Customer Reviews

Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a UX designer working on various websites and mobile apps I found the first five chapters useful in my design thinking but I also found a the coding and platform chapters to be weak and kind of sleazy.

Before I write anymore, I want you to know that I'm not going to critique Gamficiation Theory here as that has been done well enough elsewhere. I just want to talk about the book :)

So the first five chapters of the book are useful and meaty enough to get you on your way. For instance, it provides some compelling arguments to think about your analytics in terms of 'levels' and 'experience points' in order to see what they are accomplishing, even if you don't expose the information to them. Moreover, the first five chapters gave me enough to work with to implement some gamified elements into my next project. There's also a supplemental workbook PDF on the authors website that compiles all the exercises found in the book which I could see using at a project kickoff.

That being said, I do have some complaints about this book. First, I feel like the author was selling his website GamificationU a little too hard. In order to download the aforementioned workbook I had to fill out a contact form and in order to get the 'advanced' movies the author provides you have to follow him on twitter. If you ask me it feels a little too sleazy considering I've already paid for the book. If I really want to be on the mailing list or to follow you, I would.

My second issue has to do with "Chapter 7: Coding Basic Game Mechanics". I applaud the author for including a chapter that walks us through the code, I really do. But given the current rapid development of rails he should have forked the project on Github and been more thorough with his documentation. As such, I'm still trying to get the environment setup and running...I'll report back on that when I'm done.

My third and last issue, Chapter 8: Sponsored by Badgeville. This is new for me as I've never seen a chapter flat out sponsored and written by a third-party vendor in an O'Reilly book. Their service actually doesn't seem that bad but the author should have written the chapter himself if he felt it was so good. So the result is that it either feels like this guy doesn't mind pushing Badgeville on his readers or that he was lazy.

If you're looking for a book to get you up to speed on gamification and working it into your UX Design, give this a read. Just don't be surprised by some of the other parts...

You want to have a textbook to install Gamification for your own services, programs or company? Motivated by all the hype about how Gamification is the solution to get an almost lifelong customer engagement and many returning sales? You want to copy the success of Zynga, Nike+ and Groupon (note the absence of Foursquare in this list as I think it's rather a bad example of Gamification)? You want to find the secret recipe in just one easy to read book?

Why not buy and read the newest book from the "foremost expert on the subject of Gamification"? Well the title of this book by Gabe Zicherman sounds like the perfect solution for your motivations above, right? Well, I have bad news for you, there is no easy shortcut to understanding and implementing successful principles of Gamification for you! Nor is this book gonna help you in achieving all that is promised on the outside of the book. Ever heard of "No pain no gain?". That's right, as I will tell you here right away that you have to do it the hard way, buy and read a minimum dozen of books (some reading list provided later) and even then it's not guaranteed you've found the secret recipe.

So safe your 14.10 US$ (strange that Amazon is already cutting the price on a newly book almost in half, unless it's not a bestseller, right?) and invest that and some more dollars into various other books with more insights, more practicable tips, more take-aways than this book. Save yourself from the pain to read through some cheap advertising of the services of Badgeville.com as there are many other companies that offer the same service as them - at least two others start also with a B in their company name (hint). Save yourself from being mislead on some of the important topics of motivation (intrinsic vs extrinsic), psychology and game design as the author didn't manage to either explain them correctly or, as Sebastian Deterding hints in his review, shows a dangerous piece of pseudo-knowledge!

Go to a local bookstore where you have the chance of unwrapping this book and read randomly inside to see if the claims are right, make yourself your own picture of the quality of this book (the look inside of Amazon can't give show you all)

Still find my review not convincing enough to give only one star? Want to get more in-depth details about why this book is only worth one star? Then go on to read Sebastian Deterdings full review, an excellent, very long post about why Gabe Zicherman's new book deserves just one star eg it just uses copy & paste from other people's (read: Amy Jo Kim) public available presentations without even giving proper reference, not even mentioning of devoting a full chapter of advertising one Gamification companies services [...] in chapter 7 of his book:

[...]

For those that find the review of Gabe Zicherman's new book to long, jump to end to read Sebastian Deterdings conclusion and to read the copy&paste proof of "Chapter 2: Player Motivation" and Chapter 7

Sadly, like many other reviewers said too, the concept of Gamification is really intriguing and can be a difference maker in your marketing efforts, but isn't that easy to be achieved. Ignoring intrinsic motivation and just focusing on extrinsic motivation is giving you a short, hyped-up experience where your program is going to die much quicker than it was hyped-up in the beginning. I for one haven't fully mastered Gamification as indeed just reading one or two books from the self-claimed "foremost expert on Gamification" isn't providing you a shortcut to understand Gamification fully, it requires ready and understanding a variety of different books from Motivation (Daniel Pink eg Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us) to Game Design (Jesse Schell The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses, Raph Koster A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Jane McGonigal eg Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World) to Psychology (Johnmarshall Reeve eg Understanding Motivation and Emotion) as well as reading through the various excellent and free available online presentations (like Amy Jo Kim, Sebastian Deterding, Michael Wu eg)

Gabe Zichermann's "Game-Based Marketing" was my introduction to gamification so when I saw that he released a follow-up I didn't hesitate to pick it up. The book didn't disappoint.

Whereas "Game-Based Marketing" provides more of a history on gamificiation and provides an excellent overview, "Gamification By Design" is a deeper dive into the underlying psychology that makes game mechanics effective. Along with reviewing his SAPS rewards model, Zichermann also discusses Bartle's personality types to segment various types of game players. Most articles I read focus too much on game mechanics without elaborating on the psychological drivers of gamification, which is similar to learning tools without knowing the trade. But this book provides the context for designers to apply tactics in a wide variety of marketing contexts. It also shares several instructive case studies and even touches on some rudimentary coding.

If you're not a game developer, the book won't turn you into one. But regardless of your level in the field, the book offers a robust lesson on gamification. As a marketer, it definitely helped me develop more creative and layered campaigns. Like all other Zichermann media I've either watched or read, the book is enjoyable because he is witty, funny and insightful without taking himself too seriously. The tone is quite appropriate, considering the magic of gamification is making things fun!

I attended Gabe's Summit in NYC last year. This was the first time I had been exposed to "Gamification", although the summit clearly explained that my entire life was comprised of game-like behavior. Everything from schooling to ascending the corporate ladder, to feeding my toddler vegetables by flying them around like an airplane.. I read the book after attending the summit and the workshop. I felt the explanations, clarity and examples of types of players were particularly helpful. I agree with a previous reviewer about the "coding basic mechanics" part.. but clearly that chapter is simply to illustrate how one might code the mechanics, I don't think he is actually trying to tell you how to "code a gamified experience".

I thought this book was a great overview of engagement strategies that, although described in the context of gaming, clearly apply far beyond literal games. The authors do a great job of distilling player definitions to useable types (socializers, killers, achievers, explorers). And if you don't have a clear idea of your own business's challenge-reward loops for customers, you are missing key insights to how to grow your business profitably.

By halfway through the book, I was excited to start applying the concepts for my own business!

Having played games much of my life, I've thought their function was to entertain us (although education is also possible).

Whatever the purpose is, one has to acknowledge that people enjoy interacting with systems and routines that challenge and reward them. From this psychological perspective then, there are lessons to be learned from game theory and mechanics, which can be applied to marketing, behavior change, and interaction design.

In reading Gamification by Design, the authors do a great job describing various types of games people play, motivations that keep them engaged, and how to employ tactics for doing so. In 109 pages (core topics) it's an excellent primer that will help dispel many myths and biases against using game techniques.

For those of you who don't care to explicitly make a game someday with such prominent features like points and badges, I still recommend reading and keeping it around for reference. For those very interested in gaming however, this book will be lite-fare, introductory material.

The more we can imagine ourselves as participants in designed interactions, the better we can build and adapt them for long term use and effectiveness. As an excellent complement, I suggest reading Emotional Design by Donald Norman.

Article first published as Book Review: Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps by Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham on Blogcritics and RPGameX.com

Depression, The Great Recession, to say the least, the economy is in flux. With ballooning unemployment numbers, many of the more creative people are trying to find their own business niche. Growing and keeping a business these days requires savvy marketing, through a variety methods. In Los Angeles, next week is Social Media Week, five days and 75 events focused on squeezing money out of social media. If you think gamification means kids play too much Call of Duty these days or have no idea how to use social media as a marketing tool, Gamification by Design by Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham is a good quick read to get a handle on the growing trend of using gamification to promote customer engagement.


Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps, at 169 pages, is a quick read, a Saturday afternoon and until the coding portions at the end is pretty easy to follow, even for those readers who are not tech savvy. The book begins with a simple history of gamification, from those long ago days before computers, when grocery stores used stamp books to maintain customer loyalty. New business owners or those contemplating a new business venture will probably find this book the most valuable, as the strokes painted are typically broad. Though Gabe Zichermann is a well known and experienced proponent for the use of gamification, his arguments here are made plainly.

Some may argue Gamification by Design oversells gamification and others may even be offended by the overall theme of making your customers think they are getting something, when you are really giving them nothing at all. While there is some truth to that, the book does a good job explaining the basic game mechanics and how gamification works. Where the concept gets tricky is in how much your business really going to get out of giving badges to customers that interact with you. The purpose of keeping people on your website longer is really just to expose them to more advertising and some may argue those people are already buying everything you offer them. For those sold and intent on implementing gamification, the author recommends checking out GamificationU.com.


The last couple of chapters cover planning, coding and implementing gamification on your website. Some readers may be a little intimidated by coding, although the instructions provided are fairly straightforward. The only problem with the coding is that others might find the application a little stark and as such, contrary to the main tenants of gamification. The solution provided for those that don't want to use the coding provided, and this where it gets a little bit tricky, are referred to the Badgeville service. The final chapter is sponsored by badgeville .com and reads as a `how to guide' for badgeville customers.


Gamification by Design makes a solid argument for using and implementing gamification in your business. For those that don't know what gamification is and want to know why everyone is talking about it, this book will certainly fill you in and if you've decided gamification is a tool you can use, Gamification by Design will walk you through finding new ways to engage and reward your customers. The issue some readers will have, particularly with the last chapter being sponsored by badgeville.com, is that it reads like an advertisement for gamification services. Business is hard work and gamification is probably not the only thing that will determine your success, but Gabe Zichermann makes the argument for at least giving it a look.

Generally I hate books with names like 'Gamification'. I don't know why, maybe some sort of childhood thing about pompous sounding neologisms. This book is not only the exception, it is a sparkling example of what happens when you combine clear writing with a challenging topic and a bent towards the practical.

If you can't tell by the title (and I couldn't) Gamification is what organisations do to make you keep coming back to their site. You know those things on FaceBook or LinkedIn that get you to share something with a friend or answer a quick quiz? In fact, the type of thing that you're doing right this minute, and, if you choose, you can click one of the buttons below - a 'find this helpful' click by you moves me up the ladder on the scores for reviewers on this site.

Well the ones that work well are the ones that make you say "Oh this is fun" and next thing you know you've spent half an hour (or half a day) doodling around some site in search of hidden treasures and the such like. These days all the big firms are using the same principles to get you hooked on their web-site and, coincidently, part with more of your money or (like this review) get 'crowd sourced' material (none of us get paid for writing reviews, it is part of 'the game'). Get it?

Gamification, by Christopher Cunningham, Gabe Zichermann, is all about how to develop your own version of these addictive pass times. And it is brilliantly written, full of practical examples, and just makes sense.

I read the book because I have a secret plan to make several million dollars from a social game one day... but even if you don't plan on designing your own on-line social game thingo, the book is worth buying - if only so you can understand what it is the buggers who design these things are doing to us. If you are thinking about using gaming on your web site then this is definitely worth considering, and I'd also recommend Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Media Games if you are interested in applying gaming ideas to a commercial site.

A good book about an important concept written in a clear and compelling way - what more could you want?

This book is well organized, concise and to the point. It offers lots of specific examples of game techniques and how to use them on company websites to promote customer interaction and how to use them in the context of social media and mobile apps to increase user involvement. I read the entire book in a few days and marked it up as I went. I am now putting the ideas in this book to use in my own work.

This is not a scholarly exploration of the topic and it is not a concept book that talks about the larger implications of gamification on society, business or culture. What it does is provide an easy read and good introduction to the topic for system designers, developers and marketers who need to get up to speed quickly and who need techniques and examples that they can put to use right away.

Anyone who is looking for how video games can improve work performance or to have well-written, thoughtful examples of how changes to work or education have occurred due to video games should overlook this title. This book is really more about the construction of apps and does not have the scholarship, mindful application of game theory, nor the real world examples to truly call itself "gamification." However, if all you are looking for is a book about construction of software, you might find this title interesting, if a bit long-winded.