2 ms·

It's a little more subtle than Kohn admits, however. While promises of rewards ahead of time evoke feelings of bribery or coercion, a system where praise and re

by andreyf 17y ago

It's a little more subtle than Kohn admits, however. While promises of rewards ahead of time evoke feelings of bribery or coercion, a system where praise and rewards are often the "natural outcome" serve as great motivation. Consider the products specializing in making things fun/addicting - video games. WoW throws in as many "rewards" as possible - hell, even changing your password is rewarded: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/404957/Picture%2039.png http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/404957/Picture%2039.png Highly recommend further reading: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071351450/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071351450/ Alfie Kohn's "No Contest" is also a great read in the same vein: http://www.amazon.com/No-Contest-Case-Against-Competition/dp/0395631254/ http://www.amazon.com/No-Contest-Case-Against-Competition/dp...

zach 17y ago
There is a reason why "achievements" (NB: nearly always by that name, hmm...) are the most pervasive game design pattern today. I want a t-shirt that says "Actually, I'm just doing this to get the achievement."
- Xichekolas 17y ago
  I think achievements work because they satisfy our inner magpie. It's the same reason "complete collections" are more valuable than merely "greatest hits". The extra items that make the collection "complete" may suck, but, by God, you can check ALL the boxes on the list. When I play a game with extensive achievements, the game is always fun right up until I complete the last one on the list. At that point, I almost totally lose interest. I have tried to fight that, to the point of avoiding some achievements so the character doesn't feel "done"... but it's hard. As expected, merely starting a different character can make all the achievements seem worth it again (because the checkboxes are once again empty), even though I have already done them all before.

by andreyf 17y ago

zach 17y ago

There is a reason why "achievements" (NB: nearly always by that name, hmm...) are the most pervasive game design pattern today. I want a t-shirt that says "Actually, I'm just doing this to get the achievement."

Xichekolas 17y ago
I think achievements work because they satisfy our inner magpie. It's the same reason "complete collections" are more valuable than merely "greatest hits". The extra items that make the collection "complete" may suck, but, by God, you can check ALL the boxes on the list. When I play a game with extensive achievements, the game is always fun right up until I complete the last one on the list. At that point, I almost totally lose interest. I have tried to fight that, to the point of avoiding some achievements so the character doesn't feel "done"... but it's hard. As expected, merely starting a different character can make all the achievements seem worth it again (because the checkboxes are once again empty), even though I have already done them all before.