Gamification Experimentation

[Shawn Gossman]

How do you feel about integrating gamification into a online community?

Gamification is used to created playful and friendly competing experiences within online communities.

There are many different forms of gamification. Some work some don’t but it all boils down to the interest and motivation of your user base.

The best way to see what types of gamification works for your community, if any, is to beta test and experiment.

Are you doing this on your own community? If so, give us some examples of gamification experimentation and the results you’ve found through it.

 

[ClicketyKat]

I've always liked the concept, although I never knew there was a name for this until today! It makes sense! I love being creative and sometimes that isn't enough to get participation. I hope others chime in on what has worked for them

 

[veloman]

I think anything that triggers the brain's reward pathway has the potential to keep people coming back. I remember a forum that I used about 12 years ago and it has some really basic, tacky games, but I ended up coming back again and again because me and a few others kept trying to get the top score every day!

These days I wonder about the appeal - and I'm not sure I could even get something like that to work with phpBB (although I might now go and have a look!).

Other forms of gamification I've seen are points/coins/etc. - but without a carrot at the other end (e.g. something people want) it's surely destined to fail!

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I think anything that triggers the brain's reward pathway has the potential to keep people coming back. I remember a forum that I used about 12 years ago and it has some really basic, tacky games, but I ended up coming back again and again because me and a few others kept trying to get the top score every day!

These days I wonder about the appeal - and I'm not sure I could even get something like that to work with phpBB (although I might now go and have a look!).

Other forms of gamification I've seen are points/coins/etc. - but without a carrot at the other end (e.g. something people want) it's surely destined to fail!

I remember older forums having the flash arcade games. I'd visit every day to try to get the top scores on many of them.

You should be able to do it with PhpBB with modifications. I think the flair and chains features are a great start to it.

Definitely needs to have a carrot at the end. You just have to get creative about it if you don't have a budget for it!

 

[veloman]

I remember older forums having the flash arcade games. I'd visit every day to try to get the top scores on many of them.

You should be able to do it with PhpBB with modifications. I think the flair and chains features are a great start to it.

Definitely needs to have a carrot at the end. You just have to get creative about it if you don't have a budget for it!

Games would certainly give it a retro feel (and nostalgia is hell of a drug). I'll have to look into what's available - there are so many ideas in me noggin at the moment, and so little time!

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Games would certainly give it a retro feel (and nostalgia is hell of a drug). I'll have to look into what's available - there are so many ideas in me noggin at the moment, and so little time!

I would also look into what posting games you could introduce that have a cycling theme to them. Maybe even make your own Tour de France like competition where participants uses strava or something like that.