The Gamification

Spectrum

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Contents

1 IntroductiontoGamification

2 WhatistheGamificationSpectrum?

4 TheNinePatterns

10 Scale&Sustainability

13 LearningfromtheGamingWorld

16 Conclusion

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Gamificationisapplyingthescienceandpsychologyof gaminginanon-gamecontexttomotivateandrewardyourcustomerstoperformcertaindesiredbehaviors.Forexample,ifyouwantthemtocontributemorecontentonyouronlinecommunity,youmayofferbadgesforthosewhocontributeacertainnumberofposts;ortheymayworktoleveluptothenextrewardthatprovidesrecognitionamongotherplayers fortheirexpertise,skill,etc.Therearemanytypesofgamificationtechniques.

Gamificationisoneofthemostprovenwaystoengagecommunitymembersandkeepthemcomingbackformore.However,thereareimportantscientificprinciplesbehindthestrategyofgamificationthatimpactwhetherornotgamificationprovestobesuccessfulforyourcommunityandbrand.

Inthispaper,wetakeadeeperdiveintowhatourChiefScientist,Dr.MichaelWu,haspatentedasthe“GamificationSpectrum”―acontinuumofgamificationtechniquesthatcanhelpyouchoosetherightgamificationplanforyourcustomers,dependingonthebehaviorsyouwanttodrive.

WehavecuratedthefollowingcontentfromDr.Wu’sblog,TheScienceofSocial, to synthesize all the insights from the entireGamificationSpectrumseriesintoonepaper.

Introduction to Gamification

To learn more about Gamification,followDr.Wu on TheScienceofSocial or downloadadditionalLithiumGamificationwhitepapersbyvisitingourResourcespage.

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What is the Gamification Spectrum?

TheGamificationSpectrumisaframeworkIdevelopedandhavepatentedfororganizingexistinggamificationtools.Commongamificationtoolsarepoints,badges,leaderboards,etc.,buttherearemanymore(e.g.,ranks,goals,missions,levelunlock,teamreputation,etc.).Nodoubttherearehundredsandthousandsofgamificationtoolsoutinthemarket.Moreover,therearemanyvariantsofgamificationtools.Forexample,therearedifferentkindsofleaderboardswithdifferentscopes.Someonlycompareyouagainstyourfriends,whereasotherscompareyouagainststrangerswhoaresimilartoyouinsomeways.

Byorganizinggamificationtoolsintoaspectrum,youcanchoosetherighttoolstomeetyourgoals.Buthowdowesystematicallyorganizeandunderstandthesetools?Wemustlookforacommonground,ortheuniversalpropertiesofgamificationtools.

Feedback and the Feedback TimescaleThefirstthingwefindincommonisfeedback.Allgamificationtoolsprovidesomekindoffeedbacktotheplayers.Itmaybeverysubtle(e.g.,incrementingsomemetricsinthebackground)orveryobvious(e.g.,rewardingtheuserwithabadge).Theprecisemechanismofhowaparticulartoolgivesfeedbacktotheusersisdifferentforeverytool.Itcouldbetactile(e.g.,avibrationonyourmobiledevice),auditory(e.g.,atransientsoundormusic),visual(e.g.,apop-upnotification,etc.),orother sensory modality. Regardless of the mechanism, the

feedbackistheretotelltheusersomethingabouthispastactionsorbehaviors(i.e.,hisprogress,hisperformance).

Thisleadsustolookatthefeedbacktimescalewhichisroughlyhowfastthetoolfeedsprogressinformationtotheuser.Thisiscriticallyimportantbecauseeverytoolhasacharacteristicfeedbacktimescaleandallowsustoorganizetoolsonaspectrumfromareallyshorttoverylongfeedbacktimescale.(NotethatthefeedbacktimescaleisNOTthesameasthefeedbacktimeofthegamificationtool.)Afeedbacktimescaleisplayerdependent,anddependsontheiraccess,skillsandresources.Playersparticipateatdifferentratesandsoreceivefeedbackatdifferentrates.Asuperfanmaygetontheleaderboardintwoweekswhereasanordinarycontributormaytakeayeartodoso,andalurkerwhonevercontributesmaynevergetontheleaderboard(whichhasinfinitefeedbacktime).Inthisexample,thefeedbacktimescale(nottime)forthisleaderboard is roughly a month.

Thefeedbacktimescaleforanygamificationtoolisalsobehaviordependent.Theeasierthebehavioryouaredriving,theshorterthefeedbacktimescale,andtheharderthe

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

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behavior,thelongerthetimescalewillbe.So,ifweorganizeallexistingtoolsusingtheirfeedbacktimescale,wegetaspectrumoftoolsrangingfromthosewithshortfeedbacktimescalestothosewithverylongfeedbacktimescales.Nomatterwhattoolsyouusetoencouragethebehavioryouwant,thespectrumwillbeplayerandbehaviordependent.Theentirespectrummaycompressorlengthenindifferentcontexts,buttherelativepositionsofthetoolsonthespectrumremainstableundersimilarcontext.

Byorganizinggamificationtoolswiththeirfeedbacktimescaleonacontinuum,wehaveaspectrumofgamificationtools—thegamificationspectrum.Throughthisspectrum,wecanstarttoseesomeinterestingpatternsandtrendsintheoperationalpropertiesofgamificationtools.Thegamificationspectrumisaveryusefulorganizingframework.However,itspowerandutilitygoesfarbeyondmereorganization.Itallowsustoclearlyseetherelationshipbetweendifferentgamificationtools.Moreover,thespectrumallowsustoidentifypatternsandtrendsthatgiveusadeeperunderstandingofsomeworkingpropertiesofeachgamificationtoolwithrespecttotheothers.

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The Nine Patterns

Let’slookdeeperintothisspectrumoftoolstodiscovernineinterestingpatternsandtrendshiddenwithintheseseeminglyunrelatedtools.Ifweexaminetherepresentativetoolsabovethegamificationspectrum,wecanstarttoseesomepatternsaswemovefromtheleft(toolswithshortfeedbacktimescale)totheright(toolswithlongfeedbacktimescale)ofthespectrum.

Pattern 1: Gamified BehaviorOntheleftsideofthespectrum,thebehaviorwearetryingtogamifyistypicallyonesimpleactionfromasingleplayer.Forexample,pointsareawardedimmediatelytoplayersforsimpleactions,suchasatweet,ashare,akudo,adownload,etc.Aswemovetotheright,thebehaviortypicallybecomesmoreinvolved.Ratherthanonesingleaction,theplayermustrepeatthesameactionanumberoftimesbeforehegetsabadge.Thus,thefeedbacktimescaleofbadgeswillbelongerthanthatofpoints—preciselyhowmuchlongerisgoingtodependonthebehaviorandtheplayer.

Ifwemovefurthertotheright,thegamifiedbehaviorwillrequireevenmoreeffortfromtheplayer.Notonlydoeshe

havetorepeatoneaction,hehastooutperformhispeersinordertogetontheleaderboard.Naturally,thefeedbacktimescaleforleaderboardswillbeevenlonger.

Aswegettothemiddleofthespectrum,thebehaviorwewanttodriveisusuallysomethingthatrequiresmorethanonetypeofaction.Thebehaviormayconsistoftwoactions(e.g.,watcha video andshareitwithafriend),threeactions(e.g.,downloadatrialsoftware,useit,andwriteareviewforit),orevenmore.Althoughtheuserneedstoaccomplishmorethanoneaction,theactionsarestillfromasingleplayer.

Finally,ontherightsideofthespectrum,thebehaviorwewanttoencourageisevenmorecomplexandinvolvesactionsfrommultipleplayers.Thesearetypicallyreciprocalactionsfromotherplayersorcollaborativeactionswithotherplayers.

Pattern 2: Underlying MetricsGamificationreliesheavilyonthetrackingofplayeractions/behaviors through metrics and behavior data. As the behavior becomesmorecomplexwhenwemovefromlefttorightalongthespectrum,themetricsanddatathatreflectthesebehaviorsalsobecomemoresophisticated.

Towardstheleft,themetricsthatunderlietheshortfeedbacktimescaletoolsareusuallysimplecountersthataccumulateovertimeastheplayercarriesoutthedesiredaction.Movingtotheright,wereachtoolslikeleaderboardsthatusetime-boundedfrequencymetrics.Sincemedalsandtrophiesstart

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

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torewardplayersformultipleactions,thesetoolsmustusemultiplemetricsandconjunction.

Infact,toolsontherighthalfofthespectrumcanuseconjunctionsofmetricsfromanytoolswithshorterfeedbacktimescales.Forexample,youcangetacommunitytrailblazertrophywhenyouareonthecommunitycontributionleaderboardforfiveweeksinarow.Inthiscase,thetrophyisusingaconjunctionofmetricsfromtheleaderboard(atoolwithshorterfeedbacktimescale).Finally,toolsonthefarrightofthespectrumleveragereciprocitymetricsandteammetricsthatareevenmorecomplex,becausereciprocityandcollaborativebehaviorcanonlybemeasuredwithbehaviordatafrommanyplayers.

Pattern 3: Susceptibility to Cheating (Gaming the System)ToolsonthefarleftoftheGamificationspectrumarehighlysusceptibletogaming(i.e.,cheating),becausethebehaviorwearetryingtodriveissosimple—asingleactionfromtheplayer.Thismeanstheplayerhasfullcontroloverthegamifiedaction.Sohecaneasilyrepeatthatactiontohisheart’scontentandgetallthepointsandbadgeshewants,thusgamingthegamificationsystem.Onthecontrary,toolsonthefarrightare

much more immune to gaming (though I believe no system is trulyun-gameable),becausethosetoolsencouragesbehaviorsthatdependonmanyactionsofmanyplayers.Thismakesitmuchmorechallengingtogamethesystemasitwouldrequireacoordinatedefforttodoso.

Pattern 4: Ideal Visibility and Scope of FeedbackAlthoughgamifiedapps(e.g.,FourSquare)oftenshowoffbadgescollectedbytheirplayers,thetoolswithshortfeedbacktimescales(i.e.,pointsandbadges)arenotidealforpublicdisplay.Why?Sincetoolsonthefarleftofthespectrumusemetricsthatarecumulative,theytendtobebiasedinfavorofthosewhohavebeenplayingforalongertime.Sotoolslikepointsandbadgesarenotreallyafaircomparisonamongtheplayers.Makingthesetoolspubliclyvisiblemayevendemotivatethenewplayers.Instead,toolswithshortfeedbacktimescaleareactuallymoresuitableasfeedbacktotheplayerhimself.Soitshouldonlybevisibleprivatelytotheplayerhimself.

However,aswemovetotherightofthespectrum,themetricsbecomelessbiasedandlesssusceptibletogaming.Forexampletheuseoftime-boundmetricsinleaderboards

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

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eliminatesthebiasthatfavorsearlyplayers.Consequently,feedbackandrewardsfromtoolsinthispartofthespectrumareamorefairandaccuratereflectionoftheplayer’strueperformance.Assuch,theyaremoreappropriateforpublicdisplaywithinthecommunityofplayers.Onthefarrightofthespectrum,theachievementsawardedfromthosetoolsareevensuitablefordisplaybeyondthecommunityofplayers,becausetheywouldaccuratelyrepresenttheplayer’sskillandreputation.

Insight:Pointsandbadgesarebiasedinfavoroflong-timeplayers,sotheyarenotreallyafaircomparisonofpeople’sskills(orabilities).Pointsandbadgesareprimarilyafeedbacktotheplayersthemselves(notblatantlyvisibletothepublic).Showingoffpeople’spointsandbadgespublicallymayactuallydemotivatemajorityofthepopulation.

Pattern 5: Value of RewardsIfweexaminetherewards(i.e.,feedback)ofgamificationtools,wecanalsoseeapatternaswemoveacrossthespectrum.Becausetoolsontheleftofthespectrumonlyprovidefeedbacktotheplayersontheirownperformancedata,therewardsfromthesetoolsarepurelyextrinsic.Moreover,becausethegamifiedbehaviorissosimple—oneactionfromtheplayer,thereislittleuncertaintyormysteryintherewardbecausetheyareeithercompletelytransparentorcanbeeasilyfiguredout.

Aswemovetotheright,therewardsbecomelesspredictable,becausethefeedbackistriggeredonlywhenallthegamifiedactionsareaboveacertainthreshold.Norewardisgivenevenifonlyone—anyone—ofthegamifiedactionsdidnotmeetthecriterionwhileallothersarewellabovetheirrespectivethresholds.Thismakesthepreciserewardcriteriahardertopredict,andaddsmoremysteryanduncertaintytothe“game.”Suchmysterynotonlycreatesentertainmentvalue,italsoservesasananticipatorymotivatorfortheplayers.

Toolsonthefarrightofthespectrumrewardtheirplayersbasedontheactionsofotherplayers—reciprocityorcollaborativeactions.Thissocialelementmakesrewardsfromtoolsonthefarrightofthespectrummoremeaningfulandvaluabletotheplayers.Hence,rewardsfromthesetoolsaremoreintrinsicallymotivating.

Insight:Therewardsofferedbypointsandbadgesarepurelyextrinsic.Itsimplytellstheplayerswhatthey’vedonetransparently.Tryingtoaddmysteriesinthesesimplegamificationtoolsmayactuallyconfusesnewplayersearlyon.Mysteryshouldbeusedlaterwithtoolsonthemiddleandrightsideofthespectrum,wheretherewardsaremoreintrinsic.

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

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Pattern 6: SustainabilityNaturally,toolsontheleftoftheGamificationSpectrumarenotsustainable,becausetherewardstheyprovidearepurelyextrinsicandhavelittlelong-termvaluetotheplayers.Eventuallytheplayerswillrealizethisfactandgetboredquickly.Onthecontrary,toolsontherightofthespectrumaresustainable,becausetherewardstheyofferareintrinsic,moremeaningful,andhavegreatervaluetotheplayers.

Insight:Points,badgesandleaderboardsaregreatstartertoolsforimplementinggamification.Theyworkwellintheshort-term,anddriveresultsquickly,butit’snotsustainablelongterm.Ifyouwanttogamifyabehaviorforlong-term(years)youneedtousegamificationtoolsontherightofthespectrum.

Pattern 7: ImplementationAtlast,fromanimplementationanddeploymentperspective,toolsontheleftsideofthespectrumtendtobemucheasiertobuild,implement,anddeploy.Thatispreciselywhysomanytoolsonthemarketarebasicallyvariantsofpoints,badges,and

leaderboards.Ontheotherendofthespectrum,thetoolsarehardertoimplementbecausenotonlydotheyneedtotrackmorecomplexbehaviors,theyalsoneedtocapturedifferenttypesofbehaviorsandperformsophisticatedanalyticstounderstand these behaviors. As a result, many tools on the rightendofthespectrumsarecustombuilt.Theyalsorequireasubstantialamountoftimeandefforttotuneandconfigure,sotheyaregenerallynotturn-keysolutionsout-of-the-box.

Insight:Points,badgesandleaderboardsareeasytobuild.Companieshavingengineeringresourcescaneasilybuildtheirownsystemfortrackingpoints,awardingbadges,andshowingoffpeopleontheleaderboard.Thesesimpletoolsarealsoreadilyavailablefromvendors.However,moresophisticatedgamificationtoolsontherightofthespectrummustbedesignedspecificallyforyourusecaseandaudienceinordertobeeffective.Assuchtheyarerarelyavailableout-of-the-box.

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

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Pattern 8: Extinction Period

Itisimportanttounderstandtheextinctionperiod(i.e.,howlongittakesforagamificationtooltobecomeineffectiveatdrivingthedesiredbehavior)foranygamificationtool.Althoughithasbeenlongobservedthatnogamificationtoolworksforever,thereislittleinformationonhowlongeachtoolworks.AlthoughtheGamificationSpectrumwon’tgiveyouthepreciseextinctionperiodbecausethatiscontextdependent,itdoesgiveyouanorderofthetoolsintermsoftheirextinctionperiod.Soweknowwhichtoolwillworklongerorshortercomparedtoothertools.

Wecanunderstandthepatternofextinctionperiodfromtwodifferentangles:sustainabilityandplayers’psychologyofflow.

We’vealreadylearnedthattoolstowardtheleftofthespectrumarenotsustainable,whereastoolstowardtherightofthespectrumsaremoresustainable.It’seasytoseethatthesustainabilityofagamificationtoolisdirectlyrelatedtoitsextinctionperiod.Toolsthatarenotsustainable(ontheleftsideofthespectrum)haveashortextinctionperiodbecausetheylosetheirefficacytodrivethedesiredbehaviorquickly.Thatiswhytheyarenotsustainableinthefirstplace.Toolsthat are sustainable in the long-term (on the right side of the spectrum)haveamuchlongerextinctionperiod.

Thesecondperspectivelooksattheplayers’psychologyofflow.Thestateofflowisanoptimalstateofintrinsicmotivationthatcanbereachedonlywhenthechallengesfacingtheplayersmatchtheirskills.Sincetoolsontheleftofthespectrumareusedtodriveaverysimplebehavior,theyareessentially“easygames.”Assuch,theplayerswilllearnand masterthosegamesquickly.Weknowfromthepsychologyofflowthatoncetheplayermasteredthegame,theirskills

willsurpassthechallengesfromtheseeasygames.Asaresult,theywillalsoquicklymoveintothestateofboredom,whichisn’tmotivatingandunabletodrivethedesiredbehavior.Consequently,theextinctionperiodoftheseeasygameswillbe very short.

Aswemovetotherightofthespectrum,thetoolsareusedtodrivemorecomplexbehaviors,sotheycanbeviewedasvery“challenginggames.”Whenagameischallenging,twothingscanhappen.First,mostpeoplewouldn’tbeuptothechallenge;they’llfeelfrustratedbecausethechallengeistoogreatfortheirskills.Sothey’llstopplayingalltogether,butthosethatquitthegamearen’ttheplayers.Thesecondscenarioisthattherewillbeafewplayerswhowillrisetothechallenge.Theywillchoosetocontinuetoplayandwantto

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

9

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beatthegame.However,becausethegameischallenging,itwilltakethemalongtimetomasterthegame.Fortheseplayerswhowanttowin,thegamewillcontinuetodrivethebehavior.Sotheextinctionperiodofthesechallenginggameswillbemuchlonger.

Pattern 9: Engaged PopulationAswehaveseeninPattern#8,toolsontherightsideofthespectrumarelike“challenginggames,”andtherewillonlybeasmallpopulationofplayerswhowillengage.Onlyasmallfractionofthepopulationwillbesufficientlymotivatedorhavetheabilitytoplaysuchachallenginggame.

Conversely,thetoolsontheleftsideofthespectrumare“easygames.”Sotherewillbeamuchlargerpopulationwhowillengageinthiseasygameplay.WeknowfromFogg’sbehaviormodel that simplicitydrivesbehavior. When the behavior is simpleenough,evenplayerswhoaren’tmotivatedwillengagetocarryoutthatbehavior,becauseitdoesn’trequiremuchability(i.e.,resourcesfromtheplayers).

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

10

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Scale & Sustainability

Extinctionandengagedpopulationposeaninterestingconundrumforbusinesses.Toolsontheleftsideofthespectrum—theeasygames—canengageahugepopulation,buttheireffectsextinctquicklyduetotheshortextinctionperiod.Soeventhoughtheycandrivebehaviorsandengagemanyplayers,theseplayersdon’tstayengagedverylong.Alternatively,toolsontheotherendofthespectrum—thechallenginggames—canengagetheplayersforamuchlongertime,butonlyafewpeoplewillengageandplaythosegames.

Asyoucansee,thereisno“perfect”gamification.Thereisn’tonemagicgamificationtoolthatcanengageahugepopulationforalongperiodoftime.Sowhichgamificationtoolshouldyouuse?Aswithalmostanytool,youneedtochoosetherighttoolsfortheproblem.Ifyouhavetochooseagamification

tooltodrivebehavior,youwillhavetodecidewhetherit’smoreimportanttodrivethebehaviorforalotofpeople,orisitmoreimportanttochangethebehaviorforalongtime?Choosingthewrongtoolfortheproblemisnotonlyawasteofresources, it could even have counterproductiveeffects.

Unfortunately, science tells us that scalability and sustainability haveaninverserelationshipwitheachother;thelargerthescale, the less sustainable, and vice versa. That is, the larger theengagedpopulation,thefasteritwillbecomeineffective;andthelongerthetoolsareeffective,thesmallertheengagedpopulation.Asaresult,practitionersofgamificationmustchoosetherighttooldependingonwhattheyaretryingtoachieve.Thereisn’tasinglegamificationtoolthatcanachieveboth scale and sustainability.

immediate day week month quarter 6 months year 2 years 5 years

points badges leader boards trophies ranks portable rep team rep

single accumulative metric frequency + conjunctives reciprocity + team metric

short long

single user action single user, multiple actions multiple users + actions

easy to game difficult to game

private: only to the user public: with in community public: beyond community

extrinsic intrinsic

not sustainable long-term sustainable

easy to implement difficult to implement

short: fast extinction long: slow extinction

large engaged population small engaged population

feedback timescale

gamified behavior

underlying metrics

susceptibility to gaming

visibility & scope

value of rewards

sustainability

implementation

extinction period

engage population

easy games quickeffect,engaging to many

quicktomaster,quicktogetbored

scalable, but not sustainable

challenging games

sloweffect,engagingtofew

slowtomaster, slowtogetbored

sustainable, but not scalable

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However,someofthemostchallengingbusinessproblemsinvolve both scale and sustainability (i.e., changing behaviors forahugepopulationoveralongerperiodoftime).Howcanweachievethat?Thisisnotaneasyproblemtosolve,butthegoodnewsis,thereisapossiblesolution.

The Effective TimescaleBeforewediscussthesolutiontothesebigbusinessproblems,weneedtounderstandonemoreconcept.Thatis,theeffectivetimescaleofabehaviorchange—howlongthegamifiedbehaviorwilllastorisintendedtolastrealistically.

Whenabusinesswantstodrivebehaviors,theyprobablywantthe behavior to last forever. But in reality, nothing lasts forever, andnosinglegamificationcandriveanybehaviorforever.Ifyouwanttodriveabehaviorinyourcustomerbasefortherestoftheirlifetime,thenyouneedtofigureouttheaveragelifeexpectancyforyourcustomerbase.Dependingontheaverageageofyourcustomerbase,thismaybefiveyears,10years,or50years.Eventhoughthat’salongtime,it’snotforever.Inpractice,theeffectivetimescaleofanybehaviorisrarelymorethan10years.

Dependingontheprecisebehavioryouwanttodrive,theeffectivetimescalesvarysignificantlyfromafewdaystomanyyears.Forexample,ifyouwanttodrivesocialmediaparticipation(e.g.,tweeting,sharingphotos,etc.)ataconference,thentheeffectivetimescaleisintheorderofafewdays,becausemostconferencesonlylastafewdays.Ideally,youprobablywantthemtocontinuetheirsocialmediaparticipationaftertheconference,butthatisadifferentbehaviorwithalongereffectivetimescale.Ontheotherhand,

ifyouaretryingtodriveengagementduringamarketingcampaign,thentheeffectivetimescaleisroughlyafewmonths,becausethatishowlongmostmarketingcampaignslast.Ifyouwanttheaudiencetocontinuetheirengagementafterthemarketingcampaign,again,thatisadifferentbehavior(onewithamuchlongereffectivetimescale).

So,youneedtoknowwhatyoureffectivetimescaleisforthebehaviorsyouwanttodrive.

The Solution—Build a Level-Up StrategySincethereisn’tasinglegamificationtoolthatcanachievebothscaleandsustainability,wecanstoplookingforthatsilver bullet.However,tacklinganybigprobleminliferarelyinvolvesonlyonetool.Althoughnosinglegamificationtoolcanachievebothscaleandsustainability,acombinationoftoolscan!

Thestrategyistobuildaladderforpeopletoclimbup.Startwithtoolsonthefarleftofthegamificationspectrum(e.g.,points)—theeasiestgames—toengagethewidestpossibleaudience.As,peoplemastertheseeasygames,levelthemupandintroducethemtothenexttoolonthespectrum(e.g.,badges).Sincethistoolisjustslightlyharder,mostoftheaudiencewillstillbeengagedandcontinuetoplay.However,badgesarehardertocollectthanpoints.Itwilltakethemlonger to collect enough badges before they master this game andgetbored.Andwhenthathappens,youlevelthemupagainandintroducethenexttoolsonthespectrum(e.g.,aleaderboard),andsoon.

Theprecisecriteriaforgettingacertainbadgeorgettingontheleaderboardwillstillneedtobedesignedsothenextlevelup

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Three Steps to a Level Up Strategy

Ifyoubuildyourlevel-upstrategyaccordingtothisrecipe,thenasyourplayerslevel-uptothefinalrungoftheladder,theywillhavestayedengaged foraperiodthatisapproximatelyas longastheeffectivetimescaleofyourdesired behavior.

willappeareasytoachieve.Thisiscriticallyimportant,becauseotherwise,asubstantialportionoftheengagedaudiencewilldropoffandstopplayingthegamebecausethenextleveliseithertoochallenging(frustrating)ortooeasy(boring).Howwedesignthepreciselevelupcriteriarequiresadeeperunderstandingofhowbaby-stepsworkinbehaviordesign.

Now,thelastquestionweneedtoaddressishowfardowecontinuetolevelup?Inotherwords,howfarupdowe

needtobuildthislevel-upladder?Thisiswheretheconceptofeffectivetimescalecomesin.Youmustfigureoutwhat’stheeffectivetimescaleforthebehavioryouwanttodrive.Onceyouknowtheeffectivetimescale,theanswerissimple.Yousimplyendwithagamificationtoolthathasafeedbacktimescaleapproximatelyequaltotheeffectivetimescaleofthebehavioryouwanttodrive.

Identify the effective timescale of your desired behavior

❶Find a gamification tool with a feedback timescale ≈ your effective timescale

❷Build a level-up ladder by filling in the gaps with tools that have successively longer feedback timescale along the gamification spectrum.

• Alwaysstartwithimmediatefeedback(e.g.,points)toachievescale

• Fillallgaps(sotheladderiseasytoclimb)inordertomaintainthescaleasyourplayersleveluptothefinalrungoftheladder(i.e.,thetoolwithfeedback

❸

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Learning from the Gaming World

Ifyouwereaskedtonamethemostsuccessfulvideogame,whatcomestoyourmind?WoulditbeAngry Birds, Candy Crush, or Clash of Clans?Whatdothesegameshaveincommon?Whydoyouthinktheyaresuccessful?

These games have certainly achieved scale since so many peopleplaythem.AngryBirdsalonehasovertwobilliondownloads.However,manygameshaveachievedscale,buttheyaren’tsuccessfulbecausepeopledidn’tplaythemverylong(e.g.,thinkofaclassicgamelikeTic-Tac-Toe or Sudoku).Prettymucheveryonehasplayedthesegamesatsomepointduringtheirlifetime.Someofthem,likeSudokuforexample,canbequiteaddictive.Sotheyhavedefinitelyachievedscale.However,theyarenotverysustainablebecausepeopleeithermasterthemquickly(becausetheyaretooeasy)orgetfrustratedwiththem(becausetheyaretoohard).Theresultisthesameeitherway,peoplestopplayingthem.

WhatmadegameslikeAngryBirds,CandyCrush,andClashofClans successful is the fact that they have achieved both scale andsustainability.Thequestioniswhyandhow?Thesecretlieswithintheleveldesignofthesegames.

Likegamifications,successfulgamesachievescaleandsustainabilitybyhavingmanylevelsthatgetprogressivelymoredifficult.Thesecouldbeexplicitlevelsyouunlockasyouplay(e.g.,AngryBirdsandCandyCrush),ortheymaybeimplicitinthegameplay(e.g.,ClashofClans).Yet,theyallstartwithaveryeasylevel(almosttooeasy)toengagethewidestpossibleaudience.Oneofthereasonspeoplecontinuetoplaythesegamesforalongtimeisbecausethesegameshavesomanylevels.Thelongeryouwanttoengagetheplayers,themore levels you need to have. But just having many levels isnotenough.Theprecisecriteriaforlevelingupmustbedesignedcarefullytokeeptheplayersengaged—inastateofflow.Althoughthelevelsaregettingmoredifficult,preciselyhowmuchmoredifficulteachlevelgetsisgoingtodeterminewhethertheplayerscontinuetoplayorquit.Ifthelevelsgetprogressivelymoredifficulttooquickly,someplayerswillnotbeabletokeepupandtheywillfeelfrustrated.Yet,ifthelevelsgetprogressivelyharder,buttooslowly,someplayerswillbebored.

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Use Baby-Step Level Up to Maximize FlowFlowisafinelinebetweencertaintyanduncertainty.Peopleliketobeincontrol,butiftheyhavetoomuchcontroltheyfeelbored.Peopleliketohavesomechallenge,butifsomethingistoo challenging they feel frustrated. As Prof.Csikszentmihalyi stated,peopleenterthestateofflowonlywhenthechallengetheyfacematchestheirskills.Successfulgamesareaddictive(orengagingforaverylongtime)becausetheirlevelsaredesignedtomaximizeflow.

Onewaytomaximizeflowistozigzagalongthisflowzoneasillustratedinthefiguretotheright.Asyouplaythegameandgetbetter,youincreaseyourskillsandmovetotheright.But just before you move too far to the right (into the state ofboredom),youleveluptothenextlevelthatisjusthardenough to feel challenging (but not too hard that you move

intothestateoffrustration).Thisistheprinciplebehindtheleveldesignthatmakesagameaddictive,andthereforeachievessustainabilityinadditiontoscale.

If you examine this level design criterion more carefully, you willseethatit’sreallythebaby-stepdesignprinciple.Youarebasicallycreatingmanybabysteps(levels)toguidetheplayerto the endgame.However,Imustemphasizethatbabystepdoes notmeanthateverystep(level)iseasy.Ifitis,suchagamewillgetprettyboringafterafewlevels,becausetheplayerswillfeelliketheyareplayingthesamegameoverandover again. Although the next level does get harder, they can stillsolveitwithprettymuchthesamestrategy.

Thekeytomaximizingflowistousethebaby-stepdesignprinciple—designthelevelssuchthatthenextsteptheplayerstakeisalwaysababystep,butonlyrelativetotheabilitytheyalreadyacquired.

Diffi

culty

/ C

halle

nge

Anxiety

Boredom

High

High

Low

Flow

Skill / Ability

Diffi

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/ C

halle

nge

Anxiety

Boredom

High

High

Low

Already aquired ability

{ {The next step

Flow

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The“relativitytotheplayer’sability”iscrucial,becausethenextstepscouldbeverychallenging.Anditshouldbeinordertoavoidboredom.Asyoucanseeinthefiguretotheright,thegapsbetweensomeofthehigherlevelscanbeverywideandrequiremuchskills/abilities.However,relativetotheskillstheplayersalreadyacquired,theseapparentlyverydifficultlevelswilllooklikeababystep—veryeasy.Soundconfusing?Howcansomethingbeverychallengingandveryeasyatthesametime?

Withoutdoubtthisisacomplexdesignproblem,andIthinkagoodexamplecouldshedsomelightonthis.

Let’sexamineaverychallenginglevelofAngryBirds—level100.Ifyou’veneverplayedAngryBirds,level100willseemimpossibletosolve.Anditshould.However,afteryou’veplaylevel1tolevel99,level100willsuddenlylookveryeasy,becauseyouhaveacquiredthenecessaryskillstoplaythegame(duringtheprevious99levels).Despitethefactthatlevel100isindeedaverychallenginglevel,relativetotheskillsyou’veacquiredfromplayinglevel1tolevel99,level100willlooklikeababystep.Thismasteryofskills(orlearning)iswhathastohappenfromoneleveltothenextsothatthecumulativeskillsyou’veacquiredwillalwaysmakethenextlevellookeasy.

Nowwecanreturntothegamificationworldandapplythisbaby-stepdesigntobuildourlevel-upladder.It’simportanttorememberthatababy-stepisnotaboutmakingeverystepababystep.Rather,itisaboutmakingeverystepaschallengingaspossible,butstillseemlikeababysteprelativetheskillsyou’veacquiredfromtakingtheprevioussteps.Ifyoubuildyourlevel-upladderthisway,startingwithatoolthathasimmediatefeedback,yourgamificationwillbeabletodrivebehaviors at scale and be sustainable.

Althoughgamificationisnotagameperse,thebehaviordesignaspectsofbothareactuallyquitesimilar.Thereismuchthatthegamificationcommunitycanlearnfromthegame design industry.Thegamedesignindustryissimplyanolderandmorematuredindustrythangamification.Assuch,they’vehavealreadyfiguredoutmanybehaviordesignprinciplesthatgamificationpractitionersarejuststartingtograsp.

Forexample,gamedesignersknewthatinordertokeepalargepopulationengagedingameplayoveralongperiod,theymuststartwithaneasygameandemployababy-steplevelupstrategy.Inotherwords,gamesweseetoday(atleastthesuccessfulones)arereallymadeupofmanylittlegames(i.e.,levels)ofincreasingdifficultythatarestrungtogetherthroughlevelups.Thus,fromabehaviordesignperspective,games arereallynothingmorethanacarefullycraftedsequenceofbaby-steps(levels)designedtokeeptheplayersengagedandcontinuetoplay.

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Lithiumbuildstrustedrelationshipsbetweentheworld’sbestbrandsandtheircustomers,helpingpeoplegetanswersandsharetheirexperiences.Customersinmorethan34countriesrelyonLithiumtohelpthemconnect,engage,andunderstandtheirtotalcommunity.Withmorethan100millionuniquemonthlyvisitorsoverallLithiumcommunitiesandanother600milliononlineprofilesscoredbyKlout,Lithiumhasoneofthelargestdigitalfootprintsintheworld.Usingthatdataandthecompany’ssoftware,Lithiumcustomersboostsales,reduceservicecosts,sparkinnovation,andbuildlong-termbrandloyaltyandadvocacy.TofindouthowLithiumcantransformyourbusiness—andtosharetheexperienceenjoyedby300otherleadingbrandsaroundtheworld,visitlithium.com, join our community at community.lithium.com,orfollowusonTwitter@LithiumTech.LithiumisaprivatelyheldcompanyheadquarteredinSanFrancisco.

The Lithium®logoisaregisteredServiceMarkofLithiumTechnologies.Alltrademarksandproductnamesarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.

Aswecansee,theGamificationSpectrumcanbeusedtohelpyouchoosetherighttoolstoachievethebehaviorsyouwantyourcustomerstotake,forthedesiredamountoftimeyouneed them to exhibit those behaviors.

TolearnmoreaboutGamification,followmeonTheScienceofSocialblog and @mich8elwu.

Conclusion