SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT AND GAME EXPERIENCE

The objective of this paper is to better understand the incentives and rewards structure in online serious games for crowds. We address the issue of feedback mechanisms with a focus on the relationship between game behavior and accumulated game scores (points). We posit that the score keeping system design is likely to inform us regarding patterns of participation in games. Our question is: what is the theoretical basis for designing a solid scoring function that would motivate players in three ways: a. to start playing; b. to continue playing; c. to strive to win? This paper presents a serious game for a large user base (crowd) and highlights some aspects and benefits of using an online serious game for crowds to enhance knowledge sharing. Understanding game scores promises to offer interesting implications in various fields such as business, knowledge sharing, game design, collaborative design environments and education. Currently, this paper is conceptual; however, findings are expected before the MCIS conference

Tailoring a Points Scoring Mechanism for Crowd-Based Knowledge Pooling

We address the design of point scoring mechanisms in games for crowds, to promote user motivations to contribute knowledge. We measure the effectiveness of the scoring mechanism on users’ performance across three types of crowd: general public, students in their field of study, general students. The conditions were: reward-free games (control group) and two reward-based systems differing in the algorithm applied (linear y=3x vs. exponential y=6ex). Results support the importance of the mathematical function of scores assignment as a motivator for knowledge contribution, and indicate that the effect of the scoring mechanism design should be tailored according to the type of crowd. These findings provide insights for designers of gamified systems on how to improve knowledge contributions in crowd-based systems

Exploring virtual rewards in real life

Leading companies in the wearables market have introduced different virtual reward systems to their products and services to increase user engagement and enhance playfulness. While existing studies report mixed views on the effectiveness of virtual rewards offered by activity trackers, we still have a limited understanding of people's lived experiences with virtual reward systems. A four-month diary-based autoethnography reflecting on the use of three popular activity trackers (i.e.,Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Google Fit) and their associated virtual reward systems, plus an online survey with 113 current users of the same activity trackers were conducted. Results provide rich insights into how users interact with virtual rewards in real-life, and how these impact people's engagement in physical exercise. A set of considerations to design user-centric virtual reward systems that provide more meaningful experiences to activity-tracker users are derived.Peer reviewe