Temporary power-ups that enhance player capabilities within gamified systems
Core Idea: Boosters are temporary advantages that enhance a user's capabilities, providing a limited-time increase in power or efficiency to help achieve win-states more effectively.
Key Elements
- Boosters have a temporary nature, distinguishing them from permanent upgrades or level progression
- They create a heightened sense of capability that users want to maximize before expiration
- The temporary nature creates urgency and changes user behavior patterns
- The loss of boosters returns users to their "natural state," creating a desire to regain the enhanced capabilities
Implementation Mechanics
- Duration-based: Active for a specific time period
- Condition-based: Active until a specific trigger event occurs (like taking damage)
- Usage-based: Active for a certain number of actions or turns
- Context-based: Only available in specific environments or scenarios
Strategic Applications
- Funnel Redirection: Can redirect user behavior by placing booster sources in areas of low engagement
- Multiplier Effects: Often implemented as point multipliers to increase rewards for activities
- Sampling Higher Capabilities: Allow users to experience higher-level abilities before they've earned them permanently
- Breaking Monotony: Create variety in gameplay by temporarily changing mechanics
Example: Knowledge Multipliers
In the Bible App for Kids example, "Knowledge Scores" act as multipliers for SuperPoints earned when playing games, incentivizing children to engage with educational content before playing games, effectively inverting the traditional funnel.
Additional Connections
- Broader Context: Core Drive 3 - Empowerment of Creativity and Feedback (boosters empower users with enhanced capabilities)
- Applications: Gamification Design (boosters can redirect user behavior toward desired actions)
- See Also: Temporary Rewards (similar time-limited motivational structure)
References
- Yu-Kai Chou, "Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards"
#gamification #gamedesign #boosters #temporaryrewards
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