(This text is written by Sergio Ligato, an Octalysis Prime Member who grew to become a Senior Advisor/Design of the Octalysis Group).
The Position of Gamification in Neighborhood-Pushed Change
As a senior advisor at The Octalysis Group, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing quite a few tasks leverage gamification to create tangible social affect.
My expertise on the second version of the ECCO Alessandria Digital Discussion board, held from Might 23-25, 2024, was significantly vital.
Throughout this occasion I had the chance to take part within the ECCO Hackathon, a digital competitors geared toward designing revolutionary options to promote civic engagement by means of digital instruments.
The hackathon introduced collectively 35 contributors, organized into six groups, who labored for ten consecutive hours to create authentic tasks.
Amongst these, one stood out for its capability to mix innovation with social affect: ReeAL. This undertaking, offered by the Alessandria-based affiliation “In bocca al lupo,” captivated the jury for its method to stimulating group engagement by means of city regeneration.
With my deep understanding of the Octalysis framework, I instantly acknowledged ReeAL’s potential to mobilize the group by strategically activating key Core Drives.
The Problem
The ECCO Hackathon posed an thrilling problem: groups had been tasked with producing the very best authentic concepts that integrated a digital part, all centered round themes of civic engagement, social accountability, and the commons.
As an professional in gamification, this problem instantly dropped at thoughts the central dynamics of the Octalysis framework. Within the early hours of the competitors, I targeted on the right way to greatest harness the 8 Core Drives of Octalysis to create a undertaking that might successfully seize and maintain the residents’ consideration, encouraging them to take part actively.
Gamification Instance: The ReeAL Undertaking
ReeAL shortly emerged as an efficient response to the hackathon problem. The undertaking was conceived with a transparent reflection of gamification rules. Its title, “ReeAL,” cleverly combines the ideas of regeneration (“Re”) and Alessandria (“AL”), with a nod to the phrase “actual,” underscoring its potential for real-world affect.
ReeAL is structured as a collective sport the place the group turns into the energetic protagonist in city regeneration. Colleges, appearing as the principle “gamers,” undertake a uncared for space of town and arrange micro-events to rework it right into a vibrant and welcoming house. Citizen participation is inspired by means of a easy but efficient mechanism: reactions on WhatsApp. These feedbacks, transformed into “Regeneration Factors” and digital cash referred to as “REEALS,” incentivize lessons to proceed organizing occasions, making a virtuous cycle of enchancment and participation.
The native administration and regional companies play an important function in logistically and institutionally supporting these micro-events, contributing to the concrete realization of the initiatives proposed by the colleges. The undertaking not solely stimulates the creativity and initiative of scholars but additionally has a optimistic affect on the whole group by selling collaboration amongst varied native stakeholders.
By using easy digital instruments like WhatsApp and a devoted web site, ReeAL ensures broad inclusion, breaking down technological limitations and enabling everybody to take part actively. This method maximizes the social affect of the undertaking whereas holding prices low and operational complexity minimal.
Deal with Person Teams and Motivational Drives inside Gamification
ReeAL is designed to efficiently interact a wide range of consumer teams, every discovering totally different motivations to take part actively within the initiative. By the lens of the Octalysis framework, we will analyze how totally different Core Drives had been harnessed to create a compelling and significant gaming expertise.
The Normal Inhabitants
Most people can be pushed to ReeAL by means of a mixture of novelty and accessibility. The set up of QR codes within the areas to be regenerated, accompanied by indicators that includes the undertaking brand, generated a way of shock and curiosity (Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity).
Digital interactions are stored intentionally easy and accessible, utilizing acquainted instruments like WhatsApp and a devoted web site (Core Drive 2: Improvement & Accomplishment), whereas making certain a secure surroundings for participation by means of nameless reactions to posts.
Phrase-of-mouth performed an important function in spreading the initiative, as gamers had been inspired to contain their social circles, thereby rising the success of the micro-events (Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness).
Lastly, the aesthetic and useful enchancment of the regenerated areas supplies a tangible sense of possession and achievement for the inhabitants (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling, Core Drive 4: Possession & Possession).
Organizations and Colleges (the Gamers)
Colleges and collaborating organizations, appearing as “gamers,” will discover in ReeAL a singular alternative to train their creativity and management. The flexibility to prepare micro-events and choose the areas to be regenerated gave them a robust sense of management and possession (Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Suggestions, Core Drive 4: Possession & Possession). Moreover, the undertaking integrates the idea of service studying, the place academic actions mix with optimistic social affect (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling).
Colleges obtain public recognition for his or her efforts, each from the group and the native administration, reinforcing their motivation by means of optimistic suggestions and visibility (Core Drive 2: Improvement & Accomplishment, Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness, Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling).
The administration of the digital foreign money “REEALS” stimulates strategic planning, permitting colleges to buy upgrades for his or her occasions (Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Suggestions).
Native Administration
For the native administration, ReeAL serves as a showcase for demonstrating its capability to generate optimistic affect by means of revolutionary and participatory initiatives.
The need to ascertain itself as a forward-thinking administration motivates energetic participation and assist for the undertaking (Core Drive 2: Improvement & Accomplishment, Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness).
The achieved outcomes, by way of city regeneration and citizen engagement, supplies additional satisfaction, together with fostering a optimistic notion amongst voters (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling, Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance).
The administration additionally initiated partnerships with native companies to make the initiative economically sustainable, making certain that the optimistic affect continues over time (Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness, Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance). This collaborative method helps maximize the advantages for the inhabitants (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling, Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness).
Native Companies
Native companies see ReeAL as a possibility to train their company social accountability, contributing to the development of the surroundings through which they function (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling). The related tax advantages present extra incentive (Core Drive 4: Possession & Possession, Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance).
Their contribution was not restricted to monetary elements; companies will actively assist the initiative, enhancing the residing situations of the inhabitants and their staff (Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling, Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness).
Recognition from the group and administration additional strengthened their standing as key gamers within the regeneration of the native context (Core Drive 2: Improvement & Accomplishment, Core Drive 5: Social Affect & Relatedness, Core Drive 1: Epic That means & Calling).
Classes Discovered from these Gamification Examples
Collaborating within the ECCO Hackathon and creating the ReeAL undertaking supplied key insights that may be utilized to any initiative targeted on group engagement:
The Energy of Visuals
Presenting ReeAL by means of clear and fascinating visuals, like infographics, was essential in serving to the jury and viewers shortly perceive the undertaking’s philosophy and objectives. Visible parts make data extra memorable and simpler to know.
Empathy-Pushed Design
Understanding the group’s wants and context is crucial for creating intuitive and accessible experiences. By connecting with the folks they had been designing for, the ReeAL crew ensured the undertaking resonated with its meant viewers.
Simplicity with Ambition
Whereas ReeAL’s idea was easy sufficient to elucidate like a board sport, it was designed to scale with success. Maintaining the design easy inspired broad participation, whereas leaving room for future progress and affect.
Hope to see extra Gamification Examples with Octalysis!
The expertise of collaborating within the ECCO Hackathon and the success of the ReeAL undertaking have as soon as once more demonstrated the facility of gamification as a software for selling group engagement and creating tangible optimistic impacts.
With its easy but scalable construction, ReeAL is predicted to mobilize sources and catalyze the vitality of the Alessandria group in the direction of a typical purpose of city regeneration.
That is simply the primary chapter in ReeAL’s story. The journey in the direction of implementing and creating this undertaking guarantees to be simply as thrilling and stuffed with classes to be taught.
Within the subsequent half, we’ll discover the challenges and alternatives that come up throughout the implementation section and see how the thought can be translated into actuality, persevering with to comply with the rules of gamification and the Octalysis framework.
