Abstract:

Digital games have been used in learning environments since 1980s and they are known to bring in positive effects into learning. However, in terms of the integration of games into learning process, there are several obstacles such as the problems teachers experience in technical issues, the length of game development process and the costs. For these reason, in order to both benefit from the positive effects of games and to overcome these obstacles, some educators are gamifying education instead of using games in education.
Gamification is using components of video games in non-game context. It is being frequently used in educational environments and its effect is being studied. Studies indicate that, in a gamified learning environment, it is possible to ensure learner’s engagement, obtain increase in learning outputs, increase participation and enjoyment. However, in order to benefit from all these positive effects, and reveal the potential positive effects of the environment, a well-designed gamified environment is necessary.

There are several approaches to design gamification in the literature. This study is based on Werbach & Hunter’s (2012) gamification design approach which defined gamification process in a holistic and step-by-step manner. This approach consists of 6 steps. One of the steps is defining individuals and arranging the gamified environment to their characteristics. This is because in game and game-like environments, each individual displays characteristics of a different player type or multiple player types. The factors motivating different type of players in a learning environment also varies.

The goal of this study is to design a gamified learning environment that could motivate all of the different type of players in an online gamified learning environment. The study is based on the player types achiever, explorer, killer, and socializer as defined by Bartle (1996). The following components are used for their assigned player types; Leader Board and Points for Killers; Leader Board, Points, Content Unlocking, Levels, Achievements for Achievers; Achievement, Badge, Narrative for Explorers; Badge, Team and Gifting for Socializers.

The player types of 41 undergraduate students who used the gamified online learning environment have been determined by Player Type Scale, developed by researchers based on Bartle’s framework of 4 player types. Since it is known that most of the players have no dominant player type and that each individual could display characteristics of more than one player type, the data obtained by Player Type Scale is clustered. The motivation levels of students were determined through “Course Interest Survey”, which was developed by Keller (1995) based on ARCS motivation model, and adapted by Varank (2003). The study focused on whether the motivations of students displayed any significant difference depending on different player type clusters. As a result, it was determined that motivation levels displayed no significant difference based on clusters depicting different player types, and all the students were highly motivated. The data obtained from the study is discussed in regards to player types, motivation, and gamified learning environment focus.

Keywords:

Gamification, player type, motivation, gamification design.