Actionable Gamification Notes

Just a guy who loves to write code and watch anime.
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Just a guy who loves to write code and watch anime.
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Qualities that make outstanding builders.

Bipedal vs quadrupedal: how many legs This is about the number of legs the creature walks on. Bipedal. Two legs. Humans, ostriches, T-rex, kangaroos, most fantasy humanoids. Quadrupedal. Four legs. Do

Intro You hear "lerp" and "smoothstep" everywhere in game dev. They sound like math jargon. They're not. Both are small tools that do the same job: smoothly move from one value to another. The problem

What is Kinematics Kinematics is the math field. It's the study of how things move without worrying about forces (which would be dynamics). FK and IK are the two branches: forward kinematics and inver

Intro Textures are usually the biggest cost in a 3D scene. Memory, bandwidth, and load time all get eaten by them. Resizing them is the obvious lever. There's more. This post is about the less obvious

Narrative: Context why you should play the game. It's your mission. Personalize the mission and their journey through the game e.g. "You are a hero who is going to save the world from the evil forces".
Unique opportunity: Letting people know the special chance they had discovering and using the game.
Progress bar: Make people feel like they are making progress. Show the granular percentage of the progress.
Achievement symbols: Give people something to feel proud of and showcase the achievements to others on the product/platform.
Leaderboards: Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly competitions. Leaderboards give people something to strive for, with daily/weekly providing new chances to win.
Boosters: Something that temporarily gives people a boost e.g. in Mario where you get a super power-up through mushroom or similar items.
Unlocking milestones: Achievements within a level you're playing that give a sense of accomplishment despite not being "done" -> keeps you hooked.
Collecting items: Great way to give people a sense of ownership and accomplishment.
Customization: Personalization options that can also be shared with others, creating ownership pride.
Build from scratch: Ikea effect -> people value things more when they've built or created them.
Trading system: A way for people to exchange items and resources with others.
Monitor effect: People needing to tune in regularly to see how things are progressing -> Clash of Clans does this well.
Brag button: Let people share and brag about their achievements with others.
Trophy shelves: Let people display and show off their achievements prominently.
Pay to skip: Spend money to get something that would otherwise take much longer -> Farmville, Clash of Clans, etc.
Premium benefits: More fun and achievements when paying -> Clash of Clans approach.
Time scarcity: You can only do something during a limited period of time.
Wait timers: Can't do something right away and need to wait -> creates impatience -> wait 25 mins to restore life or purchase -> Candy Crush.
Glowing choice: Recommended choice when you're not sure what to do -> e.g. Candy Crush guidance.
Mystery box: You don't know what you're going to get -> creates excitement and brings people back for the mystery.
Easter eggs: Sudden unexpected rewards that spike dopamine -> you're excited thinking you're the lucky one.
Lottery rewards: Rolling rewards and random prize systems that keep people engaged.