Games, Gameful Bits

The Theoretical Basis of User Types: My review of the article recently published in IJHCS

A team of researchers from German, Finnish, and Canadian Universities, led by Dr. Jeanine Kirchner-Krath, recently published the interesting article Uncovering the theoretical basis of user types: An empirical analysis and critical discussion of user typologies in research on tailored gameful design. They analyzed and…

Games Gamification HCINovember 30, 20210Comments

What is Gamification—and other definitions

Although I have been writing on this blog for several years now, I had not yet attempted to provide a definition of gamification because we already had plenty of definitions out there. But our community was recently challenged by Andrzej Marczewski to re-discuss the existing…

Games Gamification HCI User ExperienceNovember 26, 20190Comments

Gamification User Types or Player Traits: When should I use each one of them?

At the HCI Games Group, we have been working for the past few years on two related projects: the validation of the Gamification User Types Hexad and the study of player typologies, which recently led to the creation of our Five-factor Player Traits model. Therefore,…

Games Gamification NewsMay 7, 20180Comments

Gamification Insights from Professional Development Event in Toronto

Last week, Ryerson University's Chang School of Continuing Education organized a one-day professional development and networking event in Toronto, Canada. The event focused on serious games and gamification for three specific application areas: higher education, healthcare, and corporate. Several dozens of attendees spent the day…

Games Gamification HCI ResearchFebruary 26, 20170Comments

Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects

Originally published by the HCI Games Group. Sample favourite digital game objects. Please see the linked original publication for credits. The HCI Games Group collaborated with a research project that also involved the Play & Interactive Experiences for Learning Lab at the New Mexico State University and…

Education Games HCINovember 21, 20161Comment

How do students differ in gamified education?

Originally published in the ACM XRDS blog. Gamification of University-level courses is becoming a common practice, as many professors decide to try offering their students a more engaging learning environment. Nevertheless, we still do not have a clear idea on how individual students engage differently with…

Games Gamification HCI Research User ExperienceOctober 5, 20160Comments

The peak-end rule influences enjoyment of games

The peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic that explains how people judge an experience largely based on its peak (i.e., its most intense point) and its end, rather on the whole experience. A research from the Universities of Saskatchewan and Canterbury and Autodesk sought to…

Games Gamification HCI ResearchSeptember 30, 20160Comments

Understanding How the Context Supports Autonomy

Self-determination theory posits autonomy as a basic need that fuels intrinsic motivation. Thus, we consider it an important characteristic of intrinsically enjoyable tasks, including games. We often say that game playing is a voluntary activity. However, when we think about serious games or gamification, there…

Design Games GamificationSeptember 17, 20160Comments

Defining Clear Goals in Gameful Applications

I have previously talked about the prominent role of challenges in games and gameful applications. Challenging oneself to overcome unnecessary obstacles just for the fun of it is at the heart of a gameful experience. Moreover, good challenges only work together with clear goals and…

Games Gamification NewsJuly 14, 20166Comments

Pokémon GO is not Gamification! (It’s a game!)

During the past week, considerable attention has been given in the media to Niantic's new game, Pokémon GO! Lots of people are talking about the game's potential benefits and dangers. One of the many claims that have taken the media is that Pokémon GO is…