The Lens of Intrinsic Skill Atoms: A Method for Gameful Design

The idea that game design can inspire the design of motivating, enjoyable interactive systems has a long history in human-computer interaction. It currently experiences a renaissance as gameful design, often implemented through gamification, the use of game design elements in nongame contexts. Yet there is little research-based guidance on designing gameful systems. This article therefore reviews existing methods and identifies challenges and requirements for gameful design. It introduces a gameful design method that uses skill atoms and design lenses to identify challenges inherent in a user’s goal pursuit and restructure them to afford gameplay-characteristic motivating, enjoyable experiences. Two case studies illustrate the method. The article closes by outlining how gameful design might inform experience-driven design more generally.

游戏设计可启发激励性、愉悦性交互系统的设计，这一理念在人机交互（Human-Computer Interaction）领域已有悠久历史。当前，该理念正以游戏化设计（gameful design）的形式迎来复兴，其通常通过游戏化（gamification）手段实现——即在非游戏场景中运用游戏设计元素。然而，目前针对游戏化系统设计的、基于研究的指导方案仍较为匮乏。因此，本文对现有方法展开综述，并梳理了游戏化设计面临的挑战与所需满足的要求。本文提出了一种游戏化设计方法，该方法借助技能原子（skill atoms）与设计透镜（design lenses），识别用户在目标追求过程中固有的挑战，并对其进行重构，以打造具备游戏核心特征的激励性、愉悦性体验。两项案例研究对该方法进行了实例说明。本文最后概述了游戏化设计可如何更为广泛地为体验驱动型设计提供参考。