Gamification: Seeing projects as an adventure
Gamification is the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (such as a task) to encourage participation [1]. In other words, it is about turning tasks into a game. Obviously, not all tasks are as pleasant as playing a good game, but elements of gameplay can be imported into a broader project in order to make the progress easier to track.
A good element to import from games like ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ [2] or ‘The Legend of Zelda’ [3] is the Quest Log. In these game, the heroes receive “quests” to achieve in order to unlock treasures, skills or access to new areas. The games usually have a “main” quest (kill the dragon, save the kingdom [4]), alongside many smaller “side quests” (find a lost chicken, carry a message, …).
The main quest usually starts with a distant and broad objective (defeat the monster), that will, with the progress in the adventure, refine into smaller tasks (get the magic swords, …). Side quests will be a way for the hero to acquire new skills and tools that will help them for the main quest (without being strictly necessary).
This is basically the same as running an experiment, or finishing a PhD. For a thesis, the main quest objective would be “Defend your thesis”, which refines into “Perform experiment”, “Analyze the data”, “Compare to theory” and of course, the dreaded “Write the manuscript” quest.
Side quests will include “exchange with an expert in the field”, “learn how to use a simulation framework”, … rewards will be “adding a new skill in their portfolio“, “collecting a new badge“, “attending a conference”, “publication of a paper”, …
At a time when more and more adults play video games [5], turning some elements of a project progression into a “quest” is not a particularly difficult and have the benefits of using a familiar setting and way of measuring progress. In particular, that can be a very helpful way to present the general aspect of a thesis progression to a new student.
In fact, one does not need to use gamelike words, and many researchers have probably already used some kind of gamification when supervising students (for example “If you finish the analysis by the end of next month, you can submit an abstract to the -- insert the name of prestigious conference here --“).
It’s up to the manager / supervisor to find the correct goals and rewards to motivate their teammates, and the proper challenges to help them level up.
Footnotes