Building teams, guilds or any sort of group that will keep the players together facing challenges is an awesome way to promote cooperation and develop professional relationships within the system.

It occupies a different dynamic as teams can compete against each other and it’s very different to define the rules on how players can cooperate with others than if they face challenges together or against each other.

Teams must give the players a sense of belonging. Wether you are a citizen in a country or you subscribed to a fanclub you share the same objectives. This is the type of relationship you want to develop with teamwork in gamification.

We all have friends right? As a #gamemechanic, FRIENDING is used to show the players they have people they can call any time to help them. In the category description it’s stated that teamwork is a form of permanent relationship. Think of your friends in facebook and how the relationship work:

• Only your friends can see your posts and photos
• Only your friends can send you messages
• You can only invite YOUR friends to your events, or maybe friends of friends

The point is that nobody is in constant contact with ALL their friends on facebook, however, you know that you can contact them as long as you are friends with them.

The same concept applies, the difference lies on how to use such friendship.

• Only friends can buy your products
• Only friends can see you online
• Only friends can trade items
• Only your friends can hire you

Remember: everything is more fun with others.

It matters not how you call them: TEAM, GUILD, GROUP, ASSOCIATION, COMPANY, WHATEVER. Guilds should always represent a common goal. Players who are part of the same team must share the same objectives. Usually, each player fulfills a different role in the group and so their job is always required to do something.

In guilds players not only share their views but may find friends, mentors, students and many other rewards that cannot be found outside.

The relationship between the players in the guild can be tricky. The environment can be of cooperation or competition (Rule number 1 of Fight Club)

In the end we all want to be part of something bigger. This mechanic appeals A LOT to purpose in the RAMP model.

Oh. Almost forgot. Players can belong to multiple guilds unless stated otherwise, because, why not?

Ever wondered if the kid who always got the homewrk right could be hired to do it for you?

How about we exchange some virtual money that was earned through 10 different tasks and now can be used to give other players some money so they can buy a better grade or get that new item they want?

Hiring can be VERY powerful but must be used with caution. You could end up with the “rich” kid wanting to REALLY py other players fr their work, however, if done right, it ends up becoming something as self-regulating as E-BAY or Air B&B.

This mechanic is connected with the POWER reward from the SAPS model. If a player CAN hire others, it means they have the power to do OTHER things and develop whatever they are on to.

Now, the KEY challenges each player MUST face shouldn’t be “hirable” (if that’s a word). Make sure that players’ challenges are balanced and the key elements in the journey are done by who must do it.

Think of this type of progression as moving either forth or back. This feeling of MOVEMENT is what will put all prior dynamics to work. If the progression is not felt by the players in their knees they just won’t have the drive to push forward. Always help players have a sense of advancement when achieving ANYTHING, even if they lose at some point.

In #gamification linear progression is how MOST systems start. Using alternative progression requires a lot more work and attention.

I always recommend a combination of the two. Start always with your MAIN line and then develop a few alternative routes that will offer some choices for the players.

I always love to make reference of this particular mechanic with LinkedIn’s progress bar.

Once they implemented this on their website, they drove the completion of curriculum from 20% to 80%. It’s a simple bar that took (literally) five minutes to code. However, the power of a progress bar that shows the player how much work is LEFT, gives them a sense of advancement so fulfilling and relaxing.

We’ve all experienced this with many tutorials or shopping carts that show us how many steps we have left in that process and it help us relax and know there isn’t much left (or if there is how long it will take)

Be wise when using it. Make sure the progress it reflects is relevant to the players.

Progression Unlock can be one of the most fun game mechanics out there.

Showing your players that they CAN’T go further until they’ve accomplished certain things is the easiest way to get them do those tasks they just won’t do.

By using this mechanic, you are using the CONTENT of your system as a currency. They have to pay with growth in order to progress. It is simply beautiful.

When I implemented this in my classrooms using BLUErabbit, I just had to put the best jobs locked and ALL players would rush into the not-so-pretty to unlock their prize. They didn’t even worry about the rewards of the new challenge, the content was great for them so they had no other choice than doing whatever the quest required.

The reward was the content. NOT the coins. Sometimes I wouldn’t even give them XP from the unlocked quest.

I would say with confidence that almost every single game in the planet has a level system. It’s the easiest way to show players their progress and if it doesn’t show it to them, it’s within the code somewhere so MATH can kick in and simplify everything for the GAME MASTER.

Levels are one of the game mechanics that give players an immediate sense of achievement without giving them anything else.

Imagine that when you graduate highschool they tell you that now you are a Level 10 expert in Chemistry and that allows you to take advances classes in College. Or that the requirement for X job is to be level 45 in X abilities. This is an utopia that I know won’t be achieved anytime soon, however, this line of thought can show you how simple a LEVEL can give you a sense of progression and a very simple goal to target.

It’s vrey different to win by points rather than goal. It’s not the same to say whoever crosses this line first wins instead of whoever gets this many points. However, the goal may be to reach X amount of points (like volleyball or tennis), in that case, you would be combining both mechanics.

Setting up goals is a very easy way for your players to know if they are moving forward. Sometimes gathering points won’t tell you much but, knowing that you got rid of this barrier and now can explore another city or unlocked a new floor in a building will give much more feedback.

ENEMIES are usually a VERY easy way of setting the WINSTATE of the system. You put a face to a big bad guy that players must defeat. The player level becomes totally unimportant, they will try to get as many abilities to defeat this guy and some might even try it with the lowest level to test their own skill and feel how far they are from achieving the goal.

The second element of the PBL tradition. Badges are E-V-I-D-E-N-C-E. This icons/patches/stickers/trophies/whatever-that-shows-evidence-of-accomplishment work as a simple way to know if you reached the goal or not.

The tricky part about badges is that unless they actually MEAN something emotionally worth to the players then they must not be issued. The badges will only become an obstacle or one more meaningles thing in the system like it happens with FOURSQUARE. Checking in a place and getting a BADGE just because you got there has ABSOLUTELY no meaning and are completely superficial.

Now, if you think about the BOY SCOUTS for a second, every patch they sew into their uniforms mean something. Whether it is they learned how to use a swiss knife, set up camp or setting up a fire with a single match. The meaning of the badge is so huge emotionally that it makes the player proud to wear them.

Yes, we might be stealing the concept from chess. Oh no wait, we are stealing it from chess, maybe checkers, whatever is older. The concept reffers to a transformation the player goes through after a lot of HARD WORK.

Think of pawns in chess… they are the weakest and must go ALL the way through the board to become a more powerful piece in the game. The work of the piece is rewarded that way and most likely, by crowning, the player CAN win the game (it’s not the goal but the concept is in the same neighbourhood)

Think of the hero who becomes king after defeating the great demon or the princess that becomes queen after saving the world or the clock that becomes a human being again after helping Beauty.

The achievement of the player is rewarded with the transformation of himself into something better. It’s not only a recognition of power but, an actual powerful growth from witihin.

BOSS FIGHTS do not have to be enemies or characters or figurines. They are challenges so hard to overcome players will use all their abilities and skills at each encounter.

The BOSS FIGHT consists of making sure the challenge the player is facing is at a different level and IT WILL BE HARD. The feeling you want to cause in the players is the feeling of “UUUFFF, we made it” or “AAAAHHH Almost made it”.

In gamification, retrying a challenge is a good option to offer the players a safe space for failure and growth. Usually, if the challenge is too complicated, like in a BOSS FIGHT, always consider the possibility to offer retries (like lives in Mario Bros)

Now, the hard part, DON’T MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE. It’s easy to lose track of the ability you are tracking from your players.

Usually boss fights will challenge more than one ability and, if they come back often, they should challenge one [ability] at the beginning and then accumulate more on each further encounter.