9 - Engagement flow, choices, and stickiness Flashcards
What theory can be used to engage users?
Flow Theory
What is a flow state?
AKA. “being in the zone”
A mental state where the person performing some activity is fully inmersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity
What is a flow state?
AKA. “being in the zone”
A mental state where the person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.
In flow theory, what does a task that is too hard lead to?
Frustration and disengagement
In flow theory, what does a task that is too easy lead to?
A bored user.
What is flow theory?
Theory that states that the challenge should ideally dynamically match the skills and competence of the user
What does engagement require?
A balance of challenge and skill
What does it mean for an app to be sticky?
The app attracts users to spend more time on and revisit the app
Next
Ok
What is stickiness?
The application of loyalty or continuance behavior to websites or virtual communities. In other words, the application continuously attracts users to revisit
What factors influence stickiness?
Convenience, unique value, social value, incentives, entertainment, etc.
Name 3 strategies that can be used to boost stickiness.
- Tailor to the user’s intention
- Notifications with deals
- Create a strong online community
What does an app need to have for a user to want to interact with it?
- Choice and control
- Low cognitive load
- Good feedback, rewards, and feedforward
What does a designer need to do in order to make a user want to interact with their app?
- Give the illusion of choice whilst maintaining control
- Use intuitive symbols and icons
- Error reduction & handling
- User-centered design
True or False: Limits should be presented in an acceptable form.
True
How can users be prevented from reaching the end of the world in a game?
User hidden walls, put mountains or water on the edge of the world, make the user reappear on the other side, etc.
What is reason?
The rational process of determining weight to a given set of choices
What does the speed of decision-making depend on?
The user’s prior experience, clarity of reasoning, interpretation bias, perceived implications & the range of choices presented
What factors can deter reasoning?
Authorities, emotions, mysticism, tradition, superstition, and faith
A rational choice requires evaluating all possible outcomes, this isn’t always possible. What’s the compromise?
Make a decision based on priority, safety, default choices, peer pressure, bias, etc.
What is the choice paradox?
The more choices you have, the more attractive, but the less people will feel satisfied with the choices they make.
How can the effects of the choice paradox be mitigated?
By having a large range of choices but also an apparent method of reducing these choices to a small selection of the most effective ones
Why can too many choices slow down responses?
Having too many choices increases the cognitive load
How can you aid consumers in making decisions?
Present efficient choices with minimal cognitive load, and make the choices clear without any pressure/ time constraint
Describe the sequence of events in a linear story.
Events happen one after another
Describe the sequence of events in an interactive story.
The story has many branches and choices (interactive)
Describe the sequence of events in an open world.
The user makes his/ her own story with narrative components and free exploration
What is an extrinsic reward?
An explicit reward, where doing some action leads to that reward.
What is an intrinsic reward?
A type of reward where designing the task provides its own inherent reward experience
What type of reward is most commonly employed in idle games?
Extrinsic rewards
Give an example of a game that appears to have no built-in goals or reward system.
Minecraft
Name 3 goals of rewards.
- Elicit emotion
- Encourage or elicit useful behavior
- Facilitate engagement and experimentation
- Encourage further interaction
- Encourage the enjoyment of the task, not fixation on the goal
What are some different reward types in video games?
Rewards of access, facility, sustenance, glory, praise, and sensory feedback
What are rewards of access? Give an example.
A player is granted admission to an otherwise inaccessible environment, object, or game mode (ex. unlocking a new track in a racing game)
What are rewards of facility? Give an example.
When the effectiveness of the player is increased within the game state (ex. unlocking a new sword)
What are rewards of sustenance? Give an example.
When burden is mitigated, such that a negative play state is less probable (ex. pickup that restores ammunition or health, extra life)
What are rewards of glory? Give an example.
Videogame rewards that do not impact moment-to-moment gameplay (ex. achievements, badges)
What are rewards of praise?
Verbal or textual communications of praise/ flattery
What are rewards of sensory feedback?
When the user is provided with overt aesthetic or tactile feedback that is designed to promote positive affect in the player
