Game Frame is a 203-page book packed with useful information about games and gamification. Dignan spreads his observations across ten chapters or levels, a backstory, and an appendix. Levels eight and nine are the most powerful pieces of the book. This is where Dignan introduces the idea of the Game Frame and how to implement it to improve skill performance.
The first seven levels introduce the idea of games and gamification as well as game mechanics necessary to implement gamification in a work or life setting.
Why Games Keep Us Engaged
Dignan starts his book by stating, “Boredom is everywhere, and it’s a by-product of poorly structured systems” (Dignan, 2011, p. 1). He adds that when we start a new job, it is exciting, and it holds our attention. However, after a while, it becomes boring because we have stopped learning. We are tired of the system. There are no fresh problems to solve. As I mentioned in a previous post, we naturally solve problems. We become bored when there are no new problems to solve and work becomes routine.
Dignan points out that we are seeing game mechanics being used in more aspects of our lives. These may be games such as Foursquare or game elements as implemented by Nike+. Businesses are using game mechanics such as points and rewards to encourage customer loyalty. This should be no surprise because games are the fastest-growing industry in our nation. Games hold our attention. However, game mechanics only work for a short time, at least until the player masters the game. Once a player masters a game, they need to move on to a new game and a new set of problems to solve.
Bringing Play Back Into Learning
Dignan stresses in level three that we are supposed to participate in play. Plato once said, “Life must be lived as play.” Developers designed many games to serve as practice for survival skills. We learned to run as a means of survival, but we have races to practice the skill of running. It is only society that said work must be serious and not fun. But why can it not also be fun? People continue to do something if it is fun . Lifelong learners are such because they have found learning to be enjoyable. Yet many learners have experienced the opposite. They have found learning to be work and not enjoyable. They then resist other opportunities to learn. I believe it is important to bring the fun back into learning.
The Ten Elements of the Game Frame
As I mentioned earlier, Dignan’s Game Frame is the key to this book. The Game Frame is a framework for designing behavioral games. “Using a Game Frame allows us to look at any behavioral game from the top down, understand its constituent parts, and see how they fit together” (Dignan, 2011, p. 87). The Game Frame has ten elements:
- Activity
- Play Profile
- Objectives
- Skills
- Resistance
- Resources
- Actions
- Feedback
- Black Box
- Outcomes
Activity – the behavior of focus.
Player Profile – description of the players based on drivers and symptoms. Drivers are dynamics that influence volition and faculty.
Objectives – short- and long-term goals.
Skills – abilities that players will learn. Skills can be physical, mental, or social.
Resistance – oppositional forces such as competition or chance.
Resources – supplies that players have or can get which may be used or denied in gameplay.
Actions – moves, decisions, choices players can make to move the game forward.
Feedback – a response system that feeds information to a player to help them make valid decisions.
Black box – rules engine. It can be electronic or analog. However, it has all the business rules of the game.
Outcomes – positive and negative results. Levels, badges, rewards are examples of positive outcomes.
Combining the Elements
The designers strategically combine these elements to create the game. Game developers modify specific elements like resistance, resources, and actions to enhance the game’s engagement. For example, designers can increase or decrease a resource such as time to change the sense of urgency. Competitions such as Design Star use the element of time to increase the pressure on a player. Reducing the time makes what they can accomplish under normal time constraints more challenging.
If you are interested in gaming and gamification, I would strongly recommend adding Game frame: Using games as strategy for success* to your bookshelf.
If you have read this book, what were your thoughts on it?
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References
Dignan, A. (2011). Game frame: Using games as strategy for success. New York: Free Press.
Related Reading
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- Book Review: The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education
- Book Review: Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games
- Book Review: Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
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