Simple game dynamics can vastly improve the enjoyment, engagement, and content retention a visitor derives from an interactive media experience, whether it be a website, touchscreen or app. Still, "gamification" is widely misunderstood and misapplied. Employing game dynamics generally isn't about creating a video game; it is about providing a user experience that guides visitors through tasks, provides feedback and incentives, and ultimately provides a tangible sense of accomplishment and reward. It is about delivering an experience that leverages human impulses towards reward, completion, and collaboration to effectively deliver content.
While this presentation will point to theory, it will focus on actual projects and measurable outcomes. Projects will include the Field Museum's Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton 3D puzzle, which uses collaboration, completion reward, and visible progress to engage individuals and groups of visitors; the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Hangeul Writing Interactive, which leverages user customization and a physical takeaway to encourage participation and revisiting the content later; and the Penn Museum's Hunal Burial interactive, which uses competition, exploration, and discovery to captivate audiences all over the country as it tours to different museums. We will also show how this practice applies to on and offsite mobile applications and web projects.
By the end of the presentation, you will have a good understanding of how game dynamics can be applied in meaningful ways to improve visitor participation and user experience.
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Brad Baer is the Creative Director of Environments for Bluecadet and specializes in projects in the physical realm. Merging his passion for design, technology and entrepreneurship, Brad creates narrative-based experiences ranging from interactive exhibitions to immersive environments.
He previously worked for award-winning architecture firms including KieranTimberlake, PelliClarkePelli, and HNTB Sport on projects of every scale from the Cellophane House at MoMA to skyscrapers and city planning in China. Brad holds a Masters of Architecture from Yale University and a B.A. with Distinction from Iowa State University.