lists
-Blank Fills
-Win Prize
-Step-by-Step Tutorial

-High-Five
-Crowning
Meaning
-LevelUp Symphony

-Aura Effect

-Juicy Feedback

-Boss Fights Accomplishment Empowerment
-Friend Invites

-Social Treasure/Gifting

-Virtual Goods
-Envy

Octalysis
-Build from Scratch -Group Quest

-Collection Set
-Touting
-Dangling Ownership Social
-Earned Lunch Pressure -Bragging

-Learning Curve
-Must Marketing

-Protection
-Thank-You Economy

-Recruitment
-Mentorship

-Monitoring
-Social Prod
-Avatar Scarcity Unpredictability

-Glowing Choice

-Appointment Dynamics
Avoidance -MiniQuest
-Fixed Intervals
-Visual Storytelling

-Prize Pacing
-Easter Eggs

-Options Pacing
-Random Rewards

-Patient Feedback
-Sudden Tips

-Count Down
-Rolling Rewards

-Throttles
-Grounded
-Mischief

-Sunk-Cost Tragedy
-Scarlet Letter

-Moats -Sudden Rewards

-Lost Progress
-Visual Grave
-Suspense
-Guilting -Weep Tune
Mario  Herger Yu-­‐kai  Chou

Marigo  Ra7opoulos Roman  Rackwitz

Companies  we  have  worked  with
 Thank You.
Truly.
Octalysis.com Enterprise-Gamification.com

yukai@yukaichou.com