sxsw keynote - the game layer on top of the world
DESCRIPTION
Seth Priebatsch's SXSW Keynote on the game layer on top of the world.Seth Priebatsch is Chief Ninja of SCVNGR (www.scvngr.com) and their new pilot LevelUp (TheLevelUp.com)TRANSCRIPT
The Game Layer on Top of the World
Seth Priebatsch Chief Ninja
@SethPriebatsch
TheLevelUp.com scvngr.com
The Game Layer
Social Layer à Connections Last decade All about connections Facebook’s Open Graph Construction is over
The Decade of Games
Game Layer à Influence Next decade All about influence No set foundations Construction has just begun (and we’ll all be involved)
1. School
2. Customer Acquisition
Game Break 1
3. Loyalty
4. LBS à Mainstream
5. Global Warming
Game Break 2
#GameLayer + Questions
What can the game layer do for me?
Schools are near-perfect game ecosystems: • Motivated Players • Challenges • Rewards • Rules • Allies • Enemies • Levels • Appointment Dynamics • Countdowns • Incentives / Disincentives • And on and on and on….
School is a game (just a poorly designed one)
School
Problem Solution
Engagement • Grading is Broken • Moral Hazard Of Gameplay
Progression Dynamic • Status & Levels
Cheating • Misapplied Disincentives • Ruins Game Integrity
Social Fabric of Gameplay • Player <-> Player Trust
2 Problems, 2 Fixes School
Engagement School
Moral Hazard of Gameplay School
“But look how many points I have!” School
Grades Fail As Rewards Status Quo:
- Grades are simply levels. - Valedictorians, percentiles, honor students are statuses.
Problem: - You can lose this game! - Failing (progressing negatively) is a constant possibility. - Shouldn’t ever be able to “level-down.” - A => C or B => C is BAD.
Solution: - Re-implement grades as a progression dynamic. - XP++, not a weighted average. - Focus on the positive end goal, not the negative.
School
One Bad Day
School Right Now School
+10XP
School Meets WoW School
Grades (status) => Levels (progression)
• Decrease direct correlation of action to reward
• Focus on final goal, not interim ersatz rewards
• Increase engagement levels in school.
School
Bad: Cheating School
Disincentives School
Bad
Misapplied Disincentives
Good
School
People At Princeton Don’t Cheat (Most) People At Princeton Don’t Cheat School
The only two rules are • Write the Honor Code • Complicity is a Crime
No Oversight = No Cheating? School
• Change the game • Move from omnipotent admin to a
self-enforced game.
Social Fabric Of Gameplay School
School’s Out School
Customer Acquisition Customer Acquisition
Dissecting Groupon
Free lunch + Communal Gameplay + Countdown
Customer Acquisition
Free Lunch Customer Acquisition
Communal Gameplay Customer Acquisition
Countdown Customer Acquisition
And that, plus an email list = Groupon Customer Acquisition
GAME #1
Game 1: Practice Makes Perfect
START CLAPPING
NOW CLAP IN SYNC
GREAT JOB!
Loyalty Loyalty
Status (“Hi Norm”) Loyalty
I want that one ’cause it’s black! Loyalty
The “level-up” Loyalty
Inclusive Ownership Loyalty
Exclusive Ownership Loyalty
Inclusive Ownership Loyalty
LBS à Mainstream LBS à Mainstream
Big Partners LBS à Mainstream
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Foursquare SCVNGR MyTown Shopkick Whrrl Gowalla
Valuation Raised
Big Money LBS à Mainstream
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
Valuation Raised
Big Money + Facebook LBS à Mainstream
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Foursquare SCVNGR MyTown Shopkick Whrrl Gowalla
Valuation Raised
Big Money LBS à Mainstream
Social LBS Users
Using Social LBS People In This Room Everyone Else
Big Partners + Big Money = Big Results…
…Right?
LBS à Mainstream
Quantitative Easing (Loosen The Rules) LBS à Mainstream
Tightly V. Loosely Location-Based
Strictly Location Based Loosely Location Based
LBS à Mainstream
“Beware the jabberwock, the jub-jub bird, and the moral hazard of gameplay”
- Lewis Caroll (kind of)
Reward Schedules LBS à Mainstream
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
12/6/2010 1/6/2011 2/6/2011 3/6/2011
Challenges Visits
Rewards launched
Critical mass of players reached
Rewards Work! Buffalo Wild Wings Locations
LBS à Mainstream
Facebook + Gap = Ok, I’ll Check In LBS à Mainstream
Global Warming Global Warming
Slide or Game?
Rule 1: No Talking While I’m Talking
Rule 2: The Prize If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to
National Wildlife Federation.
Hint: I really want you to win.
Rule 3: Stay Seated
Grab Your Cards
Rule 4: Trading
Rule 5: Problem
1. Each row selects one color. 2. Doesn’t matter what color your row picks. Just pick one. 3. After 180 seconds, hold the cards above your head. NOTE: If there’s an aisle in your row, it counts as a new row beyond the aisle.
Rule 5: Objective
READY?
GO!
0 9 0 0 0 3 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 5 2 0 0 4 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 3 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 Hours Minutes Seconds
Time Left
All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward. Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
0 9 0 0 0 2 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 5 1 0 0 4 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 3 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 Hours Minutes Seconds
Time Left
All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward. Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
0 9 0 0 0 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 5 0 0 0 4 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 3 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 Hours Minutes Seconds
Time Left
All horizontal rows must have the same color facing forward. Aisle breaks count as new rows.
When your row is done, hold your sign up with both hands.
If you win, SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to charity.
Everybody hold your colors up in both hands and say “SHHHHHHHhhhhhh”
TIME IS UP!!
YOU DID IT! SCVNGR will donate $10,000 to
charity.
Give yourselves a hand!
How’d we do?
Don’t worry, we’ll still donate the money!
You LOSE! (But that’s ok)
What just happened? The Power of Communal Gameplay
Global Warming
Lack of Communication: You couldn’t talk with far players. Trading Patterns: Incredibly complex trades in micro-stock exchanges. Different Countries: Every row is their own country. The aisles are oceans. Wealth: Different allocation of resources to start. (Wealthy people shared?) Restricted Movement: Couldn’t stand up and so were forced to work locally. Decentralized Leadership: No leader, the hive mind made the decisions. Countdown: Only so much time we could spend on this. Joint Goal: We all accepted the same goal and were willing to work for it.
The Analogy Global Warming
Epic Meaning: We were all part of something larger than ourselves. And it was good. Blissful Productivity: You just worked incredibly hard, but feel great! The power of play. Global Problem, Local Solution: You solved a 3000 person problem with only the 8 people near you.
The Results Global Warming
And so….
Game Dynamics Are Powerful
Communal Gameplay +
Communal Discovery +
Complex Problem =
Slightly Less Impossible Problem
Global Warming
Thanks! And Have Fun Playing!
TheLevelUp.com scvngr.com
? Questions?
Raw Materials
Sources
1. http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-and-reduce-motivation.php 2. http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2010/02/jesse-schell-future-of-games-from-dice-2010/ 3. http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html 4. http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-2337513-labrador-retriever-cream-puppy.php
The correlation is irrefutable.