This presentation shares the journey I’ve been on, from trying to shape and influence a user’s path, to creating sandbox environments in which people can play and amaze us!
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Designers are trained to guide users toward predetermined outcomes, but is there a better use of this persuasive psychology? What happens if we focus less on influencing desired behaviors and focus more on designing ‘sandboxes’: open-ended, generative systems? And how might we go about designing these spaces? It’s still “psychology applied to design”, but in a much more challenging and rewarding way!
In this talk, I’ll share the journey I’ve been on, from trying to shape and influence a user’s path, to creating these sandbox environments. You’ll learn why systems such as Twitter, Pinterest, and Minecraft are so maddeningly addictive, and what principles we can use to create similar experiences. We’ll look at education and the work of Maria Montessori, who wrote extensively about how to create learning environments that encourage exploration and discovery. And we’ll look at game design, considering all the varieties of games, especially those carefully designed to encourage play — a marked contrast with progression games designed to move you through a series of ever-increasing challenges, each converging upon the same solution. Finally, we’ll look at web applications, and I’ll share how this thinking might influence your work, from how you respond to new feature requests to how you design for behavior change in a more mature way.
30. Lockton, D., Harrison, D.J., Stanton, N.A. (2010). The Design with Intent Method: a design tool for influencing user behaviour. Applied Ergonomics, Vol.41 No.3, 382-392.
32. Behavioral Goals
(which should align w/ User Goals!)
Business Goals
Psychology
NEW SKILLS
assistindeveloping
HABITS
assistinestablishing
(orputtinganendto)
COMPLETION
nudgepeopletoward
37. PATHS
SHAPE BEHAVIOR
END IN AN EXCHANGE
HAVE PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES
ARE GAMES TO BE PLAYED
DESIGN EVERY DETAIL
ARE MEASURABLE
LEAD TO COMPLETION
LEAD PEOPLE ALONG
ARE CONSUMPTIVE
CREATE DEPENDENCY (ON DIRECTIONS)
HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED PURPOSE
BEST FOR INSTRUCTION
41. Why do so many people find these experiences
maddeningly addictive?Q:Q:
42. Why do so many people find these experiences
maddeningly addictive?Q:Q:
‣Pick one of these online experiences
‣List WHY you think people find them addictive (list as
many reasons as you can)
‣You have 90 seconds
‣GO!
43. Why do so many people find these experiences
maddeningly addictive?Q:Q:
‣Pick one of these online experiences
‣List WHY you think people find them addictive (list as
many reasons as you can)
‣You have 90 seconds
‣GO!
Set Completion
Sequencing
Appropriate Challenges
Status
Positive Mimicry
Self-Expression
Curiosity
Collecting
Autonomy
Visual Imagery
Pattern Recognition
Feedback Loops
Reputation
Competition
Achievements
Status-Quo Bias
Surprise
Variable Rewards
Scarcity
44. What do all these experiences
have in common?Q:Q:
45. 2 OBSERVATIONS:
1. These are Platforms
You can make of them what you want.
There is no prescribed way to use these system.
48. 2 OBSERVATIONS:
1. These are Platforms
You can make of them what you want.
There is no prescribed way to use these system.
2. These are Social Spaces
People learn from each other how to use the system.
Many of the psychological nudges that follow stem
from observing others.
49. While MineCraft is a place for
exploration and self-expression
(perhaps survival!), it’s watching
others that inspires new ideas and
creates personal challenges.
The hashtag in twitter was an
emergent element.
It wasn’t until I saw my wife pinning
decorating ideas that I saw
Pinterest as a visual bookmarking
system.
50. “A sandbox is a style of game in which minimal
character limitations are placed on the gamer,
allowing the gamer to roam and change a virtual
world at will. In contrast to a progression-style
game, a sandbox game emphasizes roaming and
allows a gamer to select tasks. Instead of
featuring segmented areas or numbered levels, a
sandbox game usually occurs in a “world” to
which the gamer has full access from start to
finish.
A sandbox game is also known as an open-world
or free-roaming game.
http://www.techopedia.com/definition/3952/sandbox-gaming
57. Architecture: “Adventure Playground”
“A castle, made of
carton, rocks and
old branches, by a
group of children
for themselves, is
worth a thousand
perfectly detailed,
exactly finished
castles, made for
them in a factory.”
And the proposed solution:
“Set up a playground for the children in each neighborhood. Not a
highly finished playground, with asfalt and swings, but a place with
raw materials of all kinds—nets, boxes, barrels, trees, ropes, simple
tools, frames, grass, and water—where children can create and re-
create playgrounds of their own.”
58. I am convinced that standardised playgrounds
are dangerous, just in another way: When the
distance between all the rungs in a climbing
net or a ladder is exactly the same, the child
has no need to concentrate on where he puts
his feet. Standardisation is dangerous because
play becomes simplified…
- Helle Nebelong
“
59. PATHS
SHAPE BEHAVIOR
END IN AN EXCHANGE
HAVE PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES
ARE GAMES TO BE PLAYED
DESIGN EVERY DETAIL
ARE MEASURABLE
LEAD TO COMPLETION
LEAD PEOPLE ALONG
ARE CONSUMPTIVE
CREATE DEPENDENCY (ON DIRECTIONS)
HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED PURPOSE
BEST FOR INSTRUCTION
SANDBOXES
CREATE ENGAGEMENT
END IN LEARNING & DISCOVERY
HAVE UNKNOWN OUTCOMES
ARE SPACES IN WHICH TO PLAY
UNDERSPECIFY THE DESIGN
ARE OBSERVABLE
LEAD TO UNDERSTANDING
LET PEOPLE EXPLORE
ARE GENERATIVE
ENCOURAGE AUTONOMY
PURPOSE IS SELF-DETERMINED
BEST FOR PEFORMANCE
61. The jockey offers a piece of sugar to his
horse before jumping into the saddle,
the coachman beats his horse that he
may respond to the signs given by the
reins; and, yet, neither of these runs so
superbly as the free horse of the plains.
–MARIA MONTESSORI
62. …we have prepared the
environment and the materials
–MARIA MONTESSORI
63. ■ Mixed age classrooms
■ Specialized educational
materials
■ Student choice of activity from
within a prescribed range of
options
■ Uninterrupted blocks of work
time
■ A Constructivist or "discovery"
model, where students learn
concepts from working with
materials, rather than by direct
instruction
65. Google’s founders Larry Page
and Sergei Brin
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
Julia Child
rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs
videogame pioneer Will Wright
Montessori taught me the joy of
discovery… It’s all about learning on
your terms, rather than a teacher
explaining stuff to you. SimCity
comes right out of Montessori…
66. videogame pioneer Will Wright
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
Julia Child
rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs
Google’s founders Larry Page and
Sergei Brin
We both went to Montessori school,
and I think it was part of that training
of not following rules and orders, and
being self-motivated, questioning
what’s going on in the world, doing
things a little bit differently.
70. Human beings have an inherent
tendency to seek out novelty and
challenges, to extend and exercise their
capacities, to explore, and to learn.
Edward Deci
psychologist
71. EQUATE TO INFORMAL
(NON-INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING
VIEW STUDENTS AS
“VESSELS TO BE FILLED”
VIEW STUDENTS AS
“FIRES TO BE KINDLED”
SANDBOXESPATHS
EQUATE TO FORMAL (INSTITUTIONAL)
LEARNING
SPECIFY PERFORMANCE GOALS LEAD TO LEARNING CHALLENGES
Getting an A in French Learning to speak French
72. EQUATE TO INFORMAL
(NON-INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING
VIEW STUDENTS AS
“VESSELS TO BE FILLED”
VIEW STUDENTS AS
“FIRES TO BE KINDLED”
SANDBOXESPATHS
EQUATE TO FORMAL (INSTITUTIONAL)
LEARNING
SPECIFY PERFORMANCE GOALS LEAD TO LEARNING CHALLENGES
Getting an A in French Learning to speak French
FALSEDICHOTOMY
74. !
!
!
! !
Normally, learning in CodeSpells is
encouraged by way of a series of quests
that must be completed with the use of
Java-based spell crafting…
[In our version], players could walk up
to in-game gnome-like characters who
would give various spells to the player,
along with simple explanations. Our
hope was that these spells would serve
as starting points for code exploration.
from “On the Nature of Fires and How to Spark Them When You’re Not There”
80. “As a user I want a way to flag interesting
tweets for reviewing later…”
or
“As a user I want a way to give kudos to
people for sharing something interesting….”
or
“As a user I want a way to save positive
tweets for later use as testimonials…”
or…?
“As a (user role), I want (function) so that (benefit)”
99. “The approach to teaching without
words that I’m proposing makes
heavy use of interactivity and
instant informative feedback.”
http://www.creativitypost.com/education/teaching_without_words
STMath
100. SANDBOXESPATHS
SHAPE BEHAVIOR CREATE ENGAGEMENT
END IN AN EXCHANGE END IN LEARNING & DISCOVERY
HAVE PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES HAVE UNKNOWN OUTCOMES
ARE GAMES TO BE PLAYED ARE SPACES IN WHICH TO PLAY
DESIGN EVERY DETAIL UNDERSPECIFY THE DESIGN
ARE MEASURABLE ARE OBSERVABLE
LEAD TO COMPLETION LEAD TO UNDERSTANDING
LEAD PEOPLE ALONG LET PEOPLE EXPLORE
ARE CONSUMPTIVE ARE GENERATIVE
CREATE DEPENDENCY (ON DIRECTIONS) ENCOURAGE AUTONOMY
HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED PURPOSE PURPOSE IS SELF-DETERMINED
BEST FOR INSTRUCTION BEST FOR PEFORMANCE
101. SANDBOXESPATHS
SHAPE BEHAVIOR CREATE ENGAGEMENT
END IN AN EXCHANGE END IN LEARNING & DISCOVERY
HAVE PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES HAVE UNKNOWN OUTCOMES
ARE GAMES TO BE PLAYED ARE SPACES IN WHICH TO PLAY
DESIGN EVERY DETAIL UNDERSPECIFY THE DESIGN
ARE MEASURABLE ARE OBSERVABLE
LEAD TO COMPLETION LEAD TO UNDERSTANDING
LEAD PEOPLE ALONG LET PEOPLE EXPLORE
ARE CONSUMPTIVE ARE GENERATIVE
CREATE DEPENDENCY (ON DIRECTIONS) ENCOURAGE AUTONOMY
HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED PURPOSE PURPOSE IS SELF-DETERMINED
BEST FOR INSTRUCTION BEST FOR PEFORMANCE
To quote Kathy Sierra…
which of these will
“help users kick ass?”
The BIG Practical Takeaway:
106. The idea for knowledge
games… [came] from watching
people at the cutting edges of
new disciplines; people who
are entrepreneurs, creators,
designers and innovators.
Watching them work,
watching them play, and
sometimes having difficulty
telling the difference.
– Dave Gray
117. Humanity has advanced, when it has
advanced, not because it has been
sober, responsible, and cautious, but
because it has been playful, rebellious,
and immature.”
–TOM ROBBINS QUOTES (AMERICAN NOVELIST. B.1936)
“
123. http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/10/ethiopian_kids.php
What happens if you give a thousand Motorola Zoom tablet PCs
to Ethiopian kids who have never even seen a printed word?
Within five months, they'll start teaching themselves English while
circumventing the security on your OS to customize settings and
activate disabled hardware. Whoa.
The One Laptop Per Child project started as a way of delivering
technology and resources to schools in countries with little or no
education infrastructure, using inexpensive computers to improve
traditional curricula. What the OLPC Project has realized over the
last five or six years, though, is that teaching kids stuff is really not
that valuable. Yes, knowing all your state capitols how to spell
"neighborhood" properly and whatnot isn't a bad thing, but
memorizing facts and procedures isn't going to inspire kids to go
out and learn by teaching themselves, which is the key to a good
education. Instead, OLPC is trying to figure out a way to teach
kids to learn, which is what this experiment is all about.
124. The mind, basically, is a
pattern-seeking
machine… We tend to
seek patterns… and then
we tell stories about
them. I think we’re
pretty much conditioned
to look for a pattern and
to try to interpret it in
terms of certain stories.
125. “… the native and unspoiled attitude of
childhood, marked by ardent curiosity, fertile
imagination, and love of experimental
inquiry, is near, very near to the attitude of the
scientific mind.”
-John Dewey
126. 'Fun from games arises out of mastery.
It arises out of comprehension. It is the
act of solving puzzles that makes games
fun. With games, learning is the drug.'
-Raph Koster
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