Gamification of Elections - Part 6
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Cast Vote? Yes / No / Cancel

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 7

In this final article I will circle back to the original question: What to do about declining voter turnout. How to reinvigorate the interest in voting – especially for a new generation, trained on instant gratification and stuck in constant feedback loops. Working on this from the angle of a game designer won’t deliver a cure-all solution. It probably won’t even make a dent in the graphs. But the general idea is a powerful one, and if just a handful of people can be attracted to politics, into electoral studies or more generally in the process of democracy, then the effort should be worth it.

CURE Runners Logo
by Cornelia Neuwirt -

CURE Runners – Game Mechanics in Action

CURE Runners is an e-learning game developed by the Austrian developer agency OVOS. It aims to teach players about money management using the redeemable points of the game as a virtual economy. Which will already sound familiar to anyone who read the previous blogpost, discussing the most common game mechanics. In this post I want to have look at if and how CURE Runners, incorporated these mechanics:

Gamification of Elections - Part 6
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

¿Hablas Gamificación?

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 6

In this article I will dissect the popular language learning app “Duolingo”. I will take a look at the different gamification elements in play, the UI design and UX of the app and analyse them. Disclaimer: I won’t go into the monetization efforts of this app – as this would be enough to justify a blog article on its own.

Duolingo uses implicit game mechanics: it is a learning app that uses game mechanics, instead of being a game with learning elements attached to it. This means that we will see the full potential of gamification methods in “serious apps”. After taking a first look at the player journey, we see that the different phases don’t really differ too much from another.

Driving the point home
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Driving the point home

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 5

Of course, filling an XP bar and collecting badges is not why people play a game Those are merely mechanics to engage the player on a deeper level, using human psychology. Gamification mechanics are tools, not the actual goal of a gamified app. So, in order to craft an experience the player actually enjoys, designers have to design for player motivation, not for mechanics. The Octalysis helps in this regard, as it divides player motivation in distinct categories, that are easy to design for.

social engagement loop: Motivating Emotion - Social Call to Action - Player Re-Engagement - Visible Progress/Reward
by Cornelia Neuwirt -

Common Game Mechanics

There are seven basic game mechanics that should be considered when creating a gamified experience: points, levels, leaderboards, badges, onboarding, challenges/ quests, and engagement loops.

Points

In order to motivate the player to take certain actions in alignment with the behavioral objectives, each action should have a certain point value assigned to it. These points should be part of the experience point system which is important to rank and guide players through the game. Other point systems that can be included in a game are redeemable points, which are used to create a virtual economy and are used as „currency“ within the system, skill points which are assigned only to specific activities alongside the core storyline or objectives to develop an additional skillset. Moreover, there are karma points, whose only purpose is to spend them and reputation points which are the most complex point system as they are used to create credibility and trust.

I seek the great perhaps
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

„I Go to Seek a Great Perhaps.“

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 4

The last chapter introduced us to different ways to encourage player behaviour, by exploiting their desire for gratification. These techniques are short cycle loops, that repeat often and foreseeably, to reinforce the player’s desire to engage with the game mechanics. They do not, however, drive the player’s desire to play the game! Feedback loops (to be detailed in a later chapter) are not the reason why someone will pick up the game again and again.

Six Degrees of Gratification
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Six Degrees of Gratification

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 3

Gratification is one of the most powerful experiences of the psyche. It is often said, that patience is a virtue. Seeking gratification is the direct opposite: it is the satisfaction gained by successful short-term tactics and emotional impulses, rather than planned, deferred gratification which is obtained by achieving long-term goals. While the latter is a cornerstone in Strategy games – creating a game winning strategy from the very beginning, often times foregoing short-term gains – most other game genres pander to short-term achievements and instant rewards.

Gamification of elections - Part 2
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

What is Gamification, and How Can I Avoid Use It?

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 2

“Gamification is the use of features and concepts (e.g. points, levels, leader boards) from games in non-game environments, such as websites and applications, in order to attract users to engage with the product.”

—Macmillan Dictionary

So, what are those “features and concepts from games”? How do they work and with what purpose? While these features are present in basically every game there is (after all, they are what makes them a game) there are variations in their use.

Gamification of elections - Part 1
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Voter Fatigue, or: Chronic Conditions of the Modern Mind

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 1

Electoral turnout has been in steady decline over the past several decades. Neither the numerous motivational incentives, nor the lowering of the voting age, nor the pandering to electoral fringe groups could spur voters to take their voices to the ballots. While here in Austria there were 500.000 more voters eligible for the general election (Nationalratswahl) in 2018 than 13 years ago, the percentage of voter participation dropped more than 7% – from 86% in 1995 to 78.8% in 2018. The same pattern can be witnessed in the Austrian presidential elections. From a “high water mark” of 95% back in the 70s, the turnout declined continuously to reach the lowest ever value of 70% in 2016. This pattern emerges throughout all elections. But why?