Applied Game Design for Non-Entertainment Systems
In the last couple of years, we have seen a rapid explosion of mass-market consumer software that takes deep inspiration from video games, especially from game design. This phenomenon has been called “gamification” and this game design trend connects existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction, psychology, and game studies, especially serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, and playful design. Using game design elements, such as reward or punishment systems, in non-game contexts to motivate user activity has rapidly gained traction in interaction design. This has spawned an intense debate within the professional game development community as well as the development of numerous “gamified” applications – ranging from productivity to finance, health, sustainability, news, user-generated content (UGC), and tutorials. Our goal in this research is to identify what game design elements are especially suitable to motivate behaviour in what areas of non-entertainment products.
People
Lead
Participants
Rina WehbePh.D. Student, EEG Analysis of Gameplay Comprehension 
Dennis KappenPh.D. Student, Game Design and User Interaction for Older Adults
Publications
Year 2017
Gustavo F. Tondello and
Lennart E. Nacke. 2017. Applying Gameful Design Heuristics. In
Proceeding of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI 2017. Denver, CO, USA. ACM, 1209-1212.
doi:10.1145/3027063.3027116 @inproceedings{Tondello2017,
abstract = {To evaluate gameful apps and games, we have recently developed a new set of guidelines for heuristic evaluation of gameful design in interactive systems, supporting the quickly growing gamification research area. Our set of 28 gamification heuristics allows rapid evaluation of a gameful system. This course will supply attendees with our gameful design heuristics and train them in using the heuristics on an example application (Duolingo). The course is structured into two 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn the new heuristics and apply them to the gamified application. Finally, at the end of the second unit, we will be discussing how to generate design ideas with the heuristics. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and have experience in designing and evaluating gamified applications and teaching courses.},
address = {Denver, CO, USA},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceeding of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
doi = {10.1145/3027063.3027116},
file = {:C$\backslash$:/Users/Gustavo/Dropbox/PhD/My Publications/2017-Applying Gameful Design Heuristics.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {9781450346566},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Gamification,Heuristics},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Applying Gameful Design Heuristics}},
year = {2017}
}To evaluate gameful apps and games, we have recently developed a new set of guidelines for heuristic evaluation of gameful design in interactive systems, supporting the quickly growing gamification research area. Our set of 28 gamification heuristics allows rapid evaluation of a gameful system. This course will supply attendees with our gameful design heuristics and train them in using the heuristics on an example application (Duolingo). The course is structured into two 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn the new heuristics and apply them to the gamified application. Finally, at the end of the second unit, we will be discussing how to generate design ideas with the heuristics. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and have experience in designing and evaluating gamified applications and teaching courses.
Year 2016
Dennis L. Kappen,
Lennart E. Nacke, Kathrin M. Gerling, and Lia E. Tsotsos. 2016. Design Strategies for Gamified Physical Activity Applications for Older Adults. In
Proceedings of the 49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. IEEE, 1309-1318.
doi:10.1109/HICSS.2016.166 @inproceedings{Kappen2016,
abstract = {Staying physically active is essential to wellbeing in late life. However, many older adults experience barriers to physical activity. Past research has investigated the development of playful interactive systems to support exercise routines and reduce access barriers. Yet, little research has been done on older adults' needs and preferences regarding technologies that support physical activity. We address this issue through an exploration of older adults' exercise motivations grouped around themes relevant to technology design. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 older adults, and followed up with a focus group study of physical trainers and older adults with an active lifestyle. Based on our results, we discuss their conflicting perspectives and challenges on exercise and technology, which leads us to contribute design strategies to support designers as well as researchers wishing to create meaningful and playful fitness applications for older adults.},
author = {Kappen, Dennis L. and Nacke, Lennart E. and Gerling, Kathrin M. and Tsotsos, Lia E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences-49},
doi = {10.1109/HICSS.2016.166},
file = {:C$\backslash$:/Users/Gustavo/Dropbox/PhD/HCI Games Publications/2016/Design Strategies for Gamified Physical Activity Applications for Older Adults.pdf:pdf},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
pages = {1309--1318},
title = {{Design Strategies for Gamified Physical Activity Applications for Older Adults}},
year = {2016}
}Staying physically active is essential to wellbeing in late life. However, many older adults experience barriers to physical activity. Past research has investigated the development of playful interactive systems to support exercise routines and reduce access barriers. Yet, little research has been done on older adults’ needs and preferences regarding technologies that support physical activity. We address this issue through an exploration of older adults’ exercise motivations grouped around themes relevant to technology design. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 older adults, and followed up with a focus group study of physical trainers and older adults with an active lifestyle. Based on our results, we discuss their conflicting perspectives and challenges on exercise and technology, which leads us to contribute design strategies to support designers as well as researchers wishing to create meaningful and playful fitness applications for older adults.
Gustavo F. Tondello,
Rina R. Wehbe, Lisa Diamond, Marc Busch, Andrzej Marczewski, and
Lennart E. Nacke. 2016. The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale. In
Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '16. Austin, TX, USA. ACM.
doi:10.1145/2967934.2968082 @inproceedings{Tondello2016,
abstract = {Several studies have indicated the need for personalizing gamified systems to users' personalities. However, mapping user personality onto design elements is difficult. Hexad is a gamification user types model that attempts this mapping but lacks a standard procedure to assess user preferences. Therefore, we created a 24-items survey response scale to score users' preferences towards the six different motivations in the Hexad framework. We used internal and test-retest reliability analysis, as well as factor analysis, to validate this new scale. Further analysis revealed significant associations of the Hexad user types with the Big Five personality traits. In addition, a correlation analysis confirmed the framework's validity as a measure of user preference towards different game design elements. This scale instrument contributes to games user research because it enables accurate measures of user preference in gamification.},
address = {Austin, TX, USA},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Wehbe, Rina R. and Diamond, Lisa and Busch, Marc and Marczewski, Andrzej and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '16},
doi = {10.1145/2967934.2968082},
file = {:C$\backslash$:/Users/Gustavo/Google Drive/HCI Games Group Documents/Projects and Papers/Gamification player types/Hexad Validation Paper/The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale-Camera Ready.pdf:pdf},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Gamification,Hexad,User Types},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale}},
year = {2016}
}Several studies have indicated the need for personalizing gamified systems to users' personalities. However, mapping user personality onto design elements is difficult. Hexad is a gamification user types model that attempts this mapping but lacks a standard procedure to assess user preferences. Therefore, we created a 24-items survey response scale to score users' preferences towards the six different motivations in the Hexad framework. We used internal and test-retest reliability analysis, as well as factor analysis, to validate this new scale. Further analysis revealed significant associations of the Hexad user types with the Big Five personality traits. In addition, a correlation analysis confirmed the framework's validity as a measure of user preference towards different game design elements. This scale instrument contributes to games user research because it enables accurate measures of user preference in gamification.
