GAMIFICATION, INC.

Ysmar Vianna
Maurício Vianna
Bruno Medina
Samara Tanaka

Recreating companies
through games
Gamification, Inc.
Recreating companies through games
Gamification, Inc.
Recreating companies
through games
Ysmar Vianna
Maurício Vianna
Bruno Medina
Samara Tanaka

2nd electronic edition

Rio de janeiro - 2022
Copyright © 2013 MJV Tecnologia Ltda.
All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction of this publication, in whole or in

part, constitutes copyright violation.

Contribution Translation
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Paulo Sergio Guimarães
Proofreading - Grammar Review
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Visual Design
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Visual thinking
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Printing
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Gamification, Inc : recreating companies through games / Ysmar

Vianna ... [et al.] ; tradução: Glaucia Machado. — 1. Ed. – Rio de
Janeiro : MJV Press, 2013.
116p. ; e-book.

Tradução de: Gamification, Inc: como reinventar empresas

a partir de jogos.

ISBN 978-85-65424-10-3 (e-book.)

1. Jogos para computador – Aspectos sociais.

I. Vianna, Ysmar. II. Machado, Glaucia.

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 Introduction 9

1. After all, what's gamification? 13

2. One or two things you should know about games 25
3. Gamification, Inc. 41
4. Gamification & Companies: made for each other 55
5. Let’s get down to work! 77
6. What about the future? 107

Referrals 111
 I'm very pleased to write about this MJV’s Press release, dedi-
cated to the use of game mechanics in the business context. This
book is written by an IT Consulting team who apply games to their
customers’ work processes in a pioneering way. "”Gamification"
is the term in English, which defines the tendency to apply this
mechanic to situations that are not pure entertainment such as:
innovation, marketing, training, employee performance, health and
social changes” - says Brian Burke, one of our collaborators.
The objective of game application into business context is: to
obtain high level of employees’ commitment, to facilitate the intro-
duction of changes in the organization and stimulate innovation.
According to Gartner analysts, games help achieving higher
employee engagement through:
• Speeding up performance assessment cycles, causing employe-
es faster adaptation to changes needed on the organization;
• Clarifying targets and rules relevant to games, removing ambiguity
and vagueness from working processes;
• Submitting a more persuasive narrative to performed tasks
generating more engagement;
• Breaking down large tasks into shorter ones that can be achieved
in short term, keeping employees engaged throughout the projec.
In this book, you will find many examples on applying these prin-
ciples to Brazilian cases, and a practical methodology for immediate
application to business context. Gartner has been following the
process of implementing games in companies worldwide, and sees
with very good eyes the emergence of a professional community
dedicated to this purpose also in Brazil.
Enjoy your reading!

Márcio Krug
Gartner - Group Vice President
Introduction

Gamification is an English word, without translation or equivalent in

Portuguese, which means the use of games in activities other than
pure entertainment. The elements of this approach and their cases
are the subject of this book. We aim to portray a contemporary vision
of this new use of technology in the business environment, regardless
of its size, in order to support the objectives of their development.
From this point of view, the use of games as part of the work inserts a
social component to the corporation’s operations, consistent with the
current use of technology out of the professional context.
Games are a modern model of people self-organization to achie-
ve a goal. Companies’ operational structure and models are the
same since the 19th Century, based on hierarchy, bureaucracy and
specialization of labor in order to achieve efficiency on results. This
model requires clearly defined roles and responsibilities, accurate
processes and management based on leadership and control, like in
military organizations. However, in the modern world, these models
restrain individual capability, the way tasks are demanded and the
commitment with professional goals. Information Technology has
created the possibility to organize work in a different way - through
social aspects - and games are the platform that best fits as a tool
for this new trend.
The common social platforms in the modern world allow people
to interact, but they’re not enough to achieve the purpose of
organizing work. When using games, social platforms are amplified,
allowing specialized content to be shared, powered by the context of
use and by the communities around it. It's possible to change com-
panies’ tasks by introducing the social work range from games that
bring motivation, engagement, and personal satisfaction. Gradually,
work platforms, such as softwares and websites, besides their own
business models, have been changed by the introduction of games
mechanisms, creating a new science, which we will hear a lot about
in the next years.

9
 MJV is pleased to participate in this transformation as a pioneer
on viewing the corporate use of games. This book has been prepared
by a team that includes experts from different areas, as a result
of years of experience with practical application on this new work
platform. We sincerely hope to contribute to the rapid development of
this sector.

Ysmar Vianna
Maurício Vianna

***

Regardless of the size or geographic location in today's world,

organizations are invariably ruled by the symbiotic relationship
between the constant market variation and the consequent attempt
to overcome them through structured processes along the way. The
most visible side of this inglorious battle is known as organizational
culture. Roughly speaking, we can say that the culture of a company
merges with its historic peculiarities, as well as the people who hel-
ped writing it; therefore, being possible to face eventual resistance
as the winds determines in what direction it will take your boat.
Actually, to keep themselves profitable and overcome daily pro-
blems, companies usually need to challenge essential paradigms
to its good working flow which can determine not only the rhythm
of the daily operations but also the directions for the coming years.
Considering an extremely volatile scenario, as a result from fierce
competition on conquering consumers who are even more aware of
their needs, it is quite impossible to maintain a corporate strategy
that is not aligned with the constant search for innovation. It’s in this
context that Gamification is inserted. At the end of the sentence,
the more experienced reader asks himself: Did I understand this
correctly? So, the suggestion here is to use games to solve my busi-
ness issues? The answer is "yes". For those who didn’t consider this
answer absurd and decided to give the authors a vote of confidence,
we can see that we are not alone.
In an approach delivered by the American MTV with the Y
Generation (people born from 1980 to 2000), 50% of respondents
state that they recognize aspects from applied games to many
different areas of their daily life. This group now represents 25% of
the economically active population worldwide. This means that a
quarter of the wealth of the planet is generated by people who grew
up jumping on mushrooms, fighting monsters to save princesses,
taking bolides in surrealistic circuits and exchanging coins for extra

10
lives. More than just being familiar to the language of games, these
former children, that today occupies prominent positions in large
companies, certainly do not see the deadlocks imposed to their
careers with the same eyes of those who designed the processes
which they need to undergo to overcome professional obstacles.
From this apparent inconsistency comes the certainty of an invisible
gap between beliefs and expectations, regarding organizations and a
considerable portion of their employees.
So, the challenge this book intends to face is set: considering
the mechanisms originated by games, in contrast with current
organizational processes, as well as the way they influence the daily
routine of the people involved, gamification can be used by com-
panies to engage, socialize, motivate, teach and retain their
contributors and customers in an efficient way. In addition
to this purpose, we should consider a second question, equally or
more relevant than the first one: what aspects from the world of ga-
mes could be translated into the reality of organizations in order to
bring them closer to this new way of thinking; which the assimilation
seems essential to understand the world today?

Bruno Medina
Samara Tanaka

11
1
After all, what's Gamification?

Gamification is the use of games mechanisms oriented to solve

practical issues or to engage a specific public. With increasing
frequency, this set of techniques have been applied by several
companies and entities from many segments as alternatives to
traditional approaches, especially to encourage people to adopt
certain behaviors, to get to know new technologies, speed their
learning or training processes, and turning some tedious or
repetitive tasks into pleasant ones. Mainly in recent years, game
designers worldwide have dedicated their efforts to apply games’
principles on different areas such as health, education, public
policies, and sports or to increase productivity.
The term “Gamification” was first used in 2002 by Nick Pelling,
British computer programmer and researcher. The term only be-
came popular 8 years later, in a TED presentation done by Jane
McGonigal, an American world-renowned game designer and
author of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How
They Can Change the World, considered a kind of “Gamification
Bible”. Jane’s argument that grabbed the world's attention was
the perception that if all the hours, played only by World of War-
craft (traditional online game that has been running since 2001)
players, are summed, 5.93 billion years could have been spent on
solving problems in a virtual world. Indeed, the number seems
absurd, but it is correct: the entire history of planet Earth, from
the first manifestation of life up to now, has developed in a period
of time shorter than the one that, up to 2010, totalized the dedica-
tion to the fantastic world of Azeroth by its faithful admirers.
It’s worth thinking about what results could be obtained, for
example, if the same effort was applied to solve real world issues
such as, the eradication of extreme poverty, global warming,
mobility in big cities or research for healing a severe disease.
Mentioning a real example, in 2011 Washington University’s
researchers were in the front pages because of the game “Foldit”,

13
a crowdsourcing [1] instructed to gather group efforts from
thousands of anonymous participants, motivated by the challenge
to try to understand how could a specific protein be used against
Aids. The activity attracted 46,000 participants - the vast majority
without any connection with the medical area - which in just 10
days solved a puzzle that scientists took 15 years trying without
any success. This kind of initiative is referred to as Serious Games.
The gamification development comes from a somewhat obvious
finding: human beings are strongly attracted to games. Over the
centuries, mainly all known civilizations have been associated to a
competition important to the social structuring of the community
which they belonged to. Besides the most predictable examples,
such as Greeks (Ancient Olympic Games), Romans (gladiator duels,
chariot races) and Aztecs (Mesoamerican Ball Game), there is still a
surprising evidence [2] of this fact that occurred about 3,000 years
ago in Lydia, a region located in the ancient Minor Asia. In times of
climatic adversities, Atys, king at the time, established an unusual
practice of food rationing: to intercalate game days – when eating
wasn’t allowed – and no game days - when eating was allowed.
This policy lasted 18 years and it started by chance, from the
perception that: when involved long hours in competitions group
members simply lost their interest in food.
Still on the theme, renowned game designer Chris Crawford
[3] described an interesting theory about the evolution of the act
of playing inserted on the evolution of the species context. By
observing, for example, the way crocodiles or other reptiles hunt,
one can notice that in these animals this action is made by an
extremely simple mechanism consisting of three well-defined mi-
lestones: first of all they choose a place to hide, then they wait for
a prey of their interest and only then they attack. The procedure
is considered a locomotor learning, since there is almost no brain
activity involved. Mammals, on the other hand, have developed a
more sophisticated method, sequenced in five steps: they prowl
searching for a prey and, once they find it, they keep lurking,
trying to get as close as possible. When they get close enough to
ponce, they attack, which invariably involves the prey chase and
subsequent capture. Note that this way of hunting demands more
brain than the one used by reptiles because it involves some sort
of strategy, the same required by these animals to prevail upon
their prey, even one bigger than themselves.
And how did mammals learn this? They learnt it through the
exercise of playing. On herbivores, the relationship between
playing and surviving occur in a more visible way: because

14
 running is the best defense against predators, when they are not
fighting for their lives, they are having fun jumping, kicking – that
can even scare wolves, for example – running off through the
field. For ancestral humans, one of the main ways of getting food
was basically consisted of throwing objects towards their targets.
Maybe that’s why we still love throwing objects: stones to water,
spears, hammers, basketballs, volleyballs, golf, etc.
Due to this, it’s natural that not just games but the act of playing
has been, for a long time, topic for many academic discussions. Du-
ring the 30’s, the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, in his book Homo
Ludens, [4] brought a significant contribution to related researches
when stated the need of understanding the game beyond the
entertainment aspect. By his theory, Huizinga shows how the
act of playing is inserted in several social relationships, such as
politics, work, poetry, and even nature. From the author’s concept,
games are considered artifacts that build dialogical and dialectical
relationships with the subjects through its singular and distinct
ways of interaction. Therefore, the act of playing has a meaning
beyond entertainment. It presents its importance as a cultural ele-
ment when: the game is more than a physiologic phenomenon or a
psychological reflection. [5] It goes beyond physical or biological
activity. It’s a significant function. There is something in the game
which transcends the immediate needs of life and gives meaning
to the action. Every game means something.
But how exactly can games help the understanding or even the
adaptation to changes in daily life? What should be, for instance,
the significant contribution to the business world since, as a
legitimate cultural component, games contribute to the cognitive,
emotional and social development?
[1] Crowdsourcing:
Model of collaborative
production that put
many people together,
personally or virtually,
to mitigate impasses,
create content or
develop solutions.
[2] mcgonigal, 2012
[3] Lecture conducted in
Cologne
Game Lab, 2011.
Source: youtube.com/
watch?v=5LoMmcJA2JY
[4] huizinga, 2001
[5] mastrocola, 2012

15
 morality,
creativity,
spontaneity,
ability to solve
problems, absence
of prejudice, facts
Self-realization acceptance

self-esteem, self-confidence, sense

of achievement, respect to others, be
Esteem respected by others

Love/belonging friendship, family, sexual intimacy

security towards the body, job, subsistence, morality,

family nucleus, health, prosperity
Security

Physiological breathing, feeding, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

Perhaps a first step towards understanding the phenomenon

that games represent may be related to the famous Theory of
Hierarchy of Needs, developed in 1943 by the American psycholo-
gist Abraham Maslow.
According to the study, human needs can be grouped in
pyramid levels suggesting that the journey to self-fulfillment of
any individual is only successful when the achievement of their
desires occurs in ascending order, starting from the most basic
desires to the most complex ones. At the baseline of the pyramid
are the physiological demands, such as eating, breathing or
drinking water; followed by demands related to security, love, es-
teem and, finally, personal fulfillment, having a sense of morality,
be creative and achieve spontaneity in relationships.
According to the suggested logic, the act of playing would be
obviously related to the top of the pyramid, since it is considered
as a desirable activity but not essential to survival. The point here
is: the more individuals, societies and life itself becomes complex,
more complicated are the required mechanisms to experience
the feeling of satisfaction in daily life. In our work or in personal
relationships, the rules are often hazy; undefined goals, and the
way to achieve them - unknown. Actions do not receive feedback,
and rewards, if any, may take time. Therefore, it is comprehensive

16
 that we have created games, as they satiate in a simpler, faster,
clearer and efficient way this constant search to conquer or
achieve objectives.
At the end of 70’s, Bernard Suits, in his acclaimed book The
Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, defined the matter properly:
“A game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.”
Like in the game of life, winning and losing are quite subjective
concepts; “unnecessary obstacles” assume the role of providing us
some certainty among many assumptions. The relation and asso-
ciation between the games’ mechanisms with human behavior will
be deeper explored when the players’ profiles and the motivations
that sensitize them are presented.
Although games are an inevitable starting point to understand
gamification as a methodology, it is worth saying something that will
be fundamental to absorb this book’s content in a more profitable
and assertive way: although it is one of the most celebrated
themes of the moment – gamification – as a concept has been
systematically misinterpreted. It is wrong to think that it is a science
that focuses on the act of creating games, but yet a methodology
through which game mechanisms are applied to solve problems or
impasses in other contexts. Wikipedia definition:

gamification: use of game mechanics to several contexts with

the objective to improve the participation and generate engage-
ment and commitment from potential users. [6]

In general, gamification application indicates situations that

involve creation or adaptation of user’s experience to a particular
product, service or process; the intention to awake positive emo-
tions, explore personal skills or engage virtual or physical rewards
to complete tasks. Other than Serious Games, and according to
its more acclaimed definition, to submit to a gamification process
doesn’t mean to participate in a game, but yet take over its most
efficient aspects (aesthetic, mechanics and dynamics) to emulate
benefits that are usually reached by it.
According to Yu-kai Chou, [7] probably the most respected
gamification guru nowadays, the biggest contribution this metho-
dology can offer to society would be the opposite to traditional
Design focused in function to the Human Centered Design.
According to his theory, most of the known production systems
[6] Source: pt.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Ludificação are oriented to facilitate tasks performance in the shortest time
possible. The simple fact that people who perform these jobs
[7] Source: yukaichou.co have feelings, insecurities and opinions about what is expected of

17
71% them, or about how they should achieve their professional goals,
already represents a shortcut to activate their self-motivations.
of American do not
This way of thinking about the organizational model can, for
feel themselves
instance, lead to a cultural change in a department, or a voluntary
motivated by their
acceptance of a new corporate process.
work
Also according to Chou, this is the reason for choosing the
= us$ 350 bi
term "gamification", since, over the past four decades, the most
injury [8]
notable brains in the gaming industry have been busy understan-
ding how to motivate and engage people from the perspective
1 of human behavior analysis. However, it’s wrong to think that
BILLION gamifying a process is just to reproduce a cake recipe. People
generally do not behave as lab mice, who submit themselves
active players
without questioning in working for a piece of cheese. Applying a
nowadays
well-succeed gamification strategy is directly related to context
understanding where the user is inserted, and what are their
100 extrinsic (incited by the external environment) and intrinsic (self-
MILLLION -motivated) expectations and constraints.
It is also noteworthy that we only get engaged in long term with
hours:
games that make sense, emphasizing the importance of creating
time to build
arguments and weave feasible narratives, i.e., related to the reality
Wikipedia knowledge
of the target audience. But, what about Candy Crush? That story
=
of a candy factory could not be more foolish and unrealistic, and
3 weeks
yet it’s played by millions of people every day, the reader may
playing Angry Birds
think. We need to note in this case is that games like Candy
=
Crush, Draw Something or SongPop, to mention just a few that
7 days playing
became extremely popular in a very short period of time, don’t
Call of Duty
intend nothing more than entertain their users while they wait
for the subway or at the dentist. Different from games designed
directed only to entertain, gamification uses game mechanisms
92% to modify or develop new behaviors.
0-2 children already Nevertheless, this is not always an easy goal to achieve.
playing Devotion to the exercise of investigating our routine in search for
attempts of gamification application for the most different purpo-
60 ses, each of us could create a list of initiatives that nobody cares
about. You just need to think that, in theory, any game has “game
MILLION elements”, but this doesn’t turn them into really good games.
of Brazilian people Paraphrasing Mario Herger, another gamification guru, gamifying
has at least one a bad application only causes it to become an even worse one.
video game at home [10] As the methodology achieves popularity, it is not difficult
[9] to predict a scenario in which scores, leader boards and wide
badges [11] distribution will be omnipresent, even being little or
not effective at all, considering the real goals that were initially
intended. Even before considering gamification as a possible

18
 approach to the problem to be solved, it’s necessary to keep
in mind three questions, those same that, if properly answered,
often increases largely the chances of projects to succeed. The
questions are: [12]

1. Why will a game benefit the service’s users?

2. What are the business purposes behind this game?
3. How will game mechanisms enable users to reach the
business purposes?

Next, we will present some examples from various areas,

to measure the potential benefits that could be achieved by
gamification.

Education
Duolingo
Duolingo is a collaborative online platform that combines free
languages learning and a crowdsourcing-based translation ser-
vice. The system was designed so that, by studying a particular
language, the student, even without being fully aware, helps
translating websites and online documents. Beginners start the
course translating simple sentences and, according to their pro-
gress, they receive more complex texts, and so on. The platform
users are then asked to rank the colleagues’ translations, giving
valuable feedback on understanding and learning from the work
[8] Source: gallup.com/
they’ve done.
poll/150383/majority- While evolving their knowledge, the students receive points
-american-workers-not- by the completion of specific tasks, and some of them include
-engaged-jobs.aspx time constraints or are mandatory to “get to a new phase”. Wrong
[9] Source: Ibope (jo- answers results in losing points and “lives” as well as delaying
gos.uol.com.br/ultimas- the game’s progress. Since the system is adaptive, each student
-noticias/2012/03/31/
has a learning experience absolutely customized to their needs,
segundo-ibope-mais-
-de-60-milhoes-de-bra- once the challenges are set according to their performance. It’s
sileiros-possuem-vi- interesting to observe how the model is efficient, considering
deogame-em-casa.htm) that, despite Duolingo users are technically working without
[10] herger, 2013 compensation, they don’t seem to care about it.
[11] Badges: Insignias
that, on the game’s uni-
verse, prove the acqui-
sition of specific skills or
achievements.
[12] Source: enterprise-
-gamification.com

19
Financing Sector
Rabobank [13]
According to the prevailing logic, words like “Bank” and “enter-
tainment” are not to be used in the same sentence, at least before
Rabobank — German financing institution acting in 48 countries,
with assets about € 770 billion – adopted gamification as a tool to
boost business. The first step of this journey was to use Serious
Games to promote business on TV shows or prospect potential
clients (actions for 8-16 y/o audience), but the project that really
stood out on the strategy chosen by the bank was related to mort-
gages requests. The way the process was structured, a proponent
needed to submit about 30 documents to the bank before getting
access to the money. The intention of the project’s developers
was that the client could submit them online, without the need to
deliver the paperwork at the agency.
By introducing the practice of providing feedback for each
upload, the released amounts were more precisely defined brin-
ging less risk for the institution. The loans requesters had more
clearness about the process’s milestones, reducing anxiety levels
and, consequently, the need for more interaction with bank’s staff.
As the process began to be seen by customers as a kind of com-
petition for efficiency and quality of the data provided, its time
length was reduced and became more assertive. The conclusion
is that currently, 80% of mortgages requests are made through
online system, reducing significantly the bank’s process cost.

Health / well-being
SuperBetter [14]
Developed by Jane McGonigal’s personal experience
(years ago, the game designer had an accident that caused a
serious concussion, which abruptly interrupted her career and
endangered her life), this is a tool created to help severe patients
to progress, improving their clinical conditions. Doctors, Psycho-
logists, Scientists and researchers were involved for almost two
years on the game’s design, with the main objective to strengthen
the physical and emotional condition of patients, by means of
resilience. Keep fit, change the diet or include daily doses of exer-
cises are already hard tasks for people in good health conditions.
Imagine for those somehow debilitated? Therefore, when starting
the game, users need to establish a goal and determine how to
achieve it.

20
 By completing tasks and inspiring other people with their
progress, the player gain points in different areas of their profiles,
such as “mental”, “emotional, “social” etc. It’s possible to submit
themselves to specific guides that determine tasks like: walking
around the block and dancing your favorite song or even defeat
"villains", for more than one hour, sitting on the chair or driving short
itineraries that could be completed on foot. In case of needing help,
the player can ask support from their Facebook friends, or even get
connected to other players from SuperBetter. Therefore, the battle
against severe diseases should turn into an exciting competition
where quality of life is the most valuable Prize.

Retail/e-commerce
Woot.com [15]
Woot.com is a retail website that shows a quite peculiar busi-
ness model: Only one daily offer available in limited amount. The
goods are updated at midnight sharp, meaning that: if customers
really want to buy the website’s items, they need to submit to its
hard rules. Because each product has limited availability and this
availability is unknown until the moment the offer is posted; it’s
evident that these factors enforce the potential purchaser’s im-
pulsiveness.After all, they know that staying up late on a working
day can result in a big disappointment or in the possibility of
purchasing the item they always longed for, at an unbeatable
price.
After submitting to the process for a few nights, most visitors
change their real interest for the offered product to the sensation
[13] For more informa- of finally purchasing anything. In this case, the purpose is to over
tion access value the offer and get advantage from the customer’s impulsivity
enterprise-gamification. to close the deal. Apparently, for some Woot.com clients, what
com/index.php/de/ really matters is to win the "competition" no matter what!
finanzwesen/144-
-rabobank-how-a-
-dutch-bank-wins-with- Technology/social
-gamification
Game with a Purpose [16]
[14] For more informa-
tion access This website uses crowdsourcing and gamification to engage
superbetter.com/ internet users to computers training to answer researches in a
about
more accurate manner. One of the available games is called Esp
[15] For more informa-
Game: two people look at one picture on their screens and type as
tion access woot.com
[16] For more much words as possible to describe the image. Once the provided
information access descriptions by both players match; they earn points and go to the
gameswithpurpose.org. next level. The matched definitions turn into tags that help players

21
to categorize pictures to facilitate future research processes.
From observing these cases, and the way gamification can be
applied as a structured process to achieve specific goals; we go
forward to this book’s new unit, which proposes to deepen into
main aspects of properly using games mechanics. So, before get-
ting down to work, it will be necessary to go back to the beginning,
and understand what makes a game a good game.
23
2
One or Two things you should
know about games

The Three Faces of Games

Everyone is able to identify a game when in contact with one,
even those with a minimal connection to it. However, a much
more complicated task would be elucidating the broad concept
capable of translating all the diversity suggested by the term.
After all, what is common between the traditional OnePeg and
the latest shooter game released on digital platforms? When we
need to comprehend more clearly what exactly characterizes a
game, it’s necessary to contextualize it according to our life. This
means to reflect upon how the act of playing is a game and how
games represent a way to play, by the meaning of experiencing or
simulating circumstances more or less tangible.
The game is therefore a playful, unstructured and spontaneous
activity, and the act of playing a fundamental condition on
people’s development on their learning processes and investi-
gation related to the world and society. Even though this activity
oversteps boundaries of pure entertainment, as mentioned in the
previous chapter, its genesis includes the playfulness concept.
From this principle, it’s fundamental to pay attention to the
interaction possibilities proposed by games and its possible ap-
plication to our daily life, as they are currently presented through
multiple genres and interfaces. Among the main existing catego-
ries we may mention analogical, digital and pervasive games.

analogical games
History shows that the first known game formats have emerged
around the year 3500 BC, but are still presented from the classic
board games (chess, backgammon, checkers, etc.) and others
not so classics as Monopoly, Game of Life, War or Detective.
Other examples to be considered are:

25
• Board Games like “Pick-up-Sticks, and RPG Games;
• Card Games like Poker, Uno, and Trading Card Games;
Games (collectable card games) like Magic the Gathering,
Pokemon and Yu-gi-Oh;
• Dice Games like Craps;
• Pencil-and-paper games like Crosswords, Tic-Tac-Toe and
Stop;
• Sports games like basketball and soccer;
• Group Dynamics and Training Games.

digital games
In order to get the proper comprehension of this game category,
a previous contextualization is required mainly due to its last
three decades importance; from the time videogames consoles
became home appliances. In case evidences are not sufficient,
the game industry figures prove the exponential growth of the
gaming industry, which in 2009 the revenues in the United States
exceeded $ 20 billion, surpassing even the powerful movie
industry. Maybe the explanation to this phenomenon is related
to technological advent, factor that is leveraging the market im-
provement – nowadays representing an average of a third of total
expenditures with entertainment – by offering enough platforms
diversity and formats to cover all players’ profiles.
In addition, it’s closely related to internet growing and also
to social networks’ popularity, especially Facebook and its large
range of app games, as well as the increasing incidence of smar-
tphones, devices used by the vast majority of players.
According to Alexandre Orrico, data collected by Pricewa-
terhouseCoopers (PwC) survey, indicates that in 2011 the
Brazilian market turnover was of approximately BRL $840 million.
This indicator makes Brazil the fourth country in the world in
Electronic gaming consumerism. Besides electronic games, we
must also consider in this category an important subdivision:
the simulators. Even more faithful to its proposed aims, these
devices are used when the intention is to offer a high quality
experience of graphic and sensorial similarity.

26
 pervasive games
As electronic games evolve, so does the discussion revolving
around the creation of artifacts that can enable more realistic and
interactive interfaces, not only to meet the needs from demanding
consumers that are eager for technology, but also to transcend
the experience provided by the excessively virtualized relationship
between player and device. From this point of view, the pervasive
concept has guided launchings like Microsoft’s Kinect, and Oculus
Rift from Oculus vr, among other consoles designed to physically
engage the player, forcing them, for example, to abandon their
comfortable armchair in order to sweat blood when wielding a real
racket that controls a virtual ball in a tennis match. By definition,
pervasive games are those in which there is at least one type of
interaction that takes place in the physical universe, in this case,
with another person, with a particular object or in a specific place.
When mixing typical electronic games challenges (enigmas, mis-
sions) with mobile tools (smartphones, networks) these games can
determine that, to accomplish challenges, participants will have
to take photos and send them to others or meet unknown people
in a coffee shop to hand them an object that will serve as a key to
unlock new levels; or maybe the "match" will occur from 9am to
6pm on an outlined perimeter in a city’s neighborhood where they
will have to identify players in a busy crowd and tell them a code in
order to form a team. The pervasive technology enables "games
to be run on heterogeneous devices, likely to be available seven
days a week, 24 hours a day”. [1] Note that this interaction must be
necessarily tied to a tenuous relationship between game and reali-
ty, however, without acting intrusively on the player. The offshoots
of pervasive games are the ARGs (Alternate Reality Games),
widely used in promotional activities, stimulating the consumers’
relationship with brands and products in a playful activity.

What characterizes a game as a game?

With more or less tendency to gender, age and specs; everything
that can be considered as a game has a set of indivisible
elements that most of the times are not explicitly structured. Ho-
wever, when different addressed rules are put aside, "all games
share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and
[1] vásquez; andrea, voluntary participation." [2]
2009, p. 26.
[2] mcgonigal, 2012

27
 The goal justifies an activity performance by players and, in
other words, the element by which game participants focus on
achieving designated purposes.
The goal may be shown as victory upon a competitor, the con-
clusion of all challenges from a videogame (also known as “beat
the game”) or promote a character’s excellence in an online game
where there is no end. Goal and objective should not be confused
because the first transcends the idea of completing a task, unlike
the second. So, we can emphasize that goal is not always reached
and may only serve as a purpose constantly pursued by the player
giving him a sense of direction during the game.
The second element to be considered is the rules. When combi-
ned, rules compose a set of dispositions that condition the game’s
realization in order to promote the balance between possible
challenges without being easy enough to discourage its resolution.
Rules adjust player’s complexity level when facing the activity
to be developed, enabling creativity and encouraging strategic
thinking. In some games, the players themselves are responsible
for subverting the pre-set rules, which configures as a dynamic
associated to the act of playing.
Therefore, rules have the function to define the way the player
will behave or how he will arrange his actions to meet the game’s
challenges. The third games’ common characteristic is the
feedback system. The main function is to inform players how their
relation with the various aspects that regulate their interaction to
the activity is. It is also up to this system to improve motivation,
keeping the players constantly aware of the achieved progress
related to themselves and the goal, in some explicit manner.
The fourth and, purposefully, last feature shown is voluntary
participation. In any type of game, digital or not, it’s necessary to
have consensus among all proposed conditions and the player.
In other words, the acceptance of the goals, rules and feedback
model is necessary in order to enable the common conditions
for matching games with multi-players. Under this perspective,
games only exist when the player is able to engage with these
elements as they were proposed. Therefore, this is the sought

28
 goal when deciding to apply certain game’s mechanic to a
specific purpose.
Other aspects such as interactivity, graphic support, narrative,
rewards, competitiveness, virtual environments or the concept
of victory, among others, are common features to many games,
but are not defining. These artifices are oriented to build a closer
relationship with the four previously listed characteristics, i.e.,
ways to consolidate and strengthen the stated elements.

Motivation, the magic word

Undoubtedly, one of the main factors that justify all the interest
games have caused lately is the perception of attractiveness they
have upon us, and how this ability to generate engagement and
dedication can be applied to other purposes like, for example, cor-
porate context. This perception is often reinforced by sentences
that can sound quite familiar – especially to those with teenage
children – such as “This boy is addicted to videogame” or “My son
is so hooked up on this game that he doesn’t hear me.”
More corroborative evidence of this behavior pattern is the
death of a Thai in 2012, after reportedly having spent more than 40
consecutive hours playing Diablo III, or the North American who
lost his own son's birth because he could not resist the temptation
to fall back in his saga in World of Warcraft when back home to
pick up the suitcase that he was supposed to take to the hospital.
Similar cases, unfortunately, are not rare, mainly in Asia; where
there are specialized clinics to treat people addicted to electronic
games. Facing these facts, a same question always comes to
mind: after all, why are games are so attractive to human beings?
The answer is: because they bring satisfaction.
The pleasant achievement of an activity is one of the most
important elements to activate our creativity. The players’
dedication and subsequent pleasure achieved on performed
tasks during the game should be a key factor to obtain a positive
emotion. However, we observe that motivation is a neuralgic
point on discussing creative activity, and respectively, the study
of gamification. From this case, we notice that the impetus is
related to a behavioral process which leads the player to act in
favor of meeting certain demands. In this context, it is assumed
that there are two cut-outs corresponding to the definitions of
[3] fleith; alencar,
2010, p. 209-230. intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
[4] guimarães, Intrinsic motivation can be defined as the one in which the
2001, p. 37-57.

29
player is engaged in an activity by his own desire, i.e., "because he
perceives it as interesting, engaging, challenging and enjoyable.”
[3] Therefore, "an intrinsically motivated individual looks for novel-
ty, entertainment, curiosity satisfaction, opportunity to practice
new skills or gain control over something”. [4]
Extrinsic motivation, in turn, suggests that the relationship
between the player and the developed activity comes from the
desire of achieving certain external reward, such as material
goods or even recognition by success.
Therefore, if the motivation concept is applied to the scope
of games mechanisms, it could be defined as the one where the
person’s lived experiences are articulated and new internal and
external resignification perspectives are purposed to these pro-
cesses through creativity stimulation, free thinking, and providing
well-being.

Several factors coexist when taking into account the develo-

pment of a game and their motivation strategies. Broadly, these
features seek to achieve the four great motivators’ axis: com-
petition, learning, escaping reality and social interaction.
Some of these factors are described below, as well as the most
common types of players, in order to present how the mentioned
motivation axis are correlated.

30
 age, generation and gender
These are the three most significant factors, when the objective
is to define a really engaging game strategy. This is because, in
general, the mere consideration of such aspects already provides
enough subsidies for the creation and setting of a narrative, since
with them, it becomes possible to carry out the identification of
major hypotheses, as the probable time of dedication, level of
interest in the topic or the supposed platform domain on which the
game will be available.

What attracts each genre in games [5]

Men Women
• spatial puzzles • dialog and verbal puzzles
• trial and error • earning by example
• competition • real world situations
• destruction • nurturing
• mastery • emotion

Age-related games [6]

0-3 Toy attracted

4-6 Awake of interest in games

7-9 The age of reason: become very interested in game playing

10-13 The age of obsession

13-18 Plenty of free time to play and strong gender differences

18-24 They play less than when teenagers, but have preferences

25-35 Focused to professional/familiar issues, casual game players

35-50 Family maturation, they get the game interest back

50+ Plenty of free time, games become socializing activity

[5-6] Adapted from

schell, 2008
Researches [7] show, for example, that male audience has more
[7] Sources: blog.
flurry.com/bid/57219/ tendencies to engage to more extensive games and they exalt
Mobile-Social-Gamers- the competition. Women prefer casual games they can play in
-The-New-Mass- smartphones or from social networks, with interaction tendency and
-Market-Powerhouse experience sharing.
e en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Women_and_vi-
deo_games

31
 culture and social role
When thinking about ways of motivation, cultural factor is also an
element to be considered. Social-economic aspects, preferences
for individual or collective activities, cooperative or competitive
profile definition, possibility of setting characters, among others,
are also important supporting axis to help awaken the interest
in games. Understanding the real world scenario the player is
inserted in, is, therefore, fundamental to conceive dynamics to
make them represented on the virtual world. Let’s consider a
corporate game example: employees who are more communicative,
or who like to express themselves by writing, may, in the game
context, devote themselves to create discussion forums, blogs, and
manuals. Not only narrowing their relationship with the activity, but
also encouraging other colleagues to also join the proposal.

skill level
Creating a difficulty system to the presented challenges during
the course of a game may be a complex task, mainly when the
intention is to adjust it to the interest of the target audience. This
happens because there can be different complexity levels in the
same game, whether from distinct difficulty challenges or even
from building a demand system that makes a common challenge
a somewhat complicated one. To be motivating, a game should
enable players to feel constantly stimulated, but this feat is only
possible when an adequate evaluation of their skills is carried out
when facing the tasks they need to comply. From levels, tutorials,
practical examples, training modes, among other strategies, a
game should enable both beginners and experts to have inte-
raction difficulties levels compatible with their ability to perform
them. Thus, knowing and tracking a scenario from the target
audience – whether through the features already mentioned, as
well as others, additional and more specific - is fundamental to
create a well tied system relation between challenge and ability.
A system that combines such factors, in addition to expanding the
scope of target audience – since it attracts people with different
levels of accuracy to perform tasks – enables a big step on esta-
blishing an effective engaging environment, directly motivating
and, therefore, a successful game.
Mario Herger, in his book Gamification at Work — Designing
Engagining Business Software, [8] proves that it is fundamental to
clearly define the players initial expertise level, as well as planning

32
 how it will evolve when interacting with the proposed dynamic,
keeping them constantly motivated. Among game designers,
there is a notorious rule that defines that good games are those
with easy first steps, but hard to become an expert.

Expert

master, creation
of challenges
Intermediary and teachings to
other players

routine and habits

construction in the game
Beginner

new participant
on the game

Players, the protagonists of the show

Now, that some of the main components of the game universe are
known, it’s time to get a little closer to the real protagonists of the
show: the players.
After all, games, gamification , or even this book , only exist from
the conviction that , within each of us, in a more or less obvious
way, there is a player, avid for facing challenges . However, this is
not enough reason to believe that putting two people around a
dice or a ball would solve it all.
Despite our natural attraction for strategy or competition
dynamics, as mentioned in the previous chapter, we get engaged
only to games that make sense from a particular point of view. This
could be a possible explanation to the fact that Dominoes, Rugby,
Mario Bros., Crosswords or Bocce Ball, despite their distinct
activities, share only one common definition. By following the
proposed thinking, the games diversity just reflects the plurality of
recognizable profiles among the players themselves.
[8] herger, 2013

33
 From a study conducted in 1996 by Richard Bartle, entitled
Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades:

Players Who Suit MUDs [9], now it is being considered that the
wide range of profiles could be summarized into four broad groups
of players, according to the following scheme:
action

Killers Achievers

people environment

Socializers Explores

environment

killers
This kind of player gets into competition motivated only to defeat
the competitors. No matter what the reward is, they just want to
be the best. During the game, they adopt an aggressive behavior,
and their interventions are observed as focused in granting their
leadership condition. It is an extremely competitive profile and,
despite they have a relationship with other players, the interaction
occurs in an intensive manner, with the imposition desire prevailing
over cooperation. They instigate other players by bragging about
their triumphs, or even harm them directly if they get in the way of
their goals on a game. Tests conducted by Gamer dna a [10] shows
that this profile represents less than 1% of players.

achievers
These players appreciate the constant feeling of victory; even
if the objective to be achieved is not so significant. Their main
motivation is to carry out all the activities presented in the
game, by a dedicated immersion in the game’s universe. They
don’t care about social relationships, but establish them in a
competitive friendly manner, even if they are not ahead on the
scoreboard. The achievers are better identified by standing out

34
 from opponents through its own achievements. They represent
up to 10% of total players.

explorers
The third group includes those players interested in discovering
all game’s possibilities and reasons. By being curious, they
can get engaged in studies or developing skills that help them
solve specific challenges. In their view, other players also add
positively to the experience, but are not considered essential. As
a differentiation factor, they value the community recognition to
the knowledge degree demonstrated by presenting two parallel
motivations: to escape from reality and mainly, to what they
learn from the activity. For this profile, the most important is the
journey, not the conquest. . As the achievers, the explorers also
represent about 10% of total players.

socializers
The fourth and last group of the most significant players’ profiles is
the socializers. As the names suggests, socializers are those who
see in games an opportunity for social interaction. More important
than achieving the proposed goals or complete assigned tasks; is
the occasion of the game itself and its potential to stimulate social
links that interest them. Socializers tend to prefer cooperative
games that require united work and collaborative personalities.
According to the survey, they represent about 80% of all existing
players. Does this make Facebook success a little easier to
understand?

Rewards (The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow)

We have mentioned many aspects that help to define players’
profiles and determine their needs and motivation. The next key
element to build a good game mechanic is the right definition of
a reward system. In general, rewards represent the main reason
of players’ motivation to persist in a game until its completion, or
even to keep them playing, when the proposal does not include
the ending concept. To reach this goal, when creating a game, it’s
[9] bartle, 1996
necessary to consider the need of developing frequent feedback
[10] Source: gamerdna.
com/quizzes/ models, because they are one of the most efficient paths to assure
bartle-test-of-gamer- the engagement continuity during the activity. It is necessary;
-psychology therefore, to be clear on the necessary balance between reward

35
accuracy and difficulty level inherent to the action, with the risk of
banalizing or making them impossible. Among several actions that
can be mentioned as reward formats commonly found in games,
five deserve special attention: status, access, influence, freebies,
and gifting.
Status is the most explicit type of reward assignment and
can be found in best players ranking format, badges distribution
(kind of trophy / task achievement indicators or expertise) or by
measuring the players themselves. This last one may be the most
significant way for those involved in a game, since it comes from
public recognition from other participants.
Acess is a strong ally in effective reward systems construc-
tion. After all, enable or not, access to strategic content, insider’s
information, specific skills, among others, is a very promising way
to keep players connected to their purposes. The setback is often
used as punishment for rule breaking.
Still about the feedback systems, there is influence given
through direct or indirect game interference; direct influence
is offered when it’s desirable that the player feels, somehow,
in control of the game. This may occur by exclusive access or
possibility of intervention in certain rule or activity; with the
purpose of validating an achieved goal, for example. This option
can be used when cooperative construction of the system is
intended or when evaluating participants’ interests by observing
their manifestations. Indirect influence is perceived when a player
intercedes, voluntarily or not, in other players’ decision or destiny,
by the influence achieved in the system.
Finally, there are freebies and gifting. Freebies means the
simplest reward method possible, like: benefits, items, tips, extra
life etc. It could be described as a kind of positive feedback on a
small scale and higher frequency. Gifting, in turn, works as a way
of increasing social interaction in a game, based on the exchange
of gifts among players and the consequent establishment of
strong and engaged communities. Also in relation to freebies,
it’s necessary to be aware of their availability; since the reward
unpredictability enhances its relevance within the system. This
model predicts that the same task can generate more or less
valuable assets, whereas, in specific situations, great prizes are
offered. In a broader sense, the player’s satisfaction would be in
the totality of the collection and even in the random character of
its acquisition.
It is worth mentioning the fact that the reward aspects compo-
sing this segment were detailed in descending order of perceived

36
importance, where "status" is the most relevant, and "freebies"
are the less relevant. A practical example of this statement is
the marketing actions that have become common among credit
card companies, especially when they want to get closer to their
targets. The notion of status assigned from exclusive shows, VIP
areas, and previous ticket acquisition, notify the clients that they
belong to an exclusive group, and their fidelity to the brand is
reciprocated with exclusive rewards, i.e., they are not available to
others, independently of their purchasing power. Going against
this trend, companies from other industries prefer to distribute
plastic bottles, pens, key chains and mugs containing logos or
catchy phrases to their most assiduous supporters. When rewar-
ded this way, consumers tend to think that the quality of the rela-
tionship established with this company is compatible with the low
value freebies produced in thousands and distributed to anyone.
Note how interesting is the fact that, less efficient strategy - that
leads to higher costs - is the favorite by most companies.

Monitoring and measurements:

Are we in the right path?
As it is common throughout any new dynamic or technology
implementing process; it is also considered very important in
gamification design, to assess the partial results as soon as pos-
sible, in order to enable process adjustments in early stages. In
this context, monitoring the adherence to the developed dynamic
gives fundamental inputs to review the strategy when the game
is still not established to the target audience. Adjusting missions,
monitoring players’ motivation and measuring their results are,
therefore, the three key initiatives to an assertive evaluation of
the success level reached by the proposition.
About mission creation, Mario Herger defines the smart model
(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound),
which is understood that; the chances of adherence to missions
depends on how specific, measurable, reachable and time
solvable they are.
Concerning motivation monitoring; it’s recommended to
previously plan the players’ exhaustion regarding established
goals. It is understandable – even expected – that at the moment
when the dynamic is inserted, the interest and curiosity levels are
evidenced in a higher level than during the game. Therefore, the
attempt to predict possible routes and fill them with exclusive

37
elements likely to interfere with the course of the narrative is wor-
th trying. As an example, an initial tool set or commands may be
mentioned; available at the beginning of activities and accessible
to all; and another, a special one, that can be incorporated only
from the development of skills assignable to the main game’s
objectives. Regarding metric creation, it is suggested to include
aspects such as degrees of engagement, time spent on the
activity and ROI achieved, among others.
Now that you know the structural games elements, we can
move forward and understand how they can be employed to
maximize benefits and solve impasses in the corporate context.

38
3
Gamification, Inc.

Despite of being one of the main bases upon which all kind of
corporations are structured nowadays, history shows that during
many centuries the strategy concept was strictly linked to military
environment. It was necessary; therefore, to travel a long way of
successive economic crises and irreparable equity losses until
the determination of basic goals and long term objectives started
to get into the mind of ancient managers, directly responsible for
the paradigm change that led them to realize, in their business
flexibility, the main component for succeeding. Only on the mid19th
Century and the consequent conformation of the first mass
markets – that required clear definitions about scale and scope —
business planning started to be considered and planned.
The trend was consolidated a little later, during World War II,
when the dismantlement economies imposed the need for better
resources dimensioning, because of the general goods scarcity.
From those days on, till the end of 20th Century, the belief in the tra-
ditional model prevailed, contrasting the balance of strength and
weakness in the companies with the external opportunities and
threats being a safe formula to continuously reach good results.
Though this definition is considered valid in the current context,
where changes seem to occur in a more and more dynamic and
less predictable manner; even the most Cartesian managers shall
agree that the statement may sound naive on what really needs
to be done to achieve a prominent position in such a competitive
scenario.
It’s possible to state that most organizations leading markets
assigns the prosperity achieved to the existence of a formula that
combines processes, relationships and values, private and non-
-transferable. The success obtained by this recipe may become
the propeller on a positive cycle, suggesting the maintenance and
refinement of such practices as the most likely way of expanding

41
the achieved benefits.
Not infrequently however, what was a path of dreams reveals
itself as a dead end, mainly due to the substitution of the thinking
that enabled the initial positive results by the desire of the status
quo maintenance. According to the theory of the Four Big Indica-
tors of Active Inertia, developed by Donald N. Sull, [1] the success
setback in corporate environment is due mainly to four aspects:
strategic frameworks that become vision concealers, processes
that become routines, relationships that turn into shackles and
values that become dogma.

strategic frameworks vision concealers

processes routines
relationships shackles
values dogmas

Even a shallow review on the elements already mentioned

before, would show that the corporate stiffening is the most
visible part of the attempt to extend winning tactics indefinitely;
keeping the focus on the constant search for innovation. After all,
if in one hand establishing processes to frame problems corro-
borates to a more efficient diagnosis; on the other hand, it leads
to the mistake of thinking that such obstacles are the only ones.
Likewise, really well-established processes generate operational
predictability; provide comfort and safety for those involved and
time to perform more tasks. However, one has to recognize that
it intimidates the consideration of new alternatives for possible
deadlocks and crystallizes solutions that are not always the best.
Similar thinking could be applied to relationships between em-
ployees, service providers and customers. When consolidated in
an overly rigid manner it becomes barriers, for example, to focus
on bolder strategies to conquer other markets or developing new
products. At last, when it comes to corporate values, it is always
desirable for them to be the solid landmark of how employees see
themselves and the place they spend most of the time; it is also
required to keep constant surveillance to avoid them to be seen
as unusual practices, validated only by repetition.
Getting closer to the referred model shows that the difficulty
in establishing a management process that lasts, and that can be

42
 sufficiently permeable for innovation, is far from being resolved in
a systematic way; being up to each company to find the balance
between these variables, according to their possibilities and
ambitions. Currently, there is a lot of talk about horizontalization
of organizations as a possible solution to this issue, even though
this is not an easy option for large structures. In these cases,
more than a challenge for re-designing management levels; it se-
ems that the managers’ mindset, which is used to closely control
their areas, is the main obstacle to the adoption of new practices.
As much as the advantages of the vertical model is recognized,
every day it is more and more clearly imposed to companies the
importance of reducing stages between the decision making
and its consequent implementation. This will only produce the
desirable effects when teams and managers are truly aligned
with the objectives to be achieved.

The strength of a (bad) habit

In companies, many of the daily performed tasks reflect habits
that, along the years, have been adopted by the employees;
procedural routines that started to be followed in order to freeze
measures that were considered as the best way to proceed under
[1] Donald N. Sull is
particular practice. There is no doubt that habits are an important
assistant professor of
way to attenuate the amount of brain processing, making it more
strategic management
and international efficient. This mechanism constitutes as a loop, just waiting for a
at London Business “hint” to happen; when it occurs, the correspondent routine is ac-
School. cessed, creating a fast reward, that may be physical or emotional.

43
A consolidated habit requires less decision making, fact that may
have positive or negative consequences.
Apparently, acquired habits never disappear, being susceptible
to activation when receiving a “hint”. It is clear that some routines
are necessary, and that without habits, our brain could collapse
due to a large amount of decisions that require constant proces-
sing. What about when the habits are simply not efficient? When
a habit overlaps important decisions, actions are automatically
performed without due deliberation and questioning. Within an
organization, how can we not lose efficiency when creating a
proper environment for the appearance of innovative ideas?

ROUTINE

DESIRE FOR
FOOD

HINT REWARD

In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg [2] describes

an experience occurred in Alcoa as an example of corporation
transformed by the determination of a single collective goal; in
this case, the improvement of the company’s security. According
to the author, the definition of "angular habits" corresponds to
those that, when modified, have the ability to trigger important
changes. For example, physical exercise: usually, when someone
begins to worry about their own body, the condition implies
additional behavioral changes such as adopting a healthier diet or
demonstrating greater productivity at work.
Small victories like these cause an effect on people, making
they believe that bigger victories can be conquered; putting
them into action to identify other potential victory sources in
their lives. At Alcoa, the change of habit related do security has
triggered many new habits, resulting in productivity and efficiency
improvements. The goal, designated by the President, was for

44
 him to be notified in 24 hours about relevant losses. To make this
possible, the communication processes and accident prevention
systems needed to be revised in order to provide access to those
not represented in the current structure due to the hierarchical
position they occupied.

Productive Entertainment

But how is this discussion related to the core theme of the

book? Apparently all; just think that there are many evidences
pointing out the urgency to rethink current production models in
order to motivate and retain employees overwhelmed by many
distractions; enhancing collaboration, streamline dated processes
that are inconsistent to the speed of events, or even promoting the
information exchange in an objective, transparent and noiseless
way. As per the context presented, gamification comes as a set of
mechanisms and tools able not only to provide tangible alternatives
to deal with the issues, but somehow to suggest a new way of
viewing labor relationships.
A short time ago, if someone in a meeting suggested “to gamify”
the corporation’s processes, would probably get dirty looks. This
is because the prevailing idea at that time was that games were
only for fun or, like any other function related to the entertainment
concept. Today however, there are many organizations that have
considered adopting games mechanics as feasible strategy to
engage customers or employees, mainly due to the perception that
this set of methods have been shown effective as a tool to impact
markets, boost sales, bring more assertive in recruiting and help
products and services development.
Let’s take as an example the relationship sometimes troubled
and volatile with the client. Along with this specific audience,
gamification has been considered as an alternative to present new
products to potential consumers. Just like the free trial model, you
can allow users to test products represented in game format, and
thus sensitize them regarding a future offer, reducing their time of
market assimilation. Similarly, the methodology translates into an
[2] duhigg, 2012 efficient way to create connection to a certain brand, or even raise
[3] Source: cio.com/
their interest in a particular product.
article/735185/5_Key_
The insurance sector is certainly a good example [3] From
Benefits_Gamifica-
tion_Brings_to_Your_ games, organizations can educate their customers about the risks,
Business?page=3 how to better manage their personal finances and invest wisely,
&taxonomyId=3154 or even educate them about the importance of having a private

45
retirement plan, with the possibility of converting it into discounts
on purchasing products and services. The same logic could be
applied to encouragement of best driving practices, vehicles
maintenance and even healthcare; actions that could link the
clients’ well-being perception to the insurance company, besides
potentially reducing the accident rate recorded.
Other important aspect we should mention is the possibility of
using gamification with the purpose of retaining clients. Games
that are able to reflect concerns, questions or aspirations can
be translated into a good way to, not only get feedbacks to help
companies develop products and services more assertively, but
also create, throughout time, a reliable relationship that will turn
into loyalty. It is worth remembering that is common to most
gamificated platforms to ask users to provide an e-mail address or
Facebook login, enabling companies to have access to specific in-
formation about their customers’ likes and habits. In the suggested
model, each person is associated with clicks, points, badges and
achievements, generating inputs for Big Data. Despite the fact that
costumers are, almost always, main targets of gamification initiati-
ves when applied to corporate context, they are not the only actors
in the process that, when feeling motivated and engaged, can exert
positive influence to businesses. In general, collaborative employe-
es, regardless of their hierarchical positions within the institutions,
may also have their contributions leveraged from the use of game
mechanics. An example to be mention is the hiring process. This
experience can be gamified as a reward distribution to possible job
applicants that can experience this process in a fun, tangible way,
discarding the natural anxiety caused by the accomplishment of
many predicted milestones.
Similarly, gamification can be used as a way to recognize em-
ployees that were more engaged in performing their tasks, serving
the purpose of causing awareness throughout the organization
upon the importance of identifying and capturing a talent. Another
possible application that is worth mentioning is retaining good
employees. We don’t need to say that this is essential to any
organization. After all, it is directly related to create a positive and
inspirational corporate culture. In this case, gamification can be a
good strategy to encourage inter-department contribution or, for
example, the internal products improvement, that can be evaluated
through pre-defined criteria, such as trading availability, business
originality or added value.

46
 Those who become more regular in relation to the suggestions
given can be recognized by digital platforms, guided not only to
track the ongoing activities, but also to indicate new contributions
opportunities, promoting intrinsic motivation through public
recognition. Such platforms can also be consolidated as tools to
consult and register activities, including supporting the decision
making about job promotions and salary increase. This way, it
becomes quite evident that Human Resource is undoubtedly one of
the most benefited areas by the application of gamification.
To attend training or other similar initiatives, for example, is not
usually in the priority list for those working in companies; especially
when you cannot see the relationship between the suggested
practice and its direct application in the professional routine clearly.
Therefore, encouraging people to spend a couple of their busy hours
on something else is a real challenge that, on the other hand, may
be smoothed by designating collective missions or by creating a
mechanism of reward and individual recognition for completed tasks.
This format can also be effective when applied with the purpose
of improving the commitment of filling forms and reports. Nobody
likes to fill in records, registers or document processes in detail,
especially when this task competes with more urgent or useful ones.
Since it is impossible to totally eliminate bureaucracy, why not turn it
into fun? The idea of making similar initiatives tangible, or even allo-
wing them to assume playful shapes through game elements, could
cause positive competition and create spontaneous engagement on
performing repetitive or less mind stimulating tasks.
In large corporations, is common to observe a general feeling
of frustration that comes from not understanding what it takes to
ascend professionally. Some employees may become bothered by
their colleagues’ evolution, since goals and rewards may vary from
case to case - and, therefore, may give the impression of being
partial - or just because they do not hold the ability to transfer the
actions applied by others to their own careers.
In the presented context, the use of gamification may be pre-
cious, for example, on suggesting departments to define specific
clear missions and criteria to grow within the company. Let us take
as a reference a top member of the sales team, traveling a week
across the country, attending six pre-scheduled meetings, getting
three others during the trip and in the following week, delivering
five proposals as direct result of his professional skill. If the perfor-
mance of this seller was exposed in some way to other colleagues,

47
it would serve to parameterize the objectives of the area, or even
to inspire the younger ones who have natural identification with
games and similar tools. [4]

Games x Work [5]

In the game At work

Tasks Repetitive, but fun Repetitive and boring

Feedback Continuous Once a year

Objectives Well defines Vague or contradictory

Personal evolution Clear and tangible Obscure

Rules Clear Unclear

Information Proper to immediate Overused and still

needs insufficient

Status Visible Not so visible or invisible

Promotion Meritocracy Subjective criteria

Contribution Present Present

Risk High Low

Autonomy High From mid high to low

Narrative Always present Rarely present

Obstacles Purposeful Accidentals

48
 “Me, me and me”: Understand the Y Generation
Arrogant, lazy, uninterested, spoiled, apathetic, narcissistic,
living with their parents; undoubtedly a list of adjectives that
makes any mother dig a hole in the ground to hide herself in
shame, right? After all, what future would be reserved for young
people like these, who live with their noses stuck on their smar-
tphones snooping around other people's lives and enhancing
the dream of enriching effortlessly? The answer is: recreate the
society in which we are living. In May 2013, the controversial
matter was the cover story of Time magazine, titled "The Me,
Me, Me Generation". The suggestive term was carved by Joel
Stein, author of the article, as a more figurative way to refer to the
generation that, in the United States has been called Millennials,
covering everyone who was born between 1980 and 2000. In or-
der to prevent attacks from those who see some exaggeration on
the profile, describing the 21st century first young adults genera-
tion, Stein made sure to support their claims on figures accuracy:
according to studies published at the time, more people between
18 and 29 live with their parents than with spouses.
The incidence of personality disorders related to narcissism is
currently about three times higher in 20-30 y/o people than the
one recorded in the same age group during the 1970s.
As if these were not already potentially incendiary data, Stein,
[4] Source:
cognizant.com/ 41, decided to climb one more step toward becoming a true
InsightsWhitepapers/ Judas for those who grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja
Reinventing-Customer- Turtles, Saint Seiya and Pokémon on TV.
-Employee-Enga- In the magazine's website, besides a digital version of the
gement-Through- article, you can watch a video (quite a joke) that recorded the
-Gamification.pdf
journalist’s attempt to spend an entire day living as a typical
[5] herger, 2013

49
representative of the Generation Y.
His first challenge was to sleep with his smartphone beside
the bed and check it as soon as opening his eyes. And that is not
all. The "competition" also involved sending 30 SMS messages
in 24 hours (at least one of them with sexual content), keep a
conversation going on all day long through a chat window, use
two electronic devices simultaneously, publish multiple photos of
himself on Instagram, answer five times the question "what are you
thinking?" on Facebook and, finally, never use a landline phone.
Provocations aside, among the aspects that particularly
distinguish Generation Y from preceding ones; one of the most
significant concerns is the relationship they nurture with techno-
logy. Remember that we are referring to those people who literally
left their cribs to integrate a world where cell phones, video
games and even internet were already widespread. Regarding
specifically to games, a study conducted in 2012 by Nottingham
Trent University showed that some Millennials manifest the desire
of pushing the fast forward button during boring classes and
even showed a tendency of trying to apply the tricks used in the
FIFA Soccer video game when playing in real fields. [6] This said,
there is not much to say about the game role in their routine and
therefore, in professional life. As employees, they are demanding.
The lack of personal recognition interferes with their production
capacity and their commitment to the work subject.
They show a particular appreciation for multitasking, flexible
working hours and textual communication, rather than oral. They
are optimistic about the future; they demonstrate high envi-
ronmental consciousness and are proud of engaging in social
causes; besides just money, they look for professional growth
linked with well-being.
Considering that the companies have more and more
employees with the mentioned characteristics, sooner or later
they will be asked to apply – or at least consider – gamification
into their work processes conception, at the risk of irreversibly
divesting themselves from the way of thinking of those who, in
practice, represent arms, legs, heart and mind of any corporation.
Next, we disclose some games aspects that increase benefits,
when applied to corporate context.

instant feedback
In games, all the performed actions receive feedback. To grab
an apple, for example, the player increases his health bar; once
100 coins are collected, one extra life, etc. Positive feedbacks

50
 reinforce good behavior, while negative ones allow more efficient
behavioral adjustments. In corporations, instant feedback can
help reducing the panic about the dreaded annual reviews, acce-
lerating the professional growth and learning process.

badges
Just like in real life, where jobs, clothes and skills show who we
are, in the games universe, badges are the way to show what
we like and how we are good at something. By creating and
distributing badges, businesses can have access to a free and
very powerful feature to stimulate techniques and specific skills
development; enabling its employees not only to stand out and
be recognized by their talents, but also to show other colleagues
how capable they really are.

tangible goals
In a game, there is always a main objective (eg, how to save
the princess) and some secondary objectives (how to pass to
the next stage or collect hidden items). In business, setting
tangible goals creates a sense of steady progress, reducing the
perception of long term tasks difficulty. Instead of considering a
six months project, with far ahead benefits, why not break it into
three smaller goals with deliveries every two months?

competitiveness and contribution

Humans are competitive by nature, there is competition in any
context including professional. Most companies know that;
however they use practices that soon stop being stimulating. In
other cases, competition is occasional or informal, failing to fulfill
the function it was truly meant for. The introduction of game
mechanics helps to make competition scalable and automated
and produces, as a direct result, the maintenance of good
performance in a linear way, as long as goals and objectives are
constantly reviewed.
It is noteworthy that, by the same way that they encourages com-
petition, games also reveal themselves as an effective stimulus to
collaborative work.
A good way to take advantage of this aspect is from proposing
collective challenges aiming, for example, in reducing procedural
[6] Source: mindflash.
bureaucracy or even redefining goals to be achieved by the de-
com/blog/2012/02/lifes-
-a-big-video-game-for- partment. With clear missions and appropriate stimuli, a group of
-gen-y-%E2%80%94- people can organize themselves towards a single goal, increasing
-so-let-them-play the results that could be achieved by working alone.

51
 learning by doing
A fundamental difference between games and work is that
games teach us the stepping stones, not with a manual, but from
practice. Farmville is an example. It is considered a simple game,
popular among kids, but there are many types of cropping, pets,
money, gifts you can offer friends.
Perhaps if, in this context, things were thrown from a shovel
without any explanation, many players could get bored because of
the initial difficulty in understanding how it works and what is the
purpose of each element. The game success is linked to the fact
that its creators are concerned about teaching, step by step, to
their potential players how to become an expert in that universe,
enabling them to get the best of it.
Let’s be honest, who nowadays is patient enough to read an
entire manual? People can spend hours playing, but they do not
spend a single hour doing something that sounds as training.
Therefore, it’s fundamental that the companies learn do teach
their employees what they need to know, but in a less imposing
and theoretical way but yet more participative. [7]

52
[7] Source: gamification.
co/wp-content/uplo-
ads/getting-started/
White%20Pa-
per_Enterprise%20
Gamification_The_
Gen_Y_Factor_2012.pdf
 4
Gamification and companies:
made for each other

This chapter will be devoted to the narrative of practical experien-

ces on using Gamification methods to solve traditional business
issues in large organizations. You’ll have a clearer understanding of
how the proposed methodology is applicable to real and common
challenges for most companies.

Cultural Change
Case: Gamification in Change Management
Change Management processes are notoriously one of the most
complex challenges to be faced by large corporations. Ancient
Protocols, validated by time, work as engines from a gigantic
system that, once disassembled, may never match parts again. But
the pressure exerted by mindsets and market changes sentences
the need of adjusting the boat rudder in new directions, even if it
determines questioning what is most valuable to a company: its
culture. This was the delicate mission that MJV’s Technology & In-
novation team had ahead of them when leading the implementation
of a SAP [1] module in a construction company with more than five
thousand employees. The project lasted twelve weeks. Its purpose
was raising awareness among employees in relation to the system
replacement they would be submitted to; as well as raising moti-
vation and engagement without misshaping to the adjustments
of the working model they were used to; outlined by a humanistic
and creative approach, the known disorders inherent to this type
of implementation. Through Gamification methods it was possible
to go beyond traditional training and communication initiatives,
[1] German company,
leading the Business multiplying values by influencing mindsets more efficiently and
Management bringing a significant differential to the project.
Software Industry.

55
transforming findings into ideas
From conducting dozens of interviews for identification of
representative employees’ profiles, and a detailed analysis of
their opinions and aspirations - regarding the company and
Change Management - a list of questions that synthesizes the
main difficulties faced by Change Management team came up.
They are:
• Concern that SAP would prevent – or at least, complicate - a
series of practices considered essential for the maintenance of
the company's major contracts.
• Awareness that benefits offered to preferred customers entailed
an operational onus that has never been accounted before.
• Collective perception that SAP implementation would directly
interfere in common procedures vital for the company’s
operation.
• Impression that individual cultures of each company’s division,
if confronted, could imply in a SAP design that, on trying to
please everyone it would please no one at all.
• Feeling that the recent mergers and branches proliferation in
the last years, were opposed to the concept of family business
in which older employees were used to, and for whom the
company's growth was still unknown.
• Expression of quite disparate expectations regarding benefits
and damages consequent from the Change Management
process.
• Preconceived negative SAP’s image, considered to be a very
stiff and overly controlled system.
• Concern that SAP could promote a business operational
freeze, resulting in the loss of its most differential market factor:
flexibility.

56
 transforming ideas into action
From the project’s core themes identification, that are
essential to the Change Management process, it was necessary
to present a great quantity of relevant findings to the employees,
meeting the purpose of developing measurements that could
help them during SAP’s implementation process. Preliminary
analysis of macro themes originated from research indicated the
need of caution regarding the kind of approach, since the defined
categories covered topics of difficult introduction, some of them
indicating the need of reviewing behaviors and ideologies that
would no longer be tolerated after the system’s transition.
The biggest MJV’s team concern was how to spread so many
interesting aspects without turning them into a tedious and arbi-
trary teaching, or even a cluster of behavior lessons, directed to
restrain and constrain those who would not fit in the future ope-
rational model. This search for the best way to optimize working
results took the people responsible for the project to consider
some approaching options; however, none of them seemed
adequate to the scope in question. At this point, the challenge
was clear: it was necessary to create a set of practical tools to
allow simulation of problematic situations, investigate opinions
and behaviors, raise discussion, deliver knowledge in an unusual
manner and communicate effectively the Change Management
process in which the company would be submitted to.

engagement, membership and fun

In the specific case of this construction company; in viewing
possible organizational turbulence resulting from the SAP’s im-
plementation; considering Gamification as a possible approach
had many benefits, starting by the fact that Serious Games’ con-
cept fit perfectly to the project’s particularities. By stimulating
SAP’s disclosure and its intended application in the company’s
context, the game would directly influence positive and cons-
cious adherence to the new ERP as to the changes that would
come with it. In addition, to encourage such aspects, virility and
social mobilization would be promoted determining that when
commenting on the game - a totally unusual activity, considering
the context in which they would be inserted - participants would
grab other employees’ attention, increasing the people involved
in the initiative.
Therefore, the desired engagement would occur, once the
game would stimulate the devotion to assigned tasks, allowing
the construction of relationships between the organization and

57
its employees. By contributing to the resolution of issues raised
during the project, Gamification methods would encourage the
creation of a collective commitment with SAP’s implementation.
The idealized solutions developed to the project; and presented
in the following reading, were structured on identified key points
in the project´s immersion stage, in order to create a playful and
fun conducive environment.

game logical structuring

On the set of games developed in order to support the imple-
mentation of SAP in the company, it was firstly considered the
challenge element, or the need and willingness to overcome
obstacles to move ahead in the game’s experience. Then, the
importance of curiosity stimulation was highlighted, vehicle to
imagination determining the adherence of the player's attention.
The proposed dynamics also contemplate the need to provide
meaning and value to users and to the construction com-
pany and ultimately enable the creation and strengthening
of social bonds, essential to the integration of the company's
employees and the consequent success of the project.

games of changes
The set of games to be presented has been developed to
generate engagement and encourage participation in the
process, as well as approaching the sensitive issues raised
during immersion and likely to represent a constraint in the new
ERP sap’s implementation and acceptance. Games of Changes
were conceptualized in order to be part of a set, but can be
played separately, so as to interfere as little as possible in the
organization’s operational routine. Following, we describe each
game features, specific objectives, the rational factor behind the
concept presented and the participation rules.

58
Construction Operation
challenge: face the task of assuming a contractor employee
position in this exciting one day journey in the company. When a
real problem appears, do you know how to solve it?
objective: the Construction Operation invites the player to be in
the place of other professional, to live under an inedited point of
view: the experience of critical situations of daily work, conside-
ring processes and habits sometimes contradictory.
how to play: on the monitor’s screen, it was proposed a chal-
lenging work situation similar to that experienced in day to day
business, from three professionals’ perspectives: administrative
assistant, office manager and plant supervisor. By choosing one
of the suggested positions, the player needed to think and act
according to his option, choosing one between two alternatives
to move forward in the game. The story’s development depended
on the choices made by the player, being his main objective to
complete the assigned task without violating operational rules
established by the company.
why does it work?
This game was designed in order to address in a playful manner,
delicate and incisive themes, related to cultural aspects of the
company in question; as well as negative and extremely harmful
habits resulted from former operational gaps. By getting another
professional’s place and exercising functions that were not usual,
the company’s employee had the opportunity to undergo the
inherent difficulties from each step of the process, and decide
how to proceed to get more adequate understanding of propo-
sed situations, without bearing the consequences it should have
in real life. Therefore, it was an efficient tool to promote SAP’s

59
arrival in the company, and serve the purpose of educating or
changing inadequate mental models without creating embarras-
sment or coercion.

Expectra
challenge: when the cards are at the table, your opinion is
the starting point in a discussion upon the challenges to SAP’s
implementation.
objective: Expectra was designed to directly and cooperatively
stimulate a discussion about many questions that made SAP’s
implementation an inedited challenge to the ones involved in the
process.
how to play:
• Numbers of players — from 2 to 4.
• Participants first defined who would be the game’s speaker. The
elected was responsible for reading to the group problematic
situations shown on the numbered 1-20 cards.
• From the reading of each problematic situation, the participant
put at the table a card corresponding to their opinion on the
subject. The cards that each player had in hand showed num-
bers from 1 to 100. For example: “Regarding SAP, I don’t think it
will have adjusting problems (adaptation).” How much do you
agree with this sentence, taken from an interview? In this case,
if the player agreed with the statement, he should put a card at
the table, with a value near 100. In case he disagreed, he should
put at the table a card with value near 1.

60
• When all players have put their cards at the table, the group
should discuss about the final figures, to understand the reason
why each participant has chosen a particular card.
• After the discussion, the group was again invited to show their
cards to rate their opinion about the proposed themes, and at
this second turn, having the opportunity to change or confirm
the prior choice.
• At the end of the second opinion turn about the same theme,
the speaker sums the cards figures shown, and the total should
be inserted to the score chart in the corresponding place of the
problematic situation card’s number.
• Same procedure was conducted to all problematic situation
cards, so that, at the end of the game, there would be a total
score figure from that group, as a result of the sum of individual
numbers obtained by each problematic situation card proposed.
• The winning group was the one that the sum of points was
closer to the total determined by the Change Management
committee. The contest result was announced to the partici-
pants by email, as soon as all scores were counted.

why does it work?

The idea of proposing a deck of cards as a platform to encourage
debate on SAP’s implementation was justified by the fact that
this type of game is commonly associated with relaxation
and informal chat, in opposite to what could had become: a
heated and unproductive discussion. The designed game is
based - with some changes - in the rules of Planning Poker, one
of the Scrum project management methodology tools. One of
them corresponded to problem situation cards, developed to
portray the existing contrast opinions within the company upon
the benefits and losses caused by system change. More than
meeting expectations and stimulating discussions on the topic,
this game allowed participants to learn from each other about
SAP, enabling knowledge multiplication in an agile and fun way.

61
sap marathon
challenge: join your colleagues and participate in this fun
contest, which the objective is to complete tasks, score points
and share knowledge about SAP!
objective: to engage employees to SAP’s implementation
process and make them project changers and promotion agents.
how to play: SAP Marathon has been structured to unfold over
a week of activities, regardless the branch’s location or division.
With the objective of combining educational and recreational
aspects of playful factors, SAP Marathon has been characterized
as a contest where participants – company’s employees - are
engaged to perform a series of missions. These missions should
be carried out by groups with up to three members, promoting
integration and debate and encouraging team spirit. Teams
should register in advance, within a previously determined
deadline. Once the teams are set, the SAP marathon started and
was implemented on the course of five days, mainly from Monday
to Friday. Activities have been conceived upon two projects
macro-themes: “Learning about SAP” and “Promoting SAP in the
Company”.
Theme 1: Learning about SAP
Within this theme, activities have been proposed to lead
employees to get informed about what is SAP and to share
their findings with the community they belong to, bringing out a
more educational and cooperative aspect. Each day of the week
corresponded to an activity, only shown at the day it occurred.
Every activity to be performed had a specific score, and the sum
of points determined a final rating as well as the winners.

62
 Theme 2: promoting SAP
Considering the referred theme, activities were proposed to bring
visibility to SAP’s project within the company, by stimulating coo-
peration and entertainment. On the contrary of the activities from
Theme 1, the activities have been released simultaneously on a
Monday, in order to give time to the teams to perform tasks. To
complement theme 1, each activity had a specific score, and the
sum of points determined the final rating as well as the winners.
why does it work?
As important as adapting the company’s processes to SAP’s
functioning, it was also important to promote the current process
of Change Managing knowledge, since the successful system
implementation was related to the ability of employees to absorb
the new model proposed. From this point of view, it was necessary
to develop a dynamic specifically focused on promoting the project,
which should allow the involvement of as many people as possible
and that had the potential to become viral. More than this, by pro-
posing SAP’s marathon, the objective was also turn members into
changing agents, creating the best conditions to, playfully, multiply
the knowledge acquired from performed missions, engaging
colleagues who were not aware of the games or even of SAP’s
implementation.

Sapient
challenge: become an expert when unrevealing SAP’s secrets
and peculiarities; a game in which strategy definition is fundamental.

63
objective: The Sapient had the main purpose of introducing
SAP’s environment to employees and enable them to get familiar
to the new platform.
how to play: rules definition were related to the content
developed in the next project’s milestones. It was a game about
strategy and reasoning based on SAP’s operational manual.
why does it work?
This game fulfilled the important role of allowing SAP’s users to
obtain a prior understanding - at the same time rational and intui-
tive – of the functions that they would need to deal with on a daily
exercise of their activities. Instead of accessing key information
from the conventional method, which consists of reading robust
handouts (sometimes extremely didactic, but not very functional),
the Sapient participants had the opportunity to obtain a similar
result, but in a much more interesting and fun way. In practice,
this game represented SAP’s User Manual Gamification, a new
approach to make bored readers in engaged players. The Sapient
concept is based on establishing a relationship between the
content and its receptor, causing the receiver, for example, to
understand the reason of a particular system aspect, rather than
just memorize it.

roadshow
When thinking about Games of Changes as a widely publicized
event, the possibility of creating a real union in favor of changes
was designed, and also to establish the event as a transition
ritual for a new order within the company.
The goal of Games of Change launching event became the
presentation and disclosure of SAP itself; introducing Change
Management to employees who were not directly involved in
the project. MJV’s team proposal to this Construction Company
was to make Games of Change into an itinerant event, able to
move, according to needs, among all active areas of the company
regardless of its geographic position. This format reinforced
the popular and flexible feature of the project, making it a viable
alternative to obtain more significant results than those achieved
with traditional models of Change Management.

64
 Planning/Comunication Strategic
Case: Gamified Strategic Planning
Whenever the topic "strategic planning" is contemplated, the
same concern occurs: how a macro level alignment, result of
an understanding from the company’s best minds, a series of
practical steps that can be performed by employees who know
a little about the business reality is unfold beyond what they see
from their seats? On multinationals the situation is even more de-
licate because there are organizations that often have thousands
of employees with particular cultural aspects, acting in almost
antagonistic markets; however, none of these companies are
free from the need to pursue strategic definitions to guide their
actions globally.
This is the challenge faced by MJV’s team in this project, the
intent to gamify strategic planning of a worldwide organization
from the insurance industry. Intending to develop a game mecha-
nic to meet the objective of communicating and aligning missions
among specific areas that should develop greater synergy; it
adopted, as initial scope, the company’s operation in Brazil. The
proposition was to create a collaborative game with the main
purpose of achieving collective goals (set by areas/departments)
that could be associated to a certain vision determined by the
organization’s global strategic planning.
This means that, each player had to perform tasks and earn
points individually to help the area/department in which they
belonged to by winning total points needed to ensure the group
the correspondent engine to fit in the "Master System". The
Master System was similar to a big clock, installed at the entry
of the company's branch in São Paulo, and its perfect work

65
only occurred when all the engines (each from a separate area/
department) were positioned in the right places, situation that
configured the end of the game.

entering the game

To start playing, the employee had to create a profile in the virtual
game platform. On his computer screen, he checked the objec-
tives and targets set to his area/department. These goals had to
be met, individually and collectively, within the period stipulated
by the game, which was thirty days. With the platform, besides
various statistics, the players obtained specific information not
only about their involvement in the game but also about other
players. Through this platform it was also possible to watch
videos explaining the game’s rules, get strategic tips or even plan
collective tasks with colleagues.

choosing tasks
To help your team to achieve the goals set to the group, the player
had to win points individually. He could:
a) Apply to receive tasks related to the company’s strategic
objectives.
b) Submit to challenges that tested their knowledge about
these strategic objectives.
c) Choose to replicate to other employees the knowledge
gained through the game.
On each of the above categories there were difficulty levels
established and different scores. The tasks were inserted gradu-
ally each week, preventing some more engaged participants to
distant themselves from other players, reducing the sensation of
competitiveness in the game.

earning points
By choosing to perform tasks related to the company’s strategic
objectives, the player received badges (public recognition
stamps) on his profile as "Troubleshooter "; when testing his
knowledge about the company's vision for the future, and badges
of "Visionary"; when choosing to replicate with other employees
the wisdom achieved, he got badges as "Knowledge Builder".
The individual score was assigned even when the tasks were
planned to be conducted by groups. Effective participation in the
game determined the achievement of individual and collective
tasks from different natures, which consequently demanded

66
different skills, some of them requiring interaction with other
areas/departments.
To enable the area/department to conquer their engine – main
objective of the game - each member of the group needed to
perform five individual tasks, two collective ones and one inter-
departmental; chosen by self-defined criteria. It is noteworthy
that the managers of the areas/departments could see in real
time, from the platform each employee’s performance on the
game as well as those who more effectively contributed for the
achievement of the objectives in the group. It was up to the
manager the creation of complementary goals or even allow that
the charge for results occurred at the initiative of the team itself.

additional benefits
By completing all that tasks assigned to them, players granted
access to Special Tasks, which, when completed, granted addi-
tional bonus score. Players who performed a minimum number
of distinct tasks among themselves (e.g., two missions, three
challenges, one knowledge replication) also received extra points.
Employees who reached the highest individual scores in each of
the three possible tasks (mission, challenge and knowledge repli-
cation) were invited to join a VIP committee set from the game, in
which they dealt with strategic topics for the company.

how the game ends

In practice, the game ended when all areas/departments got their
engines, allowing the Master System to fully function. To get to
this, all players should complete the assigned tasks: individual,
collective and interdepartmental. However, there was the pos-
sibility of getting awards derived from the main game objective,
for example, rewarding the department that got its first engine or
which demonstrated better engagement and proactivity. The final
installation of the Master System coincided with a major event,
highlighting the achieved goals by players and how they could be
transferred to daily business routine. Possibly the main obstacle
transposed by the team during the project was to translate im-
portant generic goals to the organization – however, with difficult
assimilation and implementation by its members - in tangible
missions that could be unfolded to various hierarchical levels.
The flexibility of smaller goals aligned to large guidelines, genera-
ted empathy between staff and business objectives, particularly
giving them a sense that the benefits could be achieved without
total cooperation. By determining individual and collective

67
missions’ achievement, the game suggested an interesting balan-
ce between personal and team commitment, providing a favorable
environment to cooperation and replication almost a viral to the
engagement. The metaphor proposed by the Master System
was an ingenious way to create collective view of achievements
for each designated area, which tends to exert a positive kind of
competition capable of accelerating certain processes.

Software Development/Project Management

Case: Accelerating
Managing software development is often a tricky task, since
even the most experienced professionals may be surprised by the
amount of obstacles and unforeseen events that sometimes needs
to be overcome along the way. One way to attenuate this risk is
by adopting agile methods, a model conceived in order to quickly
absorb changes in planning, whether they come from increasing
customer interaction - who participates actively in the project and
anticipates necessary adjustments - or even from results obtained
from tests of minimally viable products. Although representing a
breakthrough compared to the traditional model of development
- given its more dynamic character - the agile methods assume
greater team integration as well as the implementation of more
efficient communication mechanisms and visualization tasks. Sti-
mulated by thinking of ways to meet this important demand, MJV’s
team organized a brainstorming session that brought together
developers, IT managers and designers in order to list the possibi-
lities for a tangible process. From the perception of the importance
of playfulness as a facilitator of communication and identification
requirements - which sometimes are not explicit in the early

68
development - it was agreed that it was necessary to develop a tool
capable of providing those features in any project’s development,
regardless of their particularities. To better understand the market
for applying agile software development methods, MJV’s team met
with three Scrum coaches who offered courses on the subject or
we were coaching in companies of different sizes. The tool that, by
analogy seemed more faithful in contemplating the demands of
such a project; was a board game followed by conducting a market
survey to identify their different types, the languages used and
what artifices were employed to engage the players. Regarding the
definition of probable game’s tasks, the agile development process
itself was analyzed, considering its phases and its key moments
of interaction with the customers. For the game to become more
efficient, it was also necessary to think of a storyline, and so the
idea of comparing the development of a software to climbing came
up, since in both activities there is the need for chain steps, redo
plans and deal with the unforeseen in order to achieve the objective.
Having the first prototype of the game in hand, MJV’s team met
with some "potential" clients in order to assess the responsiveness
of the tool that was being developed. One of the most pertinent
observations about language was used in this first model. There
was the impression that the board reminded of an overly playful
universe, which could bring some resistance, especially from the
more conservative customers. Not only this, but other collected
opinions were essential for reaching a final version of the product
stipulated for the project within two weeks’ time.

69
 accelerating
From the tests conducted, the assumption was that through
playful activities team members would be more easily involved
in determining the real needs of business, resulting in a richer
specification and reducing risks to the project. In this context,
two "products" to be developed were defined: the first was
called "streamlining" and consisted of a board game focused
on prospection and oriented to provide transparency to the
process, allowing the client to feel comfortable to bring out their
real worries and concerns about the project. Defining the scope,
monitoring groups’ performance, sizing efforts and controlling
chronogram were some of the tasks that could be performed in
less complicated and fun way with the presented solution.
The second corresponded to a playful dashboard, focused
to ease project’s monitoring, configured as an interface of easy
understanding, able to stimulate interaction among managers,
developers and customers, considering the following aspects:
• Weekly display global monitoring graphics.
• Include a team "stress meter".

70
 • Provide an evaluation place to enable the client to interact with
the staff.
• Introduce the measuring concept of sustainable actions.
• Provide a deadline monitor device.

From another point of view, the game also provided a relaxed

environment and the narrowing of the relationship between the
parties. The desired intent; therefore, was to assist the client on
understanding his own needs; and for the developers’ team to get
a clear strategy to be used when creating the project. Following is
a brief description of the games created, their specific goals and for
what projects’ milestones they were designed for.

Daydreaming
objective: understand the success perception the client has
about the project.
proposed activity: think you're already continuously using
the product ordered. Describe the product’s features you are
satisfied with (richer, safer, smarter or any other proper adjective).
The game objective is to refine the stories (requirements’ specifi-
cations for developing each specific project’s task).

Ophthalmological Test
objective: prioritize stories (project’s backlog [2]).
proposed activity: write down each story on a card and mix
them on a table. Choose two of them randomly and compare:
which one is more important? Set a level of priority and paste the
most relevant card on the wall, positioning the other story right
below. Repeat the same comparison as often as needed.

[2] Backlog: Refers to a Planning Poker

log (historical summary)
objective: scale the complexity level of the stories.
of working overflow,
in a period of time. proposed activity: having the stories list in hand, give one
Backlog is a kind of set of cards to each team member. Participants start playing by
"client orders sheets
selecting the story that represents the value 5. Then they must
collection” related to
select another so that each player exposes the card that cor-
undone products
Gross mode, backlog is responds to the development complexity which, in their opinion,
a stock of orders waiting demands that activity. If the numbers are very discrepant, players
to be responded. must justify their votes. After the explanation, the story is voted

71
again until the team reaches a consensus. The game ends when
all the stories have received complexity attribution.

Market Stories
objective: to define the project’s budget.
proposed activity: show participants the stories’ list – together
with their development cost - and distribute coins of different
values for them to choose in which of them they want to "invest"
the budget. It is interesting to have "expensive" stories so that
team’s members have the chance to discuss with each other and
join forces to invest.

Exploratory navigation

objective: to approve the interface’s navigation.

proposed activity: select a story and try to accomplish it
by browsing the interfaces, which must be sketched on paper
sheets placed on a table. If you identify inadequate or faulty ele-
ments, include on the sketch suggestions for changing. Repeat
the activity with all stories.
why does it work?
The design of a board that suggests an evolutionary journey and
joins activities to ease the completion of specific tasks related
to software development; satisfactorily achieved an important
demand which seemed neglected in agile projects: the tangible
process. More than this, the suggestion of a playful dashboard
destined to generate better visualization of the steps and allow
more participation from the costumer, proved to be the best
complement to the purpose of making a more collaborative task
with fewer errors due to lack of communication. From the two
proposed tools in a very simple way, a bunch of paper pasted on
the wall and a handful of unproductive discussions can turn into
a more organized, creative, and why not, fun process.

72
 Capacity/Awareness
Case: Brazil 2022
If there is some certainty about a group of two hundred CEOs of
the most influential Brazilian companies is that this is not an easy
public to engage. Inserted in a routine of frequent decision making,
almost always ongoing and vital for the companies they run, due
mainly to lack of time, these professionals have become used
to understand the scenery that surrounds them from executive
reports or even the endorsement of their loyal advisors. Taking
this into consideration, what are the real chances of grabbing the
attention of these people for a whole day event, turning them into
avid players, willing to contribute on building a collective vision of
the future of the country? To meet this expectation, MJV, with the
assistance of a consulting [3] company specialized in prospective
scenarios, developed Brazil 2022, a pervasive game applied
during Brazil Summit 2011: Order and Progress? – An event
organized by the British magazine ‘’The Economist’’ in November
2011 in São Paulo – which the objective of promoting dialogue
about the possible ways for the country's economic future until
the bicentennial of its independence.
How will Brazil be in 2022? What obstacles could prevent its
growth over the next decade and how to overcome them and
achieve the so desired economic strength? Due to these and
other questions, a guided game was created to stimulate
participants to gather the ten cards that composed one of four
macroeconomic scenarios that they considered the most likely to
consolidate within the stipulated time.
[3] Macroplan
Prospective Strategy
and Management
www.macroplan.com.br

73
 brazil 2022 — the game
At the event’s entrance, potential players received a kit consisting
of an invitation - with basic operating instructions for the activity -
four activated cards, each one corresponding to a group scenario
(Back to 1970s, Brazilian way to Chinese Capitalism, A shock of
orthodox capitalism, A new self-communion) and a blank card to
be filled by guidelines. All kits summed 42 points. So, despite of
numerous possible combinations of the cards, all players started
the match evenly. In the game’s booth there was a cards bank
where the cards could be exchanged according to the player's
interest. Although they chose their favorite scenario, they didn’t
know the value of the card received, which could vary. Still in the
booth through a video monitor, fictional news about the economy
in the coming years were shown, which interfered in the probabi-
lity of dominance of one or other scenario.

how to play: Like a policy, each card represented the player’s

company investment in the scenario; however, besides the four
cards received at the beginning of the event , it was possible to
obtain others through direct exchange with other players (accor-
ding to exchange rules stipulated by them) at the game’s booth,
in the ratio of 2:1. An additional way to win cards was linked to
completing a board in which players’ guesses were gathered on
specific aspects of the economy (external context , external in-
sertion, economic adjustments , economic growth , investments
, leadership in investments , State’s presence, productive park
innovation, Environment and Deforestation, gdp per capita) . For
each group of three opinions recorded in the chart, the player
received three cards with random values (ranging 3-42 points)
corresponding to their favorite scenario.
In the second stage of the game (after the event’s second
coffee-break), players could also interact with NPCs (non-player
characters), or staff members who performed the function of
introducing new cards with new scores, making investments

74
and exchanges even more dynamic. These special collaborators
were also responsible for collecting the players’ impressions,
indicating the appreciation of one or another scenario, which
impacted directly on the choice of cards by other players.
At the end of the day, all the players were asked to count their
points at the game’s booth. The scenario cards pointed out by
the majority as the most likely to materialize had their score
amplified by 25% in comparison to the other cards, being the
winner defined from the higher score obtained. After submitting
to the playful experience provided by the game, participants had
the opportunity to know the statistical data generated by the
activity, compiled with the purpose of showing the evolution of
the opinions in accordance with fluctuations occurred during
the game.

why does it work?

By creating a game from a deck of cards that contained
information backed up by experts in macroeconomics, the main
objective of the project was achieved: to involve businessmen,
heads of the most powerful Brazilian organizations into a dyna-
mic, not only capable of awaken their curiosity, as to transmit a
proposition of practical value, applicable to their professional
contexts. More than this, Brazil 2022, served as a tool for
probing an extremely intimate group about the economic future
of the country, which generated, as a legacy, a solid database
including even discussions on the topic. On the month following
its accomplishment, the game gained an online version, hosted
on the digital edition of the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo.

75
76
5
Let’s get down to work!

How to start?
Now that the Gamification concepts are understood, some dou-
bts remain on how to make the methodology tangible from solid
actions within a company. This chapter aims to objectively pre-
sent practical tools and suggest a Step by Step implementation,
giving an alternative approach to solving businesses problems.
The Step by Step doesn’t need to be followed in the proposed
order, but this order was meant to serve as a support in the first
Gamification implementations. See how we describe the process:

Step 1: Understanding the issue and the context

Usually, the most appropriate way to start a project is by
understanding what is the Gamification problem you're trying
to solve, as well as the context in which it is inserted. It is very
likely that, at an early stage the origins of the problem are not
clear; to assist in the scenario mapping and user’s understanding,
techniques derived from Design Thinking can be used to identify
the impasse, as well as its causes and effects.
There are three fundamental aspects to be considered at
this stage: company culture, business goals, and especially
user’s understanding.
The company culture has great influence on how players
will interact and react to the Gamification initiatives. That’s why
it is necessary to understand them, in order to achieve effective
behavior change. Different cultures may be more or less open to
new ideas, stiffness or functions flexibility, orientation to coopera-
tion or competitiveness, formal or informal settings, among other
features. Try to identify, at the beginning of the project, which are
the main aspects of the company’s culture, making sure that they

77
will be considered in the following stages.
Gamification initiatives should also be aligned with the
company’s business goals. They must serve as a support for
other ongoing actions. If the initiative affect other areas, it is
important to have understanding of their goals and specific
business objectives while avoiding the incidence of conflicts.
To achieve an effective behavior change, it is necessary to
understand many human aspects of the people involved in
the problem and the way they face it in their daily routine. The
way users absorb new knowledge, the emotional characteristics
related to work, their aesthetic perception of the world and cultu-
ral issues; are some of the elements that need to be studied with
great care to create a good game experience. Remember that
Gamification initiatives will be designed for people, being impor-
tant to understand them fully so that you can create exciting and
relevant games. By means of the following techniques, you can
understand which behavior needs to be changed.

techniques to ease issues definition

The information necessary for understanding the three initial
questions suggested by the Step by Step can be obtained from
interviews, observations and the application of some tools for the
synthesis of findings.

interviews
This is the most intuitive technique. Talk to people who need to
have their behavior changed and try to understand the motiva-
tions behind the attitudes expressed by them. Interviews can ha-
ppen informally so that employees do not feel pressured at work.
Hierarchical differences often compromise results not only from
interviews but also from several other research techniques, so it is
recommended to seek a neutral person within the organizational
structure to obtain this data. Some tips may be helpful:
• Ask open-ended questions (avoid questions answered with
"Yes" or "No").
• Do not induce responses
• Allow respondents to speak - do not interrupt, unless it's
really important. Moments of silence can be precious when
uncomfortable topics show up, even when they say something

78
 that was not asked.
• Insert many ‘’whys’’, try to deeply understand peoples’
motivations.
• Try to record in detail everything you hear. Records can be
made through notes, photos or videos, and will assist you
during analysis.

questionnaires
Another common way to extract information is from question-
naires, which can be done via online tools, paper or through a
mediator asking the questions. However, it’s necessary to be
aware that an online questionnaire usually brings more superfi-
cial information than an interview in person, the first one being
the most suitable for quantitative research and the second for
qualitative research.

5 whys
A good technique to acquire comprehension about the issues’
origin is called “5 Whys” The approach consists in asking one
question, get an answer and ask the second question using the
given answer. For example:

p: “Why were the sales goals not achieved?”

r: “Because we couldn’t motivate our sale’s team.”
p: “Why couldn’t you motivate your sale’s team?”
r: “Because supervisors didn’t agree with the sales goals’ policy.”
p: “ Why didn’t the supervisors agree with sales goals’ policy?”
And so on.

Usually, by asking “why” five times, you get to a crucial place:

the essence of a problem.

observation
Another recommended technique is observation that may occur
in an intrusive or non-intrusive manner. From this technique, it’s
possible do get more assertive information, e.g., the observation
of what people really do, instead of considering just what they
say they do.

79
It’s common to respondents to say things just to please the
researcher, or even because they don’t have full knowledge
of their actions. That’s why it is so relevant to use observation
techniques.
There are different ways to observe:

observing in a non-intrusive and concealed manner, i.e.,

without interfering on the actions done by the person.
observing in a controlled manner, i.e., asking the participant
to perform an action, without interfering on it.
observing in a participative manner, being actively present in
the action, to get a better perception of how the task is performed.

When observing, it’s important to understand both the indivi-

dual and the context he is inserted in:

observing the individual: What does he do? How does he do it?

Where is he looking to? What are his difficulties? What does his
facial expression indicate?
Observing the environment: What is going on? What factors
are related to the observed context?

These techniques are useful to observe behaviors in a com-

pany, as well as observing their potential customers.

diary or cultural probing

Another way to get information is to ask the participant to
make their own notes and records. The diary is a simple way to
understand the habits routines. The application is simple: give
them a notebook and ask them to describe their daily routine
or specific tasks they perform for a few days. Cultural probes
are kits for self-registration delivered to the participant during a
certain period and collected by the researcher for analysis after
finished. Kits have various tools to stimulate the participant, and
it may include diaries, activity notebooks; instructions for taking
pictures or inspirational material for collages. Probes bring a
large amount of information for understanding the participant’s
universe, as well as inspiration to generate ideas.

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mental map
The Mental map is a diagram conceived to organize thoughts in a
visual and textual manner, helping to view different themes, and
enabling connections between them.
Start with a central theme and, like representing a tree and it’s
leafs, keep branching it through secondary themes. From each
branch, create sub-branches with related questions.

user’s journey
The Journey is a way to understand the actions that the user
needs to perform, and it can serve as a base to understand “how”
and “when” gamification can be applied. It’s a representation
of all milestones that can be traveled before, during and after
experimenting a product or service, or even to execute a task in
the corporation.
Besides the action’s detailing, it’s possible to explicit the
contact points that makes the product or service tangible, i.e., all
tangible evidences from an intangible task.
On one day journey of a company’s employee, there are few
evident contact points, such as ID badge, computer’s login scre-
en, posters he sees on elevators, e-mails received, among others.
Mapping these points helps to identify opportunities of inser-
ting gamification elements, communicate information or develop
motivators. When mapping, try to understand what is important
to the user in each stage of the journey.
If your gamification initiatives are in resonance with the real
needs of the player (user), the likelihood of adherence to the game
becomes much higher.

Contact Points
physical evidences of
the service or process
User’s
actions

User’s
needs

How do
users feel?

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empathy map
The empathy map is a synthesis of information about the user,
where it is possible to identify what he says, feels and thinks. This
map is a simple manner to help the context understanding, the
behaviors, the concerns, and the user’s aspirations. To make
the map effective, try to suggest sentences that represent what
users listen or say, or verbal constructions that represent what
they see.

What thinks and feels

What hears What sees

User

What does and says

Difficulties Achievements

stakeholders map [1]

It is a visual representation of the various people or groups acting
in the studied situation. This mapping helps to identify rela-
tionships among individuals/groups. First of all, try to identify the
agents, i.e., which individuals and groups affect or are affected by
the issue being studied. Choose one person as the central focus
and start adding other agents, one at a time, always positioning
them according to their relationship with the central person.
Proceed identifying existing conflicts and established
alliances, since this map can help creating different roles within
the game, in order to positively influence these relationships. To
potentiate the map’s effects, try to identify what are the interests
and motivations of each agent, how do they relate and interact.

82
 Identify the relation among Identify, in the center, a person
the stakeholders or institution that will be the
starting point.

List and position people/

institutions who has a relation
with the starting point

Who do people group?

What relations are there

among them?

Who is closer or more distant?

Are there arguments?

After using these tools, it shall be possible to obtain a clearer

vision of the issue and of the behavior to be changed. A full
tool list is available in the book Design Thinking — Business
Innovation.

is the behavior to be modified a habit?

If the behavior can be featured as a habit, it is necessary to
identify how to access it, the established routine details, and
the reward offered in exchange for the change of habit. Charles
Duhigg suggests a model to habit identification: [2]

[1] Stakeholders: A. The first Step is identifying the routine: what is the
term used by repetitive behavior that we are trying to change? This is possible
Several areas through interviews, diaries and cultural probes. Example: eating
such as project chocolate every night.
Management,
business and
B. To identify the access and the reward, make experiments:
Software architecture
related to ask the person to - when feeling the urge to execute the routine
People involved, - create a different routine, generating a different reward. On
pursuant to corporate each experiment should be registered, in a paper sheet, the first
Governance practices thoughts. A few minutes later the action should be repeated in
Delivered by company. order to evaluate if the urge remains. In case a different reward
In Design, it defines any
had fulfilled the urge, probably the reason that generated the old
People who has
habit has been identified.
an agency, i.e.,
Impacting or being The experiments objective is try to understand if the urge’s
impacted. origin is really to eat the chocolate or if the increase of sugar level
[2] duhigg, 2012 is compensating a feeling of loneliness, for instance.

83
 Example: every time you want to eat chocolate, go for a walk or
call someone.

C. Block the access: identifying the access may not be an easy

task; therefore, try focusing at one aspect at a time; otherwise the
excess of information can be an obstacle. There are five types of
accesses: place (where is the person?); time (what time is it?); emo-
tional status (how are they feeling?); other people (who is around
him?); and immediately preceding action. Ask the person that,
when the urge appears, to write down in a paper sheet, the answer
for these informations and evaluate the results a few days later.

D. The fourth step is having a plan and replaces the non-benefic

routine by another that brings the same reward. This can be
potentiated by the previously observed Gamification techniques.

Checkpoint
After applying the techniques to define the issue, make a mission
checklist. [3]
[   ] game goals
What is the central issue to work on?
Is the issue relevant to the company?
[   ] behaviors
What is the current undesirable behavior?
Why do people show this behavior?
To what behavior should it be changed into?
Why is this behavior change needed?
Who benefits from this change?
How can the player benefit from this change?
Is the behavior to be stimulated in agreement with the business’s
needs and goals?
[   ] environment/context
Into which context is the game to be developed inserted in?
How this context or game is physically constituted?
Is it a noisy or busy environment?
Which are the rules and limitations imposed by the environment?
Is the player participating from home or from some specific
environment?

84
 [   ] platform (Defines limits, spaces — even virtual – of actions.
Knowing in which environment the game will take place, one
may think about which platform is more appropriate.) What is the
most appropriate platform for your game? Board game, computer
game, physical activity? What is the interface between the player
and the game?

Step 2: Understand who the players are

With the problem defined, it is important to deeper comprehend
who are the players – and how their efforts could be applied to
the solution – or which of their behaviors need to be changed.
Persona is a synthesis technique recommended for when
you intend to get a detailed comprehension of the respondent.
Personas are archetypes, fictional characters based on the analysis
of observed behaviors from extreme profiles. They represent the
variety of observed needs, motivation, wishes, expectations and
behaviors, and help to develop ideas for products and services
focused in experiences, besides facilitating the information align-
ment among the ones involved on the project.
Personas are created from observed behaviors on field, and
show some demographic assignments, related to their activities:
genre: as defined in Chapter 2, there are gender differences on
games. Men prefer challenging games where they can obtain
a deep command. They are stimulated by competition and can
enjoy destroying things. They tend to learn by trial and error and
are attracted to spatial puzzles. Women prefer games that explo-
re the emotional, connected to real world. They are attracted to
verbal puzzles and like to learn from examples. [4]
age: As also defined in Chapter 2, different life moments can
impact the way games are inserted into routines. Children 7-9
y/o are at the “reason age”, they can already read and; therefore
become more interested in games. From 10 to 13 y/o, they get
into the “obsession phase”, when they are passionate about their
interests. People from 25 to 30 y/o dedicate themselves to pro-
fessional growth, and some of them have a casual relationship
with games. From 50 on, it’s common to be interested in games
they liked during childhood, and they tend to feel attracted by
activities with strong social appeal.
[3] Adapted from
professional information: What do they do in practice?
herger, 2013
What is their job title? How is the department in which they work?
[4] schell, 2008

85
What are the difficulties involved in their daily tasks? What are
their career aspirations? By applying Gamification in the corpo-
rate context, these are very relevant information that can become
crucial to find motivations to players.
type of player: is your player a predator, an achiever, an
explorer or a socializer?
behavior axes: identify some relevant polarities to your project
and evaluate each persona according to these polarities. An
example of polarity can be social x introverted.
generation: as explained in Chapter 3, different generations
have different behavior patterns. The Baby Boomer Generation,
for example, identifies with competition, hierarchical systems. The
X Generation is pragmatic, individualistic, don’t allow failures. The
Y Generation, who grew up living with video games and internet,
needs immediate feedback, adopts a more collaborative behavior
and learns by doing.

As an activity, create a set of personas that represent various

aspects identified in the field, and assign them stories, phrases
and names to bring this archetype to life.

Persona’s description
Photo
attitudes, habits, behavior

Main attributes
Name, age describe and record your accordance level
– +
Occupation

A typical quote
from the persona

86
Checkpoint
[   ] players
Who is the player?
What are their demographic and behavioral characteristics?
What activities does the player perform?
What type of player is he?
Are there other people to be engaged in the game (ex:
supervisors)?

Step 3: Directive criteria and game mission

With a clearer understanding of the problem and the players,
establish directive criteria for your game. These are guidelines
that lead the project, so that critical issues are not neglected.
Create a criteria list from analyzing the collected data, concer-
ning the business objectives. This will represent the principles in
which to be aware of in all stages of the project, serving as a tool
to analyze and select generated ideas.
Examples of criteria: to stimulate cooperation among players,
stimulate information exchange among players; players should
learn by doing.

game mission
Considering the directive criteria, define the mission. It is the
game’s “reason to be”, the main objective of your gamification
initiative. The mission consolidates needs found on previous
development phases into clearly outlined actions, and; therefore,
reachable. Defining missions is extremely significant for the game
to be successful and it’s appealing among players.
Try to create well specified and measurable missions instead of
suggesting generic activities such as “improving sales”. Try to be
more objective and specific like: “stimulating employees to share
daily information about best sales practices”, for example.

Checkpoint
[   ] mission
Are the directive criteria in agreement with the initial project’s
challenge?
Are the directive criteria aligned with the business’s goals?
Is the game mission clear, specific, achievable and measurable?

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 Step 4: Develop ideas for the game
Armed with the problem definition, the context in which it
manifests itself, the understanding of business objectives, the
peculiarities of the players, and having defined mission; the next
step is to develop ideas to determine the game format. Relevant
questions are: What story do you want to tell with the game?
What will be the game’s theme? What is the game’s aesthetic?

analogies
Think of an existing game that can serve as a baseline for deter-
mining the objective and mission of your game, since establishing
analogies is an efficient way to generate good ideas. The "force-
-fitting" technique consists of combining stimuli of different
symbolic universes to create new associations. This can be done
through analogies, metaphors or random stimuli. For example,
"tracking sales target" + "Farmville" = every sale made, a new plant
is added to the player's garden.

brainstorming
It is the most traditional technique for developing ideas, in which
a group meets to suggest a greater amount of possible solutions
to a given problem. In a brainstorming, ideas should not be judged
or blocked, in order to establish a comfortable environment to
thought expression.
Take as much ideas as you can. Then discuss them with the
group, making a pre-selection. After getting feedback from others,
try to develop the idea more thoroughly before proceeding to the
next step.

Some tips for developing ideas

• Write down all your ideas.
• Try to see the problem from different angles: conduct brainstor-
ming sessions at unusual places, move to other room.
• Try to develop ideas acting hypothetically as someone else: “If I
were a millionaire, how should I solve the issue?
What if I were famous? What if I were a child? What if I were a
super-hero?”
• When ideas are not flowing, go home, let your brain rest and
think about it again the next day when you wake up.
• Set a theme and a game aesthetic, because these elements

88
 play a major role in establishing a symbolic context that helps
the player to understand rules and objectives from previous
knowledge. Aesthetics is the game’s appearance, smell, taste
and sensations. [5] To create a good experience, the mechanics,
the story and theme elements should be considered to reinfor-
ce it. For example, the Mario Bros game’s aesthetics: It is the
fantasy colorful worlds that resemble buildings and structures
with lots of life.
The history; however, is a series of events unfolding within
a game and need to be reinforced with mechanics. Following
Mario Bro’s example, the game story is about saving the prin-
cess and the journey the short mustachioed needs to face to
accomplish his mission. All these elements must be combined
so that the objective of providing a consistent experience to the
player is achieved.

Checkpoint
[   ] theme
Which theme represents game’s objective?
Does the metaphor make sense for the players and the game’s
objective?
[   ] story
Does the story have potential to engage players?
[   ] aesthetics
Which aesthetic do you want to focus on the game?
Does the aesthetic reinforce and consolidate the story?

Step 5: Definition of the game and its mechanics

At this time, the activity mechanics can already begin to be
designed.
Every game should have clear definitions for duration. The
game can end when a player achieves an objective, may dis-
course in a certain time or be infinite. One way to keep players'
interest for longer periods appears with the creation of cycles or
editions, as do game makers when releasing new versions from
time to time. In a game with cumulative score, incoming players
may feel discouraged to compare their progress with what was
achieved by the leaders. In this case, cycles that reset punctua-
tion help bringing these new players.
[5] schell, 2008

89
 m w w W M h
o o o O O h
o O
B w W W B Ah

Another way to keep engagement is thinking on the game’s dra-

matic arc. This is a device derived from literary and cinematic arts,
which helps to think in an engaging experience from start to finish.

Boom–wow–Wow–WOW–BOOM–Ahhh... [6]
Besides being a giant onomatopoeia, "Boom-Wow-Wow-
-WOW-BOOM-Ahhh ..." is a theory that, if properly assimilated,
can change forever the perception that you, the reader, have of
your own life. It must be clarified that this audacious assumption
is not mystical or religious, since such a theory is only an inge-
nious attempt to transmit to the word’s world the backbone of
one of the most popular dramatic arches in the history of art and,
not coincidentally, serves as an explanation of what is behind the
events that will probably be the most memorable of any person
existence.
So, in the script of a play, at Sunday lunch, in a professional
trajectory on a vacation trip with the family, or even in a video
game, you can be sure, whatever the circumstances, if they have
a vocation to become minimally significant experiences in the
ordinary course of our routine, the "Boom-Wow-Wow-WOW-
-BOOM-Ahhh ...", will show up, in a more or less obvious way. To
simplify, in practice, each expression represents some emotion,
at a given intensity, which, when chained together, supposedly
would capture the peak of interest and human involvement. Still
very complicated? Maybe it will be better to illustrate this talk
from a very familiar example: a classic James Bond movie.

1st Boom: Note that any James Bond movie always starts with a
chasing scene, sometimes the following episode from TV Show.

90
 This sequence means grabbing the audience’s attention, and at
the same time, to inform that it is worth to keep sat on the chair,
because the best is yet to come.
It is the first spark of the script, or rather the first "Boom" of the movie.
After facing the danger, 007 goes back to his sweet routine in Lon-
don and visits the laboratory where all the awesome gadgets are
being created [7] (revolver shoe, clock to climb walls etc.) and he
will them use them against his enemies in the next hour and a half.
1st wow: athe triviality of daily life in the British capital is suddenly
interrupted by a new mission that will put him back in action, this
time untying the knots of the screenplay that will lead this parti-
cular movie. Before he notes it, Bond is involved in a frantic chase
scene through the streets of Paris, nothing so unpredictable, but
something that can make the viewer stop chewing his popcorn for
a moment, look at the person beside him and say: “Wow.”
2nd Wow: the fact is that just one "Wow" doesn’t make a summer;
the sequence that makes worth paying for the ticket and that
justifies another movie for the saga has just started. Now the
"Wow" needs to be a little louder, to be heard from the back row
of the cinema. What if Bond were hunted by ten KGB agents
running on the wagons of a train crossing at high speed on the
Siberian railroad?
3rd WOW: to avoid breaking the established electrifying rhythm
[6] Freely inspired on and potentially cause a collective "WOW" to audience, the recipe
Adam Lawrence, is to engage 007 to an even more sinister threat, an even more
co-founder of Work- exotic and unfamiliar place, something like a chase boats across
PlayExperience,
flaming rice plantations in Southeast Asia, with its pierced
German Consultant
On service innovation,
voodoo by a local sorcerer, hired by the dictator of the country.
That uses methods 2nd BOOM: ok, if the movie was a roller-coaster, we would now
From theater to
be on the highest spot before the great descent that makes our
their projects.
[7] Gadget: Is an stomach come in our mouth. In the script, it’s time to steer the
equipment (device) critics, those that, hopefully, the audience will want to share with
With an specific their friends, the scene that consumed half of that movie’s yearly
purpose, practice and budget: Bond takes from the inside of an alligator's mandible,
Daily useful. It is usual to a chopped leg of a soldier enemy and uses it to catch the pro-
Call Gadgets, the
pellers of a boat, which, when exploded, produces a fire ball so
portable Electronic
intense that also ends up igniting the helicopter engine, and that
devices such as
PDAs, cellphones, followed the chase from the sky.
smartphones MP3
Ahhhh…: but what now, what else could be thought to overcome
players, among others.

91
 so much adrenaline? Is this the way the film ends? With everyone
thinking that James Bond is a demigod endowed with unparalle-
led insight and that therefore his story is completely implausible
and disconnected from audience reality?
Of course not! The instant that the British agent sails the coast
of Greece celebrating the amazing victory, he realizes that his
Hungarian girlfriend is actually a double agent, and that he is the
victim of an ambush: the champagne is poisoned! Ahhh…, it also
makes their stupidities, is like any one of us, thinks the relieved
audience. Apparently, evil still remain unpunished, at least until
the next movie. Well, if the above example was not didactic enou-
gh, evidences of "Boom-Wow-Wow-WOW-BOOM-Ahhh ..." can
be found even in the way the experience is thought by audience of
Magic Kingdom, Disney's premier theme park.
In this case, the problem identified was that each visitor makes
his own journey through the sights and the big chance is leaving
the worst toys that never line up, for the end of the day, which
could contribute to a negative perception of the whole.
And what did Disney marketers do about it? Created the
Electrical Parade (super illuminated parade that occurs on the
Main Street and stops all the park’s attractions) and fireworks,
just to make sure that everyone would go home after a legitimate
"BOOM" followed by an "Ahhh ...".
More examples? What about the main rituals of the Catholic
Church? Birth, baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage,
extreme unction: "Boom-Wow-Wow-WOW-BOOM-Ahhh ...". And
what about traditional relationships journey? Flirting, first kiss,
dating, engagement, marriage, sex, although the order of these
steps may vary. Now I think that at least it must have been a bit
easier to understand why you cannot eat dessert before the meal,
watch Return of the Jedi before The Empire Strikes Back, learn
to skate before biking, see Paris before New York, Beatles before
Rolling Stones...
According to the participants’ profile ant the context, try to define
what will be the player’s interaction frequency with the platform.
As it is a dynamic conducted inside a company, the player can
have some interactions a week, once a day, or even many times a
day. The frequency needs to be well-defined to keep the engage-
ment without making the game boring, and without disturbing all
other activities performed by the player.
Mechanics are designed to clarify to the player what objectives
should be pursued and what happens after performing each action.
Although there is no definite taxonomy, there are several mechanics

92
 which can be used for a game. Objects are all things that can
be seen or handled: characters, records, scores. Each object has
attributes (object characteristics or what an object can perform,
such as "maximum speed") and states (variables momentary cha-
racteristics, such as "current speed"). Actions correspond to what
the players do, and always involve consequences. Rules lead the
game from how it should be played to how the player should behave.

Mechanics list [8]

• Restrains
• Score
• Achievements (for example, badges, score, rewards)
• Comments, followers, evaluations (ratings)
• Dynamic commitment: the player needs to go back at a specific
time to perform certain action (for example, Farmville)
• To avoid punishment (the player needs to perform the action to
avoid being punished)
• Happy productivity (participating in a game is such a pleasant
activity that makes people happier when playing than when
doing nothing)
• Countdown
• Disincentives (lose points as punishment to stimulate behavior
changes)
• Significant results (epic meaning): motivation from the percep-
tion that the effort applied is to achieve something important,
significant
• Lottery
• Modifiers: items influencing other actions (e.g., multiply points
in the next action)
• Dynamic progression: progress bar
• Reward Programming: wins reward X, when action Y is perfor-
med, within Z period of time
• Status
• Viral mechanic: game element that requires many players (for
example:
Farmville: you become more popular if you have more people
playing with you)
• Virtual items, virtual currency.
• Pride
[8] Source: techcrunch.
com/2010/08/25/scvn-
gr-game-mechanics

93
 List of motivators considered fun [9]
• Recognize standards
• Gathering
• Find random treasures
• Achieve a sense of completeness
• Get recognition by achievements
• Organize chaos
• Customize virtual worlds
• Acquire knowledge
• Organize groups of people
• Perceive privileged references
• Be the center of attention
• Experiment beauty and culture
• Exchange gifts
• Imagine yourself as a character (hero, villain, scholar, rebel,
magician, governor)
• Make believe that dwells a magic world
• Hear/tell a tale
• Predict the future
• Compete
• Analyze (understand others motivation)
• Unveil Mysteries
• Acquire deep domain of a skill
• Demand justice and revenge
• Care
• Triumph over conflict
• Relax
• Try the bizarre
• Allow yourself to be silly
• Have reasons to laugh
• Get scared
• Reinforce affective bonds
• Improve own health
• Imagine connection to the past
• Explore an unknown world
• Change society

Checkpoint

[   ] game duration

What are the game’s duration rules?
How is the player’s experience curve?

94
 [   ] interaction frequency
How often will the player interact with the platform?

[   ] game mechanic

What are the mechanics that lead the game?
Are the mechanics engaging for the players?
Does the mechanic help reaching the game’s initial objectives?

[   ] scoring
Is the score balanced? Is it fair?
What do players feel when they lose?

[   ] rewards
Are there any rewards in the game?
Are there risks of rewards destroying intrinsic interests?

Step 6: Low, Medium and/or High Fidelity Test

Prototyping’s objective is to validate the developed idea, as well
as obtaining inputs to improve it. A prototype is any tangibiliza-
tion of an idea in order to bring knowledge. By doing so, the team
producing the game learns about it when simulating concepts
and actions with future users, a process that involves, as a con-
sequence, inputs to the improve the proposal. This is the concept
of iteration: continuous improvement of an idea for it to develop
according to end user wishes; before more time and money are
invested. Therefore, prototypes help to reduce the project’s
uncertainties and the risks inherent to its implementation.
These tests do not necessarily need to occur only when the game
is completely designed; they can be conducted at earlier time, in
order to validate the concept. There are different ways to make a
prototype: high or low fidelity (object proximity and real interactions)
and contextuality (public proximity and real interaction contexts).
It usually starts with low-fidelity and contextuality prototypes and
with the iterations and the game’s improvement loyalty can increase.
There is no pre-set or recommended time to the prototyping phase,
since each project presents different complexities and questions
that need to be clarified in different moments.

[9] radoff, 2011

95
 storyboard
It is a sequential representation of a story or action, performed
on visual mode. Several techniques can be used, such as dra-
wing, photography or collages. Storyboards are useful to enable
viewing the game's narrative, or the experience the user will have
when playing.

paper prototyping
Representations of graphic interfaces made on paper. It may
have different fidelity levels, since the sketch of a freehand
wireframe [10] to the printed drawing of an interface with all its
details, colors and final proportions. These schemes are both
to enable the designers to visualize and optimize their work in
a tangible way and to make the interaction with user testing,
simulating a functional interface. It is a low cost prototype, and
serves very well as a first mechanical score validation.

volume template
Volume representations of the Interface or game; which vary in
levels of fidelity according to the stipulated purpose. Built with
simple materials (paper, cardboard, modeling clay etc.), or more
elaborated - composed of various materials and painted to
simulate the color and finishing of the product to be manufactu-
red - are useful to test the mechanics without the high cost of a
system implementation.
To test the game’s dynamics, it is possible simulate its
functioning using prototypes in low fidelity. As an example, it can
be mentioned a prototype software developed by MJV to assist
sales teams to adapt the argument to the client profile and track
transactions. To test the game concept, a physical game board
representing the system’s dashboard was used. For every conclu-
ded sale, new items were manually added to the dashboard. To
check the tests’ operation (questions that automatically appear
in the system with the objective of training), a member of the in-
novation team simply printed the questions on a paper sheet and
tested them with the sales team. Each correct answer generated
an element on the board. Thus, it was possible to test the concept,
the interactions, the feedback and the game’s scores.

96
 Prototyping Tips
• Conduct tests quickly and early in the process
• Initially, do not think on improving the prototype quality: any
tangibilization attempt will help clarifying issues
• Do not stick to ideas: if during the prototyping best solutions
appear, do not hesitate on holding them, regardless of the
changes involved.

Checkpoint
Prototyping serves to evaluate all defined points so far: concept,
engagement, mechanics, aesthetics, and history, as well as
getting participants’ feedback upon what needs to be improved.
[   ] evaluation
Evaluate the game’s mechanics: Did it work with the participants?
Evaluate the score: Is the score’s attributes model fair?
Evaluate the game’s concept: Did the mechanics make sense for
the players?
Did players have fun with the game?

Step 7: Implementation and monitoring

After game’s implementation, it’s necessary to conduct constant
management and evaluate the feasibility of implementing
changes. So, it is important to have well-established metrics to
validate the players’ actions, motivation and engagement.

Step 8: Measuring and evaluation

About measurement related to metrics evaluation, some sug-
gestions have affinity with the purposes commonly associated to
corporate games: [11]
[10] Wireframe: A web-
site wireframe site web Regarding engagement
(also referred as • Average number of implemented actions
"wire frame
• Number of users implementing actions
web", "wireframe web",
• Indicators of game recurrence
"web wireframing") is
a visual basic guide • Progress obtained throughout the activity
Used to interface • Level of satisfaction shown by players
design, in order
To suggest a web Regarding time spent on activity
site structure • Players’ time adherence on the game
And the relationships
• Frequency of visits to the platform
between its pages.

97
• Response time to proposed challenges

About the achieved ROI

• Number of active participants
• Indicators productivity increase
• Cost reduction achieved
• Sales figures increase

What can go wrong? [11]

Even carefully planning the game, it is possible that something
does not work out as expected. The following items assist the as-
sumption of impasses that may appear and should be considered
during the planning stage:

Inadequacy to business goals. It is always important to repeat:

if the gamification initiative is not appropriate to the company’s
objectives as a whole, or to some stakeholders involved, this may
prevent the game’s adherence and implementation process.

Inadequacy to the company’s culture. The game inadequacy

to the company’s culture can cause estrangement and low
engagement of players

Lack of clarity on the players’ value proposition. A score

without value proposition simply will not engage players for long
periods.

Lack of engagement in short term. It can occur due to lack of

communication from the initiative, or even the players’ demand
for an adaptation time. If there is little initial engagement, try to
identify the people who are motivated and think about how to
turn them into disseminators of this behavior. Frequently, it is
enough to have a small group starting to engage with the game
in order to have a cascading effect.

Lack of long-term engagement. It is likely that the game has

become monotonous, i.e., the flow between challenge and
difficulty is not appropriate. A game needs to be challenging
but achievable, and this balance is difficult to obtain. For long
matches, we recommend the inclusion of cycles, renewing the
subject or resetting the score.

98
 Game’s Obsolescence (lack of management). Like any product
or service, it is important monitoring and updating objectives
to adapt them to new parameters that can show up. To keep the
game alive, plan to insert new cycles from time to time. Players
are stimulated by continuous changes because it helps bring
freshness to the game’s experience.

Lack of dynamics. To think about dynamics and frequency of

interactions and status updates, makes the game insert into
the player’s habits. Social networks are a good example of
frequently updated content that arouses curiosity and recurrent
visits by users.

Unfair score. Cheating is common in games, so get used to the

idea that players will try to go against the rules or seek loopholes
that grant them advantages. When the other participants percei-
ve such behavior, they related it to the game mechanics permis-
siveness. So, look for pre simulating all possible interactions in
order to avoid jeopardizing the project’s credibility.

Lack of management involvement. The support and involve-

ment of senior people are fundamental for the game to succeed
and to promote changes in the corporation. To facilitate this
adherence, you can assign specific roles for managers in the
game, so they perceive themselves indispensable to the process
or even allow their experience to contribute to the elimination of
possible planning mistakes.

Lack of encouragement in fatigue moments. After some time,

it is quite common for some players to experience moments of
fatigue. This can happen for various reasons, like a poorly defined
mechanics, or by external pressures, as exceptionally troubled
times in the department. Given this situation, incentive cam-
paigns can help reversing this condition. Some possibilities are:
create visibility on the players’ achievement, send stimulating
emails, schedule meetings between players to share experiences,
among others.

[10] herger, 2013 Poorly planned score system. The player should always
[11] Source: hrexaminer. believe that progressing and reaching the top ranking position is
com/12-ways-to-make- possible. If there are players with extremely high score, the task
-your-gamification- of reaching the top seems unfeasible, reducing the motivation
-project-fail/ when playing.

99
Tasks that do not make sense on player’s routine. If the
game’s tasks represent an increased amount or the duplication of
work, it can impair adherence to the game.

In addition to this Step by Step, an interesting alternative to develop

corporate games, especially when you do not have much time, is
through workshops. From a collaborative and pretty straightforward
dynamics, it becomes possible to organize ideas and concepts that,
in a following moment will serve as indicators for game’s develop-
ment. The following is a suggested format that has been used by
MJV’s Technology & Innovation team to make Gamification process
tangible with executives from various segments.

100
Game Design Thinking Workshop
Expected length: 2h | number of participants: from 8 to 15
Graphic Material used, available for download at
gamificationbook.com

Activity 1: Warm up
1) Perfect World
(collective activity — expected length: 10 minutes)
objective: to facilitate abstract thinking about problems, making
relative possibilities for resolution.
proposal: participants describe in a few words how would it work
according to their, the company’s or the department’s dreams.

2) One Word Story

(collective activity — expected length: 10 minutes)
objective: motivate players to practice solving issues in a
collaborative way.
proposal: participants meet, standing up in a circle, to tell a
collective story where each part is up to a person, and that should
be continued from the previous participant’s speech. Depending
on the number of participants, and how funny the story is, the
possibility of getting more than just one circle turn is considered.
Example:
participant 1: Yesterday I went to the beach and I saw something
that shocked me…
participant 2: Indeed, I saw a talking fish…
initial suggested theme: When arriving at the company, I
met the director, that looking scared told me: “A misfortune
happened…”

Capture: Understanding the problem

Activity 2: What is the problem?

(Activity individual — expected length: 15 minutes)
required material: adhesive dots; 10 problem cards .
objective: create a strategic mapping of problems that can be
approached by the game to be developed.

101
proposal: participants are invited to write down, for five minutes,
what are the key problems (one per card) related to the area where
the game will be applied. Following, among the problems listed by
them, the more relevant one should be chosen, and fixed to a wall.
When all suggested problems are shown, everybody shall stand
up and fix the adhesive dots (two per person) on two problems
they consider more critical.

Transformation: approaching the problem from new angles

Activity 3: Stop and Go Ideation

(group activities — expected length: 10 minutes)
objective: switch times of ideation and reflection, in order to allow
full exploitation of ideas generated in brainstorming.
required material: ideation records (one per group)
containing a space to stick the problem removed from the wall
and space to transcribe possible solutions.
proposal: after the collective evaluation, the top rated problems
(one per group) should be put aside to be used in the next step of
the Activity. The remaining problems are to be distributed to the
groups (one for each), which will be invited to conduct a brainstor-
ming session to solve them. Each series will have three minutes
length, followed by a one minute silence break and reflection
on what has just been proposed. This module is repeated twice
in total. It is recommended that the ideas shown up during the
activity should be considered when designing game.

Activity 4: Superhero
(Group activities— expected length: 15 minutes)
objective: from an abstract proposition, this activity aims to
expand the horizon of possible solutions to generate narratives
and more creative concepts for the game that will be developed
by the team.
required material: superheroes records – Super Man, Iron Man,
Batman, Spider Man.
proposal:
a) Each group receives the record of a specific superhero and
needs, within 5 minutes, list their super powers.
Wikipedia smartphones researches are welcome, once it is

102
fundamental to get a well done list, under the risk of damaging
the next step.
b) Once defined the super heroes’ characteristics, each group
receives one of the top rated problems in activity 1, devoting 10
minutes to think on how the superhero should use his super
powers to overcome the challenge.

Pause: 10 minutos

Implementation: convert ideas into reality

Activity 5: Gamifying the solution

(Group activities— expected length: 30 minutes)
objective: with the supposed solution to the problem, the groups
are challenged to create a game that helps them to translate the
developed solution to practice.
required material: player’s records; challenge/actions; rules/
limitations.
proposal: By fulfilling records with definitions about the main
aspects to create a game (Who is the player?; What are their
challenges/actions?; What are the rules/limitations?), each group
will develop an itinerary for the game they intend to create. The
records corresponding to each aspect are fulfilled, one by one, in
agreement to the suggested order and pause:
• Record 1: The player (10 minutes)
• Record 2: Challenges and Actions (10 minutes)
• Record 3: Rules and Limitations (10 minutes)

Activity 6: Games Presentation

(Group activities— expected length: 20 minutes)
proposal: each group will have five minutes to explain how the
created game works.

Activity 7: Final Assumptions

(collective activity — expected length: 15 minutes)
objective: stimulate among participants the perception about
the activity and understand how it can be extended in the profes-
sional routine of each one of them.

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Gamification Canvas Strategic Games aspects definition
partnerships
If you have few time or you Which is the most adequate
are alone, it’s ok, there is platform for the game
Are there other people to
still a last trick hidden in the (board, computer, physical
engage on the game (for
sleeve: activity)?
example, supervisors)?
What criteria defines the
What departments within
game’ s length?
the company should
support the game? How often will the player
In what way? interact with the platform?
What are the game’s rules?
Which activities the player
should do in the game?

Scores and rewards

How does the score
mechanics work?
What awards are offered to
the player?

Costs, difficulties, obstacles

What are the costs of implemen-
tation and maintenance foreseen
in the game?
Which difficulty and obstacles
can influence implementation or
success of the game?

104
Business objectives Game’s environment Player’s characteristics
What are the business What is the story/topic Who is the player of
objectives that have to of the game? How will it this game? (Behavior
be reached through the engage the player? characteristics,
game? demographics, habits and
To create the game’s
activities he accomplishes).
Which behavior should environment, consider
be modified through the the real context where the What kind of a player is
game? player is inserted. he and how does this
shape the game (predator,
conquistador, explorer,
socializer)?

Game’s objectives
What is the game’s mission
(what achievements should
be reached by the player)?
The game’s mission
should be clear, specific,
reachable and measurable
and in agreement with the
business objectives.

Expected benefits
What results are expected
to be reached at the game’s
implementation?
How would the game’s
results be measured?

105
6
What about the future?

Experience indicates that weaving conjectures about what's yet to

come is an often unthankful job, but what other way would there
be to end this book then throwing ourselves on the assumptions
field, particularly when seeking answers to a possible question:
after all, what does the future hold for Gamification? Although
we do not have the pretension to know today, such an answer,
some evidences that compose the current scenario of the
methodology’s application suggest possible paths to follow. In
fact, as the use of game mechanics gradually gets more and more
interest, it is natural to expect more sophistication as a result of
the proposed use of such mechanics as well as a broader objecti-
ve scope, which can be achieved with the method.
A trend that definitely has a good chance to prevail is self-
-development through the games. Considering the likely
improvement of Game Design as a science, the emerging techno-
logies and a higher incidence of professionals working in this area,
it is not difficult to foresee that within a few years, a proliferation
of applications designed to gamify any process to achieve
objectives. From enhanced reality, less artificial interfaces, control
by gestures or emotions recognition devices it will be usual, for
example, to find physical exercise programs able to "read" the
true condition of its users and recommend one or other sequence
of activities, adapting them to the circumstances of the moment.
Still on the health field, it is also expected that there is
an exponential increase in the use of applied Gamification to
prevent the incidence of chronic diseases or follow up with
higher efficiency and practicality patients that require special
attention. With detailed and real-time monitoring of biometric,
customization of metrics and rewards related to the well-being,
health professionals may be more easily involved in the care of
their patients, bringing more assertiveness on treatments or even

107
increasing the adherence index when it extends for long periods.
There are already discussions about the possibility of applications
with these features potentially reduce the need for hospitalization,
considering that more precise monitoring of the patient’s condi-
tion, in some circumstances, could allow him to remain at home,
making beds more available for severe cases.
Maybe education could be one of the areas with bigger
expectations regarding the extension of benefits that can be
achieved with Gamification. In the opinion of renowned experts, it
is only a matter of time until the schools include games aspects in
learning, making the universal education curriculum more flexible
towards a better adaptation to each student’s individuality. To
illustrate this hypothesis, a language teaching program whose
content is directly associated with particular experiences and
expectations of the student in question may be quoted, providing
classes created from their personal interests or practical expe-
riences they have had on the previous day.
In the public sphere, it is expected that the data extraction
from Big Data in higher flow and better defined purposes will
provide an extremely conducive climate to Gamification, since
there will be numerous opportunities to produce metrics and
performance indicators conditioned to any interactions between
citizens and governments. You can imagine, for example, a taxa-
tion model linking tax rates to the amount of garbage generated
by a person over a year, or even to their contribution to a criminal
mapping program on their neighborhood.
We must also mention that the paradigm change is likely
to occur related to how virtual simulators are used today. The
technological advent expected for the coming years can effec-
tively make them so believable that the point of the concept of
experimenting can be replaced by "experiencing", since the
evidences to attest the non-veracity of the proposed situation
tend to be despicable.
Simulations, therefore, would not be limited only to reproduction
risky circumstances or promote training, but creating factual
interaction environments, with entertainment purposes or even
socializing, for example.
In corporate context, we can witness a systematic transition
from “marketing oriented” model to “game oriented” model,
from the purpose diversification to be reached through games wi-
thin companies, and from its subsequent application to areas that,
under the current point of view, seem to have low familiarity with
the theme. It is also possible to get a vision of near future, where

108
work and entertainment become inextricably linked, binding
personal satisfaction to productivity increasing, as suggested by
some study lines that already refer to this new professional reality
as “Playbor” (play+labor) or “Weisure” (work+pleasure).
The simple consideration of these terms incites the imagina-
tion to this environment preponderance that suggests a more
symbiotic relationship between individuals and corporations, con-
solidating a management and production model over the para-
digms brought on the 21st century. According to this scenario, the
absolute value of a company would not be restricted only to the
sum of the monetary patrimony of its shareholders, but it would
also be an important indicator that, despite it almost never comes
out in trading rounds, it is essential for any organization’s future:
Social Capital corresponding to its employees’ satisfaction.
Under this aspect, which narrows the gap between personal
and professional goals, Gamification would be a natural comple-
ment to the established order, forming teams for individual deve-
lopment oriented towards collective goals and managers more
identified as orchestra’s masters than lion tamers. When rules
and goals to be achieved are perfectly clear, the result frequently
observed is of players engaged to seek innovative solutions to the
challenges they face and more secure to achieve them. It is likely
that the vast majority of today’s corporations are not ready yet to
get into this game, but at this point of the book, who would dare
to disagree that the laurels of victory will fit to the first ones who
know how to do it? Daydream or prediction of a new era? We'll
know soon.

109
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brandeis.edu/pubs/jove/HTML/v1/
mcgonigal, Jane. A realidade em
bartle.html
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111
 about the authors
Ysmar Vianna
Electrical Engineer from ITA (1966), master in electrical enginee-
ring and computer science from UCB - University of California at
Berkeley (1969), PhD in computer science from UCB (1972). With
extensive academic career, he was a pioneer in computing in
Brazil, and participated as an instructor to Coppe / UFRJ to the
first computer facility at the University, in 1967. He has created
the course Informatics UFRJ, and was Head and Director of the
Department of Computer Science at NCF / UFRJ. He has coor-
dinated innovation projects for MJV’s clients such as Coca-Cola,
BR Distribuidora, Itaú, Porto Seguro, Dufry, Icatu Seguros and
Government of Rio de Janeiro.

Maurício Vianna
Computer Engineer from PUC-RJ (1990), master in computer
science at ITT- Illinois Institute of Technology (1992) and PhD in
computer science at ITT (1995). He has worked as a Consultant
for the Chicago Board of Trade Clearing Co. (USA) Performance
Computing Inc. (USA), Fairchild & Miller Inc. (USA), R & R Donnel-
ley (USA), Banco Boavista, Secretaria Municipal de Finanças do
Rio de Janeiro, Telefonia Celular Claro, Vivo and Oracle. He has
participated in the development of Case (PCCase) tool in IBPI. He
has several technical papers published in international conferen-
ces IEEE and ACM, in the object orientation and database area.
He is currently developing projects in the areas of Mobile Vas,
innovation in auto insurance / health and social systems. At MJV,
he has worked with clients such as Vivo, Zurich, Government of
Minas Gerais, Claro, Mapfre, SulAmérica Seguros and Mills.

Bruno Medina
Graduated in Marketing at PUC-RJ, he was a member of the
musical band Los Hermanos from 1997 to 2006. He has worked at
Multishow channel developing new TV formats and has worked
with various print publications such as O Globo, Jornal do Brasil
and Trip magazine. Since 2007 he is a columnist to Pop & Arts
section of the G1 portal. Since 2009, he has acted as an innovation
consultant to MJV, integrating projects performed for companies
like Icatu Seguros, Itaú, and Mills. More recently, he became Cre-
ation Manager and it is ahead of MJV’s Gamification initiatives.
Samara Tanaka
Integrated Design Master from Köln International School of Design
(2011), graduated in design by ESDI / Uerj (2004), worked with design
graphic design, information publishing and interaction in Tecnopop,
OEstudio, Om.art / Osklen, Flashpoint (USA). She is currently a
consultant for strategic innovation to MJV where she applies Gami-
fication to stimulate behavior changing in several contexts, including
companies such as Petrobras, Porto Seguro and Icatu Seguros. She
is an independent researcher in social innovation, teaches Design
Research at PUC-RJ, and has spent many sleepless nights due to
her fascination with games.

about the illustrator

João Rocha
Integrated Product Design Master from TU Delft (2010), graduated
in Design from the University of Aveiro (2008). He has worked on
guerrilla advertising for brands such as Diesel, O'Neill, Philips and
Greenpeace. With visual facilitation, he has worked to Roche and
Adobe, and events like Ignite technology conferences and lectures.
After a short stay in the startups world, he moved to Brazil, where
he is currently an innovation designer for MJV, developing projects
to help companies plan strategies for innovation, having also done
visual facilitation for companies like Coca-Cola and SAP.
 about mjv
With 25 years of experience, MJV Technology & Innovation helps
leverage business, foster innovation, and solve business challenges for
some of the world’s largest companies.

With offices spread across Europe, the United States, and Latin
America, our consultancy has a multidisciplinary team composed of
more than 1000 professionals, including designers, engineers, anthro-
pologists, data scientists, developers, entrepreneurs, advertisers, and
journalists.

Our specialists aim to offer business intelligence to different

market segments, proposing innovative solutions. Our DNA carries on
collaborative work, Design Thinking, and Agile Mindset, which guide
our processes and projects.

NORTH AMERICA: EUROPE:

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 Gamification is the use of guided games mechanisms to solve
practical issues or to engage a specific public. The development of
this true science comes from a somewhat obvious finding: human
beings are strongly attracted to games. With increasing frequency,
this set of techniques have been applied by several companies as
alternative tools to traditional approaches, especially to encourage
people to adopt certain behaviors, to get to know new technologies,
speed their learning or training processes, and turning some tedious
or repetitive tasks into pleasant ones.
In a game, when rules and goals are clear, the most common result
observed is of engaged players looking for innovative solutions for
challenges. Who disagrees that this same behavior, when repeated
in a corporation, has the capacity of simply revolutionize the way we
think and execute our professional ideas? Through this book it is
possible to comprehend how Gamification has, not only helped the
biggest organizations to engage, socialize, motivate, teach or build
loyalty in an efficient way with employees and clients, as also to get
closer to a new way of thinking which its assimilation looks essential
for understanding of the world today.

Learn more at gamificationbook.com

If you are interested in developing

gamification projects in your
company, contact us:

Maurício Vianna, Global CEO.

[email protected]

Ysmar Vianna, president

[email protected]

For more information, please visit,

mjvinnovation.com
gamificationbook.com