The Gametize Scorecard is designed to be a guiding light to make awesome games.
Let’s begin with this basic checklist (inspired by Gametize’s 5D framework). Though, if you are already a Gametize 5D ninja, just skip them altogether and go straight to Gametize Scorecard below.
1. Define the problem
Let’s get real here, what’s bothering you, that you think gamification can help? Are you able to draw a fishbone diagram so you can figure out what are the root causes of the problem?
Examples of Problem Statements:
- Retention of knowledge is 10% after every workshop
- Root causes: The digital platform is disengaging, there are no followups
- E-learning completion is 30% and the dropout rate is high
- Job candidates still don’t know much about our company in the interviews
- Awareness on diversity is rock bottom in my company
- There are no conversations, and people don’t know their biasness
- Nobody is talking about my brand and a lot of money is spent on advertising
- We have loyal customers but they aren’t talking about us
- We are spending too much time generating our own content for marketing
Side note: Let's call a spade, a spade. Don't fall into the trap of "I don't have a problem, I just want to make something better". If you don't have a problem, you are actually looking to solve nothing and I have a better idea for you in that case: put your money under your bed instead - you instantly get a better ROI a year from now!Being realistic and honest is the first key step to creating a meaningful gamificaton campaign. You definitely aren't doing this because it is fun or you want to make the world a better place. Defining the problem is a critical step, and sets the tone for the entire design workfow. Don't worry, you can always revisit and redefine it, so don't let this intimidate you. At the same time, if the problem suffers from hygiene issues (e.g. poor retention of product knowledge because your product is designed for rocket scientists , or nobody is talking about your brand because your brand is really really bad, then you should be looking to change your business maybe!)
2. Determine the goals
Let’s talk about quantities here. Don’t fuss too much on this, and determine some numbers here that would make you a very very happy person. Make sure they are achievable!
Examples of Goals:
- Retention of knowledge is 50% after every workshop
- E-learning completion is 70% and the dropout rate is significant decreased
- 9/10 job candidates knows our company well before the interview
- 9/10 employees in the company say they are interested in promoting diversity
- There are 1,000 mentions of my brand on social media on a daily basis
- 90% of our content are now generated by our customers
3. Decide the target behaviours and emotions
Let’s talk about qualities here. What are the behaviors that can help you solve the problem, conquer the root causes, and get to the goal above?
Examples of target behaviors:
- Users are doing challenges to compete with each other.
- Users are collaborating to help each other get past the level.
- Users are having conversations about diversity offline and taking selfies to promote the awareness.
- Job candidates can answer quizzes to learn more about the company.
- Employees learn about their own bias and act upon them.
- Customers are posting reviews about the product, good or bad.
- Customers are referring customers.
Examples of target emotions:
- “This is a rewarding game where I can win surprise prizes”
- “I never thought this new skill I learn is so useful!”
- “The company makes me feel recognized and exclusive”
- “I could actually improve other people’s lives by contributing in this game”
- “I now know much more about myself”
4. Describe your players
Who are these players? What are their player types and what motivates them?
(see Richard Bartle Player Types)
Examples of profiles:
- Alice is a Killer who enjoys competition
- Billy is motivated by socializing and being in a community
- Charlie likes discovering content and learning new lifehacks
- Alice uses Instagram everyday to post new photos of her healthy lifestyle
- Billy loves discounts even though he is a high income earner
Do not proceed if you haven’t tackled these questions. Otherwise, well done! Now that you have these information, let’s go on to design the Gametize experience, based on the following scorecard. You don’t have to hit a perfect score, but these are questions that you should keep in mind.
The actual Gametize Scorecard
Project/Topic and Rewards
- How clear are the objectives of the project/topic for the players? ___/10
(Do players know what to expect? Do they know what are the rewards, if any? Are these in the descriptions?) - How attractive are the rewards to the described players (monetary or non-monetary) ___/10
(For Enterprises, avoidance of penalties can be a form of reward too, e.g. no need for additional courses) - Are there any “wow factors” or surprise discovery of achievements in place? ___/10
(If so, are players somewhat aware, and how easy can the early achievements be discovered?) - How focused are the project/topics? ___/10
(Is the project/topic too broad? Are the challenges specific and consistent in theme?)
Challenges
- How easy is it to complete the on-boarding (very first) challenge? ___/10
- How appealing are the challenges to the described players? __/10
(Will the players be intrinsically motivated? e.g. sharing photos let them express themselves)
- Will there be fresh challenges rolled out? If so, is the schedule well designed? ___/10
(Also, are the players aware of new challenges periodically?)
- Are the challenges well thought out, relevant to the objectives/goals/problem, instead of being random? ___/10
- Are the challenges easy to understand? ___/10
- The number of challenges are manageable for the target user ___/10
(We do not recommend having too many challenges in a single topic. Instead, segregate them.)
Post-submission message/Feedback
- How clear and frequent are the post-submission messages? ___/10
- Are the post-submission messages relevant to objective/goals? ___/10
Some food for thoughts
- What motivates the user to achieve the targeted behavior? (Every time I want to ______, I use the app)
- Is this a long-term or short-term game? If it is the former, what are your plans to sustain interest in the long run?
- Does the challenges increase with difficulty over time to give users a sense of mastery?
