From Paths To Sandboxes. @stephenanderson | #ias14t

PSYCHOLOGY & DESIGN

How we can use

to

more fun, engaging (& effective) interactions

PSYCHOLOGY & DESIGN

How we can use

to

more fun, engaging (& effective) interactions

Three games I’ve been playing…

⟳

PATH SANDBOX

12345Paths

1

DIRECTTHE RIDER(conscious thought)

MOTIVATETHE ELEPHANT(automatic systems)

SHAPETHE PATH(the environment)

Paths are designed to lead people along, for better or worse.

http://www.andeeknutson.com/studies/Shoppers%20and%20Products/11_AnExploratoryLookAtSupermarketShoppingPaths_2005.pdf

Paths are prevalent in our work…

Customer Journey Maps, Service Blueprints, Scenarios…

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.

Behavioral Goals(which should align w/ User Goals!)

Business Goals

Psychology

Behavioral Goals(which should align w/ User Goals!)

Business Goals

Psychology

NEW SKILLS

assist in developing

HABITS

assist in establishing(or putting an end to)

COMPLETION

nudge people toward

Paths aren’t necessarily bad, but…

PATHSSHAPE 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

Is there something more?

12345Sandboxes

2

Sandboxes

123452

Why do so many people find these experiences maddeningly addictive?Q:Q:

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!

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

What do all these experiences have in common?Q:Q:

2 OBSERVATIONS:

1. These are PlatformsYou can make of them what you want. There is no prescribed way to use these system.

The

WTF

Problem.

What’sThisFor?

The

WTF

Problem.

What’s This For?

2 OBSERVATIONS:

1. These are PlatformsYou can make of them what you want. There is no prescribed way to use these system.

2. These are Social SpacesPeople learn from each other how to use the system. Many of the psychological nudges that follow stem from observing others.

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.

“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

Sandboxes create open spaces for self-directed play and creativity.

Children’s toys and organization:

Children’s toys and organization:

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.”

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

“

PATHSSHAPE 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

12345Education

3

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.

–MA R I A MO N T E S S O R I

…we have prepared the environment and the materials

–MA R I A MO N T E S S O R I

MONTESSORI?

■ 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

Playing is learning.

Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

Julia Childrapper 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…

videogame pioneer Will Wright

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

Julia Childrapper 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.

A “sandbox” education teaches you to play at life.

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

EQUATE TO INFORMAL (NON-INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING

VIEW STUDENTS AS“VESSELS TO BE FILLED”

VIEW STUDENTS AS“FIRES TO BE KINDLED”

SANDBOXES PATHS

EQUATE TO FORMAL (INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING

SPECIFY PERFORMANCE GOALS LEAD TO LEARNING CHALLENGES

Getting an A in French Learning to speak French

EQUATE TO INFORMAL (NON-INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING

VIEW STUDENTS AS“VESSELS TO BE FILLED”

VIEW STUDENTS AS“FIRES TO BE KINDLED”

SANDBOXES PATHS

EQUATE TO FORMAL (INSTITUTIONAL) LEARNING

SPECIFY PERFORMANCE GOALS LEAD TO LEARNING CHALLENGES

Getting an A in French Learning to speak FrenchFA

LSE

DIC

HO

TO

MY

!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

! 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”

LEGO BRICKS

LEGO BRICKS

12345

“…but how is this useful?”

4

Practical Takeaways

Underspecify features

Thank Kars Alfrink for this one!

“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)”

Practical Takeaways

Avoid long workflows.(AKA Short Paths vs Long Paths)

Practical Takeaways

Build and consume your own APIs

A SANDBOX, AT DIFFT LEVELS

SCRIPTING LAYER / ABILITY ADD “MODS”

INTERFACE LAYER

API / DATA LAYER

OPEN SOURCE THE CODE BASE

Practical Takeaways

Back off.Let people make mistakes and learn through trial and error.

Practical Takeaways

Direct Manipulation is best!(AKA “No more wizards!!)

Practical Takeaways

Help people understand through Playful Interactions

http://vimeo.com/36579366

Watch this!

“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

SANDBOXES PATHSSHAPE 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

SANDBOXES PATHSSHAPE 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:

One Last Practical Takeaway…

…we have prepared the environment and the materials

–MA R I A MO N T E S S O R I

Environment

Objects

Rules

…we have prepared the environment and the materials

–MA R I A MO N T E S S O R I

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

12345Playing at Life!

5

How do you approach LIFE?Like a Path to follow, or a Sandbox in which to play?

What we learned from that project then allowed us to…”–?? (WETA DO C U M E N E TA RY )

“

Play is the answer to how anything new comes about.

– J E A N P I A G E T

My book proposal…

Yes, this was my book proposal!

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.”–TO M RO B B I N S Q U O T E S (AM E R I C A N NO V E L I S T . B . 1936)

“

Q:Are you designing Paths or Sandboxes?

Q:Are you designing Paths or Sandboxes?

Are you following a path or playing in a sandbox?

Thank you!

getmentalnotes.com

Design for

Understanding

Stephen P. Anderson@stephenanderson

www.poetpainter.com | www.slideshare.net/stephenpa

http://leapfrog.nl/blog/archives/2008/11/17/a-playful-stance-my-game-design-london-2008-talk/

http://www.slideshare.net/dings/paideia-as-paidia-from-gamebased-learning-to-a-life-wellplayed

See also:

The cutting room floor:

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.

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.

“… 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

'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 Kosterx