Citation:
Sebastian, Deterding, Dixon Dan, Khaled Rilla, and Nacke Lennart. From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness. ACM, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701, New York, NY 10121-0701, USA, 2011. Print.
Deterding, Sebastian, Dan Dixon, Rilla Khaled, and Lennart Nacke. “From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “gamification”" From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness. ACM, 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2181037.2181040>.
Analysis:
Sebastian Deterding et al. paper, “From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining ‘Gamification’” (2011), argued that the concept of “gamification” hasn’t been accurately defined nor investigated for its potential use in human-computer interaction. Deterding et al. first support their statement by describing the origin of the word gamification. They explained that the term “gamification” didn’t get adopted until 2010; furthermore they assessed that gamification is still discontented in the game industry and game studies community as to what it actually represents. They begin moving towards a definition by describing the connections between gamification and user interface design as well and human-computer interaction. Their purpose introcuding these connections is to inform the reader of the different research that has come about the different types of games that exist. Those from games that are just playful in nature, to the serious games that have been around for several millennia. By doing this they set up the paper towards a definition of gamification. Deterding et al. believe that “gamification” belongs to an undefined group of gaming, that falls in the realms of gameful design, gameful interaction, and gamefulness. They defined “gamification” as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.” Deterding et al. broke up the definition to further explain each section of the definition to the reader. First they explained game, since “gamification” relates to games rather than playing; they do this in order to explain that games are characterized by rule systems and competition used towards goals or outcomes. They furthermore explain the terms gamefulness, gameful interaction, and gameful design to coincide with the introduction of game design elements. Deterding et al. present game elements as the building foundation of games (instead of the necessary conditions for a game); they explain that these elements can vary between avatars, ranks, economies, to levels. Their purpose is to explain that a game needs design elements in order to be classified as a game; a game cannot just have one element, it needs multiple ones. The authors elaborate on the different levels of game design elements that can be used when designing “gamified” applications which would be considered “gamificaiton” in it that only some of the elements can be used instead of all levels of elements are used as that of serious games and still have the user achieve a sense of a full game experience. Deterding et al. finish dissecting their definition by explaining non-game contexts. They assert that “gamificaiton” should not be alienated from all contexts, scenarios, or purposes; since they believe by their definition that gameful experiences are the likely design goal. Furthermore, they explain that applying “gamificaiton” to already designed games is counter-productive in the design aspect of the game itself; when “gamification” should be considered as a gameful experience in a non-context matter, not for a full pledge gaming experience. Last, Deterding et al. classify gamification in the realm of playing/gaming and parts/whole. Their purpose is to situate “gamification” in the realm of use of games in non-game contexts and playful interactions. Serious games are those found in video gaming consoles for pure entertainment purposes that have several game design elements; meanwhile games that fall under “gamification” differentiate in game technology, game practices, and game design.
Their purpose is to make the reader aware of this trend and lack of definition for gamification in order to help them understand the differences that exist with gamification and other gaming related systems. They establish a realm of understanding and explanation by providing an audience interested in the subject matter with their views on how to define gamification and providing examples to support their statements. Furthermore, they conclude their paper by presenting the possibilities of further research study that can be implemented in distinguishing games that fall under “gamification” (based on their definition) and that of serious games to get a clear conceptualization of this new trend. Deterding et al. have written to an audience of higher education who are aware of design and theory in the context of games and game design. They’ve written this paper in order to share their investigation in defining “gamification” to an audience that may have heard the term, but aren’t fully aware of it’s definition.
Additional Resources
Carroll, John M.. “Human Computer Interaction (HCI).” The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.. Soegaard, Mads and Dam, Rikke Friis (eds.). Aarhus, Denmark: The Interaction Design Foundation, 2013. Available online at http://www.interaction- design.org/encyclopedia/human_computer_interaction_hci.html.
John Carroll wrote a great piece on Human Computer INteraction and provides a brief history on how it came about, to how HCI has been used in different fields. What I like about this resource it provides the reader with an easy way to understand the subject matter, and other resources to follow for further information.
Deterding, Sebastian. “9.5 Theses on Gamification.” Coding Conduct. Parsons New School of Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Microsoft Research, Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2013. <http://gamification-research.org/>.
This website provides several articles and papers on the topic of gamification that I’ve found useful to expand on the knowledge of the topic.
Deterding, Sebastian. “9.5 Theses on Gamification.” Coding Conduct. Parsons New School of Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Microsoft Research, Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2013. <http://codingconduct.cc/Meaningful-Play>.
This resource is an excellent presentation given by S. Deterding on the whole notion of gamification. It is an “updated” view of what was written in the report analyzed and he provides insights on what the piece was about, and further explores the applications of gamification.
Discussion Questions
What happens when game design elements are transferred into non-game social contexts?
Do you believe we will reach a type human-computer interaction that is fully immersed and without an object/artifact to achieve that interaction. For example, think of the Holodeck in Star Trek. http://youtu.be/bcweo19I9wM
As an e-learning student, do you believe that an online course can benefit or falter from the addition of game design elements to make the content “fun”?
Resources:
Deterding, Sebastian, Dan Dixon, Rilla Khaled, and Lennart Nacke. “From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “gamification”" From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness. ACM, 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2181037.2181040>.
Paramount Pictures. “Holodeck Fight Scene.” YouTube. YouTube, 26 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcweo19I9wM>.