From Couch Potato to World Explorer: How Game Design Can Encourage Adventure

One of the triggers for starting this project was the realisation that we’ve lost some of our desire to explore, having became too reliant on our screens. Particularly during COVID-19 when we were confined to our homes, stuck in endless doom scrolling loops. And this highly addictive constant stream of stimuli has come at a cost: a loss of adventure and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. In fact, 25% of Americans spend more than 8 hours per day sitting, an alarming statistic linked to negative health affects and risk of premature mortality.

Technology companies have often been criticised for engineering their products to keep users addicted and engaged for as long as possible. One key tactic that they use to achieve this is the creation of “compulsion loops,” which are based on a psychological construct that is designed to keep users coming back to the product or service again and again. If you’ve ever tried to limit your screen time, you know this is difficult. The addictive properties are simply too powerful.

But rather than trying to fight against this natural inclination towards technology and screen time, we can utilise the very same principles of game design to create positive habits and encourage exploration. By incorporating game mechanics into activities that encourage people to engage with their environment and get outdoors, we can create an ecosystem that rewards movement and exploration.

There has been a surge in projects that aim to encourage physical activity, such as fitness apps and games that incentivise movement. Game mechanics are being used to incentivise activity and an active lifestyle. Games as a concept are a natural attraction for humans due to the sense of progress and accomplishment they bring, and the release of dopamine in anticipation of rewards can be a powerful motivator

A prime example of this is the hugely successful app Pokemon Go, which used augmented reality to get players interacting with their surroundings in a new way. With over 800 million downloads and nearly $2 billion in revenue, it is clear that Pokemon Go resonated with its users, and, while the initial novelty may have worn off, the game’s use of reward factors has kept its community motivated and engaged.

Despite gamification having been a commonly used strategy by popular health and fitness mobile apps, this study found that none used the specific behavioural economics principles to design rewards or points, suggesting these apps could be improved if their design leveraged principles from behavioural economics.

So makes a good game? As with the tactics deployed to by tech companies to keep us glued to our screens, we can leverage much of this to instead create positively addictive habits.

1. Make the cue obvious (i.e. the trigger for the behavior)
2. Make the action easy (i.e. the behaviour itself)
3. Make the variable reward satisfying (i.e. the outcome of the behaviour)
4. Make the craving attractive (i.e. the desire to do the behaviour)

By using these principles, we can encourage people to spend more time in nature and strengthen their connections to their communities, even in the midst of concrete jungles.

How are we thinking about building an experience that leverages these game design principles to get people out of their homes? Below are several principles we are living by:

1. Challenge: Explorers should feel a real sense a challenge, difficult enough that progress feels like a real achievement, whilst not being too challenging that it becomes frustrating
2. Balance: There should be a good balance between key game elements such as difficulty, complexity, and rewards
3. Progression: Explorers should feel a real sense of advancement as they uncover areas around the world and build up their reputation; this sense of progress should consistently be reinforced
4. Variety: The experience should contain enough variety, ranging from difficulty levels and challenges to keep explorers engaged
5. Interactivity: There should be sufficient opportunity for explorers to interact with the mobile experience and make meaningful choices
6. Feedback: A clear and prominent feedback loop should persist across the experience based on Explorers’ actions and progression in exploring the world and completing challenges
7. Replayability: The immersive experience should offer enough depth and variety to encourage repeated exploration..
8. Fun: Above all, the experience should simply be enjoyable and fun for the players

As humans, we are wired to enjoy games and the sense of progress and accomplishment they bring. The release of dopamine and the fulfilment of our need for purpose are some of the most basic parts of being human. Whether it’s completing quests, hitting high scores, or simply breaking our own personal records, we are naturally drawn to the satisfaction of overcoming challenges and achieving goals.

Our natural enjoyment of games and the sense of progress they provide can be harnessed to encourage positive habits and a love of exploration. At HYPER SQ our mission is to channel this towards a force for good.

To learn more about our project, visit our website and follow us on Twitter.