Gamelab5:GamificationofHouseholdChoresMay1,2013

By:JoyHopkinsBasicIdea

Usegamemechanicstomotivatehouseholdmemberstoshareinhouseholdchoresandresponsibilities.

ProblemStatement

Inhouseholdswithmorethanoneperson,oftentimestheburdenofhouseholdchoresfallsheavilyononeperson.Othersmaypitchinonlywhenaskedornotatall.Bygamifyinghouseholdchores,wecanincreaseengagementofallhouseholdmemberstodotheirpartinkeepingthelivingspacecleanandorderly,whichcanbenefitalloccupyingthespace.

UsersandContext

Theusersinthiscaseareanynumberofhouseholdmemberslivingunderthesameroof.Thoughthiscouldworkinanynumberofhouseholdscenarios,theinitialideaofthisgamificationofchoresoutlinedinthisdocumentinvolvesfamilieswithadolescentchildren.

DescriptionofNon-GamifiedState

Oneprimeexampleofanon-gamifiedstatewouldapplytoafamilywithMom,Dad,and2kids.Inthisexample,Momdoesmostofthechoresandoftenhastodirecttheonesshedoesnotdoherselfinordertoseetoitthattheyarecompleted.Daddoeschoresonlywhenasked,andthetwokidsdonotdoanythingunlesstheyareforced.

GamifiedState

Allhouseholdmembersaremotivatedtodochoresduetoanumberofintrinsicandextrinsicrewards.Moreover,thedistributionofchoresislikelytobemoreevenlyspreadoutamongthehouseholdmembers,becauseeachmemberofthehouseholdhasanactivesayinwhatisimportanttothemandwillmotivatethemtoputintheeffort.

GettingfromNon-GamifiedtoGamifiedState

Step1:Eachhouseholdmembercomesupwithalistoffivethingstheyconsidersmall“treats”or“nicetohaves”andhanditintoMomandDad

Step2:MomandDadpromiseafundaytripifeveryonepitchesinandcleansthehouseononemassivecleaningday

Step3:Onmassivecleaningday,adesignatedphotographerisassignedtotakepicturesofeachroominitscleaneststate(thiswillbethewinstateinourgamificationmodel)

Step4:Thefamilygoesandenjoysthefundaytrip

Step5:MomandDaddraftupapointssystemsometimeinthenextweek.Inthispointsystem,wheneachfamilymemberfinishesachoretheyaccumulatepointsbasedondifficulty.Eachmemberofthefamilycanthenusethosepointstochooserewards.SeesamplelistofrewardsandpointsbelowasanexampleofthetypeofrewardsthatmayhavebeencollectedinStep1above:

• Triptothearcade:350points

• 1hourofundividedattentionfromfamily-memberofchoice:300points

• 10-minutebackmassage:250points

• Amanicure:200points

• Abook:100points

• Nailpolish/lipstick:100points

• Arose:20points

• Depositintosavingsaccount(20points=$1)

• DonationtoKivaproject(20points=$1)

Thequestsinthisgamecomeintheformofcleaningeachoftherooms/livingspacestothespecificationsinthecleanphotosandchecklistswhichMomandDaddrafttoensurenothingismissed.MomandDadcanusetheirdiscretion,butanexampleofquestsandassociatedpointsisoutlinedonthenextpage.

Quests:• Bathroomquest:15points

• Kitchenquest:15points

• Livingroomquest:10points

• Bedroomquest:10points

• Hallwayquest:5points

Step6:MomandDadplacepicturesofperfectlycleanrooms(akawinstates)andchecklistsinasafeplaceineachroomforreference.

Step7:MomandDadcreateagiantquestlogforprominentdisplayinthehomesothateveryonecanseewhohasdonewhatandcompeteforthemaximumamountofpoints.Parentsmaysetmaximumnumberofpointsforchildrenwhomaybecomeabitoverzealouswiththeexercise(say800pointspermonthmaximum).

TheCaseforGamification

Inournon-gamifiedscenario,wehadoneunhappymomcarryingalltheburdenandstressofmakingsurethehouseiscleanandinorder.Withthegamificationproposedabove,othermembersofthehouseholdaremotivatedtotakeactionandshareintheresponsibility,becausetheyvaluetherewardsthatwillbegiventothemiftheycompletethequeststhroughasystematicpointssystem.

Toreferenceourtextbook,JohnFerraraalsotalksabouttheconceptofcompetenceandstates“[m]ostpeoplehaveexperiencethejoyofajobwelldone…[t]here’sanintrinsicpleasureinthefeelingofbeingreallygoodatsomething.”(Ferrara,p.42)Inthegamifiedscenarioabove,householdmemberscanknowtheysucceededincompletingeachquest,becausetheycanseewhatcleanisandtheyhaveachecklisttoverifyallthepoints.Beingabletocheckoffalltheitemsonthechecklistresultsinafeelingofcompetence,whichcanservetomotivate.

InhissamechapteronPlayerMotivations,Ferraradiscusseshow“[g]amescanofferpeoplegreataccomplishmentwhileputtingthematnorealpersonalrisk.”(Ferrara,p.42)Thoughinthiscase,Ferrarawaslikelytalkingtosituationsthatareabletobeplayedoutinagameworld,itisnotuntrueinourcaseaswell.Everyonecanpitchinwithoutfeelingliketheyhadto.Thiscombinedwiththefactthatthepublicpostingofeachhouseholdmember’sprogress,whichdoublesasatangiblesocialimagemechanismandapointssystem(Ferrara,p.128),canresultincontinuousvictoryforthewholefamily.