Course Description

Gamification, the process of adding game-like elements to real-world or productive activities, is a growing market. By making a product or service fit into the lives of users, and doing so in an engaging manner, gamification promises to create unique, competition-beating experiences that deliver immense value. In fact, Markets and Markets estimates that $11.1 billion will be spent on gamification efforts by 2020.

Venture capitalists, industry analysts, and academics alike see gamification as an industry with huge growth potential. It is transforming business models by creating new ways to ensure longer-term engagement, extending relationships, and driving customer and employee loyalty. As it’s a young industry, it should be easier to get a foot in the door with gamification companies. With demand for experienced designers far outstripping supply, businesses are going to be keen to take a chance on less-experienced but well-qualified designers.

This course is designed to give you the confidence and skills to undertake gamification design projects. It contains all you need to know about player-centered design and the skills that enable it. It has been developed by Janaki Kumar of SAP, one of the world’s foremost authorities on gamification in an enterprise context.

What you will learn

  • The difference between gamification and game design
  • How to use player-centered design processes for gamification
  • How to create player experiences that drive business missions
  • The management, monitoring, and measurement of the impact of gamification work
  • How to ensure that your gamification projects produce work which is legally compliant and ethically sound
  • Specific gamification projects that have been used in enterprise settings in order to help explain the benefits of gamification to corporate sponsors and decision makers

Who should take this course

This is an intermediate-level course recommended for anyone involved or interested in product design and development:

  • UX, UI, and web designers looking to incorporate gamification elements into their designs so as to increase user engagement
  • Project managers and marketers keen on understanding how gamification might help a product or service
  • Software engineers interested in rolling out game-like features in their products
  • Entrepreneurs looking to create apps or products that reward customer loyalty
  • Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX, UI, or web design

Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.

Learn and work with a global team of designers

When you take part in this course, you will join a global multidisciplinary team working on the course and the exercises at the same time as you. You will work together to improve your skills and understanding. Your course group will be made up of an incredibly diverse group of professionals, all of whom have the same objective—to become successful designers. It’s your chance to learn, grow, and network with your peers across the planet.

Lessons in this course

Note: Lessons become available at a schedule of one lesson per week. Once a lesson becomes available, it is open for you forever — you can take all the time you want to go through each lesson. There is no time limit to finish a course, and you always have access to your classmates, course material, and your answers.

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

To be scheduled

  • 0.1: Welcome to "Gamification - Creating Addictive User Experience"
  • 0.2: Please check your information before continuing
  • 0.3: Meet your peers (online)
  • 0.4: Meet your peers (offline)
  • 0.5: The 3 Components of Courses from the Interaction Design Foundation
    • 0.6: A mix between Research-based Versus Example-based Learning
    • 0.7: Course Structure, Point System and Course Certificate
    • 0.8: The Didactics and Educational Choices for IDF’s Courses
    • 0.9: The Exercise
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 1: What is Gamification?

To be scheduled

  • 1.1: A Brief History of Games
  • 1.2: Gamification Defined
  • 1.3: Myth-Busting - Some Home Truths About Games
  • 1.4: Gamification in Your Life Now
  • 1.5: Clarifying Your Expectations of Gamification
    • 1.6: Learning from Games
    • 1.7: Aspects of Gamification
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 2: What Makes a Game Fun?

To be scheduled

  • 2.1: Defining the traits that make a game fun
  • 2.2: Obstacles
  • 2.3: A Game Explained (an example of a single game and how it meets the rules of fun)
  • 2.4: Emotional Rewards
  • 2.5: Work in Games
    • 2.6: Pride
    • 2.7: Happiness
    • 2.8: Share your Ideas
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 3: Player Centered Design

To be scheduled

  • 3.1: User Centered Design
  • 3.2: Beyond User Centered Design
  • 3.3: Know Your Audience
  • 3.4: Keeping an Eye on Things
  • 3.5: Enterprise Level Player Centered Design
    • 3.6: How to Ensure Player-Centered Design?
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 4: It's all About the Player

To be scheduled

  • 4.1: Get to Know Your Players
  • 4.2: Understanding the Person in Terms of Design
  • 4.3: Demographics and the Player Persona
  • 4.4: Professional Information and the Player Persona
  • 4.5: Player Types
    • 4.6: The Persona Template
    • 4.7: Implementing Player Personas
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 5: The Mission Possible

To be scheduled

  • 5.1: The Building Blocks of Great Missions
  • 5.2: Analysis for a Gamification Mission
  • 5.3: Business Outcomes
  • 5.4: SMART Missions
  • 5.5: Tips for Mission Selection
    • 5.6: Examples of Great Missions in Real Life
    • 5.7: SMART Mission: Share your Ideas
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 6: Motivating Your Players

To be scheduled

Lesson 7: Game Mechanics - Reasons to Play

To be scheduled

  • 7.1: Introducing Game Mechanics
  • 7.2: Points, Badges and Leaderboards
  • 7.3: Relationships
  • 7.4: Epic Challenges
  • 7.5: Constraints - Urgency and Optimism
    • 7.6: The Journey
    • 7.7: The Story and Emotions
    • 7.8: The Game Plan Economy, Rules and Engagement
    • 7.9: Gamification Mechanics
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 8: Getting It Right' - Managing, Monitoring and Measuring

To be scheduled

  • 8.1: Sustainability
  • 8.2: Managing Missions
  • 8.3: Monitoring Player Motivation
  • 8.4: Measuring the Mechanics
  • 8.5: Succeeding in an Enterprise
    • 8.6: Rollout Strategies
    • 8.7: Technical Support
    • 8.8: Share your Ideas
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 9: The Law and Ethics of Gamification

To be scheduled

  • 9.1: Labor Laws
  • 9.2: Data Protection Laws
  • 9.3: Virtual Currencies
  • 9.4: Ethics: Grey Areas of Gamification, Manipulation and Nudging
  • 9.5: Cheats!
    • 9.6: Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
  • Show all lesson items Show less lesson items

Lesson 10: Gamification and the Enterprise (Real World Examples)

To be scheduled

Lesson 11: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up

To be scheduled

  • 11.1: Course Evaluation

Industry-trusted UX Course Certificate

You earn an industry-trusted Course Certificate once you complete the course - even if you finish the course after the official end date. In other words, as long as you have enrolled in the course you will always be able to finish it and to get a course certificate. You will also have permanent access to the course material, your answers and the discussions.

Course Certificates from the IDF are verifiable and trusted by industry leaders. You can highlight them on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or your website.

Course Certificate

Our courses and Course Certificates are trusted by these industry leaders, who have taken up company memberships with the IDF:

Accenture Adobe GE Philips SAP