Designing Gamified Systems (MA)
Driven by the rising popularity of digital games, technology, business, and society are increasingly influenced and penetrated by games and trends of the gaming industry. One of the probably most important phenomena of this multi-faceted development is “gamification”, which refers to the use of design principles and features from games in the design of information systems, processes, and services.
Gamification’s popularity stems from the notion that games are a pinnacle form of hedonic information systems and thus are particularly effective in invoking intrinsic motivation and experiences such as autonomy, mastery, flow, immersion, relatedness, and overall enjoyment. Across industries, marketers, designers, and developers are thus using gamification as a design approach when engineering digital products and services with the purpose of inducing gameful experiences, influencing human motivation, and even change behavior in various contexts.
This course:
- teaches the key concepts, design patterns, and approaches of motivational, hedonic (i.e., games and video games), social and gamified information systems.
- offers deep insights into advanced concepts and theoretical foundations of game design, motivational psychology, and information system design.
- introduces methods and frameworks for designing gamified systems and managing gamification projects.
- discusses latest research findings and the potential impact of gamification on society, economy, and everyday life.
Course Overview
Capstone Project
The course is complemented with a practical design project in which students in a team select and apply design methods as well as techniques in order to create a prototype of a gamified or hedonic information system. Within this project, the students can apply knowledge and skills acquired in this lecture and their studies in a challenging context.
EELISA
This course is offered as part of the European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA – https://eelisa.eu) to give the lecture an even more international setting and allow FAU students to collaborate in their projects with interdisciplinary students from all over Europe.
Learning Objectives and Skills
The students gain knowledge in understanding the underlying design principles of gamified and hedonic information systems and can analyze and discuss such systems. The students learn state-of-the-art methods, techniques, and tools for successfully conducting gamification projects and can select and apply them. The students can train their creativity, their prototyping skills as well as improve their collaboration and presentation skills.
Tutorials
The sessions are accompanied by tutorials where students learn the basics of developing games in Unity3D, as well as discuss current challenges in the implementation of their projects.
Prerequisites
Profound English skills are required. Further, creativity, experience in software design, user experience, prototyping, and software engineering are helpful. All participating students should be motivated to work in an international and interdisciplinary group on a challenging topic.
Lecturers
Prof. Dr. Benedikt Morschheuser
Tutors
Sandra Birnstiel (Unity3D and programming support)
Dr. Jeanine Kirchner-Krath (Advice on psychological theories and study design)
Partners and guest lecturers in summer semester 2024:
Project partners:
Dr. Jens Barth − Head of Software Solutions at STABILO International GmbH
Dr. Christine Anstätt − Senior Manager Innovation Projects at adidas AG
Pascal K. Whiba − Entrepreneur Digital Health (Exergaming.org)
Ralf Nickel − Schön Klinik, München
Dr. Kathrin Fuhrmann − Head of the Green Office at FAU
Guest lecturers:
Georgina Guillén-Hanson − Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Daniel Fernández Galeote − Game Designer and Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Dr. Velvet Spors − Researcher on Gamification of Mental Health (Gamification Group Finland)
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Course details
Lecture + Capstone Project, 4 SWS, ECTS-Credits: 5
Dates
Thursday, 09:45-13:00, LG 0.424
Module compatibility
WF IIS-MA 1 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF IIS-MA 2 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF IIS-MA 3 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF IIS-MA 4 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF WING-MA from 1 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF ICT-MA from 1 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
WF EEI-MA from 1 (ECTS-Credits: 5)
ECTS
Credits: 5
Registration
Starts on 2024 February 25, 14:00 via StudOn.
Additional information
More details on course updates, materials, technical requirements, and other information will be announced in StudOn.
Keywords: Gamification, Interactive Information Systems, HCI, Customer Engagement, Social Computing, Hedonic Systems, Games
Inspiration of previous semesters
Summer semester 2023
Capstone project topics:
- Design a strategy game in which the players take over the role of the immune system, make strategic decisions in order to win and learn more about the role of the protein IL-33 and how the immune system is using inflammations to eliminate attackers (for instance, bacteria) and set repair mechanisms in motion.
- Design a cooperative gameful simulation in Roblox in which the players take over the role of the immune system of a patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in the novel and revolutionary CAR T-cell therapy developed as part of this FAU research project
- Design a gamification approach that engages patients with lung diseases (e.g. Asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD) to participate in an app-based breath training for 20 days by using gamification elements to invoke competence satisfaction and an unique “game feel”.
- Design a gamification approach that engages patients with lung diseases (e.g. Asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD) to participate in an app-based breath training for at least 20 days by using a theme or narratives as a core games mechanic.
Focus:
Gamification, Heath, Science Communication, Games
Partners and guest lecturers:
Baturay Yalvac − COO (Breathment)
Sandra Jeleazcov − CEO SFB1181 (University Hospital Erlangen)
Georgina Guillén-Hanson − Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Daniel Fernández Galeote − Game Designer and Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Dr. Velvet Spors − Researcher on Gamification of Mental Health (Gamification Group Finland)
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Summer semester 2022
Capstone project topic:
Design and investigate a novel digital gamification solution for your favorite team sports in order to increase the athlete’s training experience and the social dynamics within teams.
Focus:
Gamification, Team sports, Collaboration, Training, Augmented Reality, Health
Partners and guest lecturers:
Burkhard Dümler − Director Program & Projects IT Innovation (adidas AG)
Georgina Guillén-Hanson − Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Daniel Fernández Galeote − Game Designer and Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
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Winter semester 2021/2022
Capstone project topic:
Design of an innovative game or gamification approach at the intersection of gaming, mobility and space technology, which improve life on earth or travel in space.
Focus:
Gamification, Crowdsourcing, Satellite Techonology, Mobility, Augmented Reality
Event:
Billionaires start space tourism
Guest lecturers:
Alexander Satanowsky − Head of in-Car Gaming (Mercedes-Benz AG)
Georgina Guillén-Hanson − Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Daniel Fernández Galeote − Game Designer and Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Dr. Michael Reinhardt − Head of OpenIT Studio (Siemens Healthineers)
Nicolas Butterwegge − IT Strategy Manager (Siemens Healthineers)
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Summer semester 2021
Capstone project challenge:
Design of an innovative game or gamification approach in which sports, gaming, and mobility meet as part of an unforgettable mixed-reality experience for potential visitors of the 2022 Olympic Asian Games in China, Hangzhou.
Focus:
eSports, Sports, Augmented Reality, Mobility, Gamification
Event:
Asian games announced to have eSports as official discipline
Guest lecturers:
Alexander Satanowsky − Head of In-Car Gaming (Mercedes-Benz AG)
Georgina Guillén-Hanson − Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
Daniel Fernández Galeote − Game Designer and Researcher on Gamifying Sustainable Consumption (Gamification Group Finland)
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