Rob's Hypertext Notebook

Rob Haisfield

Behavioral product strategist and gamification designer. This is my public hypertext notebook, sharing my thinking in motion at various stages of development.

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    The goal of game design is to influence user behavior to create an intended experience

    See Mark Brown's brilliant video on protecting the player from themselves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L8vAGGitr8 Game designers recognize that they can't just design a game and expect the player to enjoy it. If you play Xcom in a risk-averse way, then you won't have as much fun as if you lean into risk and play aggressively. However, the rules of the game and its feedback systems shape the most likely playstyles.

    The game doesn't create the experience on its own. The way that people play the game shapes their experience, so the game shapes itself to shape the player's behavior.

    Experiences don't just "happen" to the user. The user's behavior within the context of an app shapes their experience of the app. The app shapes the user's choice architecture and the situational cues the user receives to shape their behavior. When I'm designing for User InvolvementUser Involvement
    Imagine purchasing a gym membership in order to lose weight or grow more muscular. Having a gym membership is not enough on its own! In order to successfully accomplish that goal, you would need to work out regularly on the right muscle groups. You might have a higher likelihood of success if you participate in exercise classes or hire a personal trainer. Your outcomes are shaped by your own behavior in the gym.

    User involvement is defined by the set of user behaviors that lead to experienci...    , this is one of the main things that I'm thinking about. I design for successful goal achievement and playstyles that are appropriate for the userI design for successful goal achievement and playstyles that are appropriate for the user
    A friend of mine named Javier Velasquez once told me: “Behavioral economics sets up a choice architecture so that people are most likely to pick one specific option. Game designers aim to give users meaningful choices where all of the options are equally valuable, they just represent different play styles that suit each player. There’s a balance there if you want to create engagement in product design.” When he drew this out in my tiny notebook at a conference I knew we were going to be frien...    .

    The Lens of Intended Experience:

    • What would be the best behaviors to do so the user has their desired experience?
    • What behaviors are implicitly facilitated through the app's design?
      • See: Goal ResonanceGoal Resonance
        When an app is goal resonant, it takes the users actions (the inputs) and amplifies/transforms them into goal achievement (the outputs). Apps that are goal resonant enable the user to bridge the Intention-Behavior Gap. It is important to Speak to the user with a shared vocabulary so they know that the app is goal resonant.

        Persuading people to do behaviors that are out of alignment with their goals and values is an uphill battle. Since Products are fundamentally voluntary, the only way you'r...
    • How could we design the app to increase the likelihood of the user behaving in a self-beneficial way?