This is the planned syllabus for the Coursera massive open online course on Gamification, taught by Professor Kevin Werbach (@kwerb) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The course is divided into 12 units, which are in turn divided into short video lecture segments. Think of each unit as one class session in an in-person course: there are two units per week, each of which includes 45-60 minutes of material. There are also quizzes, written assignments, and a final exam with specific due dates.
The course is completely free, and there are no required texts. You may find Prof. Werbach's book For the Win helpful, as it mostly covers the same topic areas of the course, in greater detail and with additional examples and frameworks. It is available in ebook and paperback format from Wharton Digital Press. In the syllabus below, there are links to other suggested readings and videos for further insights into the topics.
1] What is Gamification?
After the introductory material on the course, the first topic we need to cover is what gamification actually means. As we’ll see, there isn’t universal agreement. However, there are a set of concepts and examples that are clearly within the scope of gamification.
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Course overview and logistics
- 1.3 Gamification defined
- 1.4 Why study gamification?
- 1.5 History of gamification
- 1.6 Categories and examples
Optional Materials
- Sebastian Deterding, et al, From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”, Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference, 2011 (Academic paper offering a straightforward definition of gamification. I use a chart from this article in one of the lectures.)
- Jesse Schell, Design Outside the Box, 2010 DICE conference presentation video. (Hilarious and provocative talk about the potential of gamification, which jumpstarted interest in the concept. A clip appears in one of the lectures.)
- Deloitte, Gamification: Gaming Gets Serious, Tech Trends 2012 (A nice overview of gamification as a business technique by a major consulting firm.)
2] Games
You can't understand gamification without understanding games. This unit explains why the concept of games is deeper than most people realize, and the game-based foundations for gamification.
- 2.1 Gamification in context
- 2.2 What is a game?
- 2.3 Games and Play
- 2.4 Video games
- 2.5 It’s Just a Game?
Optional Materials
- Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (A comprehensive description of the core concepts of games and play, targeted toward game designers. A dense but rewarding read.)
- Sam Anderson, Just One More Game…, New York Times Magazine, April 8, 2012 (Looks at the growth and appeal of online casual and social games in recent years.)
- Adam Penenberg, How Video Games are Infiltrating -- and Improving -- Every Part of Our Lives, Fast Company, December 13, 2010 (An early report on the gamification trend and some of its implications.)
WEEK 1 HOMEWORK: Quiz (due April 14)
3] Game Thinking
The ways game designers approach their craft is also the way to tackle a gamification project. Seeing situations through the lens of game design is an essential skill in this area.
- 3.1 Why Gamify
- 3.2 Thinking Like a Game Designer
- 3.3 Design rules
- 3.4 Tapping the Emotions
- 3.5 Anatomy of Fun
- 3.6 Finding the Fun
Optional Materials
- Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses (An exhaustive yet fun compendium of digital game design techniques and concepts.)
- Nicole Lazzaro, Why We Play Games: Four Keys to Emotion Without Story, March 8, 2004 (Influential research-based framework describing different types of fun in games, which is explained in the lectures.)
4] Game Elements
The raw materials of games and gamification are called game elements. We'll earn how to break down a game into its constituent parts and apply them to create gamified systems.
- 4.1 Breaking Games Down
- 4.2 The pyramid of elements
- 4.3 The PBL Triad
- 4.4 Limitation of Elements
- 4.5 Bing Gordon interview
Optional Materials
- Robin Hunicke, et al, MDA: A Formal Approach To Game Design and Game Research, Proceedings of the Challenges in Game AI Workshop, 2004 (Details of Marc LeBlanc's framework described in the lectures.)
- Greg Costikyan, I Have No Words & I Must Design, Interactive Fantasy #2, 1994 (An early effort to highlight the essential elements of game design.)
- Bing Gordon, Hacking Gamification, 2012 (Presentation by venture capitalist and game industry legend Bing Gordon on key gamification techniques)
WEEK 2 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment 1 (due April 14)
5] Psychology and Motivation I: Behaviorism
Gamification is a technique for motivation, so it ties very directly into psychology. This unit introduces the behavioral psychology concepts relevant to gamification.
- 5.1 Gamification as motivational design
- 5.2 Behaviorism
- 5.3 Behaviorism in gamification
- 5.4 Reward structures
- 5.5 Reward schedules
Optional Materials
- David Freedman, The Perfected Self, The Atlantic, June 2012 (A defense of modern online behavioral techniques. Not specific to gamification, but addresses the same concepts covered in the lectures.)
- Tom Chatfield, 7 Ways Games Reward the Brain, TEDGlobal 2010 (Video illustrating ways games design rewards to motivate behavior.)
6] Psychology and Motivation II: Beyond Behaviorism
The previous unit explains the benefits of a behavioral approach to gamification; this one identifies the risks and alternatives.
- 6.1 Limits of behaviorism
- 6.2 Dangers of behaviorism
- 6.3 Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
- 6.4 How rewards can de-motivate
- 6.5 Self-determination theory
- 6.6 First half wrap-up
Optional Materials
- Alfie Kohn, Studies Find Reward Often No Motivator, Boston Globe, January 19, 1987 (A powerful challenge to behaviorist reward systems.)
- Richard Ryan & Edward Deci, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions, Contemporary Educational Psychology 25, 2000 (Overview of self-determination theory concepts by it primary developers.)
- Sebastian Deterding, Meaningful Play: Getting Gamification Right, Google Tech Talk, January 24, 2011 (Presentation explaining the Self Determination Theory case against behavioral approaches to gamification.)
WEEK 3 HOMEWORK: Quiz; Written assignment 2 (due April 21)
7] Gamification Design Framework
Gamification done well is a form of design. This unit provides a six-step framework to apply to any gamification project.
- 7.1 Design Thinking
- 7.2 D1/2: Business objectives/target behaviors
- 7.3 D3: Players
- 7.4 D4: Activity loops
- 7.5 D5/6: Don’t forget the fun and deploy
8] Design Choices
Saying that gamification is a form of design means that it should involve a creative, human-centered, thoughtful process to achieve the best results. This unit identifies important considerations and options.
- 8.1 Two approaches to gamification
- 8.2 Is Gamification right for me?
- 8.3 Designing for collective good
- 8.4 Designing for happiness
- 8.5 Amy Jo Kim interview
Optional Materials
- Amy Jo Kim, Smart Gamification: Seven Core Concepts for Creating Compelling Experiences, 2001 (Presentation describing an approach to gamification based on game design insights.)
- Amy Jo Kim, I (Heart) Collaborative Gaming, Google I/O 2012 Ignite Talk video (Presentation stressing the importance of using collaboration, not just competition, in gamification and game design)
- Scott Nicholson, A User-Centered Theoretical Framework for Meaningful Gamification, June 2012 (An attempt to synthesize an approach to gamification focused on meaningful design.)
WEEK 4 HOMEWORK: Quiz (due April 28); Written assignment 3 (due May 5)
9] Enterprise Gamification
Particular challenges and opportunities when applying gamification inside an organization.
- 9.1 Enterprise applications
- 9.2 Workplace motivations
- 9.3 The game vs. the job
- 9.4 Playbor
- 9.5 Daniel Debow interview
Optional Materials
- Ross Smith, The Future of Work is Play, 2011 (How Microsoft's testing group uses gamification and more broadly applies concepts of play in the workplace.)
- JP Rangaswami, Does Gamification Create Real Business Value? Part 2, I-CIO, June 28, 2012 (Video by the Chief Scientist of Salesforce.com on how gamification relates to leading-edge trends in the digital enterprise.)
- Rypple, Work Better. Play Together? On Enterprise Gamification, March 11, 2011 (Presentation on how to apply gamification concepts effectively in the enterprise.)
10] Social Good and Behavior Change
How to apply gamification to make the world better, or to improve people's well-being, primarily through behavior change techniques.
- 10.1 Gamification for good?
- 10.2 Social good applications
- 10.3 Social good techniques
- 10.4 Behavior change
- 10.5 Susan Hunt Stevens interview
Optional Materials
- BJ Fogg, A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design, 2009 (Summary of BJ Fogg's framework for behavior change.)
- ROI Research, "Gaming for Good" report, register to download at http://www.roiresearch.com/register.asp (Overview of social good applications of gamification.)
WEEK 5 HOMEWORK: Work on Written Assignment 3 (due May 5)
11] Critiques and Risks
There are many legitimate limitations, concerns, and dangers from gamification. Some of them can be avoided through thoughtful design, but others must be considered directly in any implementation.
- 11.1 Pointsification
- 11.2 Exploitationware
- 11.3 Gaming the game
- 11.4 Legal issues
- 11.5 Regulatory issues
Optional Materials
- Margaret Robertson, Can't Play, Won't Play, Hide&Seek Blog, October 6, 2010 (The blog post that spawned the "pointsification" critique of gamification.)
- Ian Bogost, Persuasive Games: Exploitationware, Gamasutra, May 3, 2011(Critique of gamification as a form of exploitation, discussed in the lectures.)
- Sebastian Deterding Pawned: Gamification and its Discontents Playful 2010, September 24, 2010 (Presentation identifying major critiques and dangers of gamification.)
12] Beyond the Basics
The final unit details gamification-related techniques that go beyond those covered throughout the course, and concludes with a look toward the future.
- 12.1 Going beyond the basics
- 12.2 Inducement prizes
- 12.3 Virtual economies
- 12.4 Collective action
- 12.5 The future of gamification
- 12.6 Course review and wrap-up
Optional Materials
- Seth Priebach, The Game Layer on Top of the World, TEDxBoston 2010 video (A vision of gamification becoming more pervasive in the physical world.)
- Any Kamenetz, The Power of the Prize, Fast Company, May 1, 2008 (Description of the potential of inducement prizes.)
- Vili Lehdonvirta, Virtual Item Sales as a Revenue Model, Electron Commer Res, 2009 (Why people pay real money for virtual goods, and different attributes they can employ.)
