Proposal talk:Add game-like features
Well, isn't this risky? We have yet too much "roleplaying" on our projects, instead of content improvement. Nemo 23:19, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
Something similar was done at wikipedia:WP:WikiRPG, but that did not last long. --74.132.73.7 19:50, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
- I think there are some key differences: WikiRPG was geared toward experienced users (whereas this would be first and foremost a way to introduce new users to the spectrum of constructive activities that go on) and WikiRPG was completely manual and incurred very high transaction costs for participating (to the point that it could seem like gaming instead of encyclopedia building, rather than encyclopedia building through gaming).--ragesoss 21:41, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
fun idea
thesixtyone has gotten a lot of mileage out of it. Sj 01:07, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
- The "Choose Your Own Adventure" style of gaming works well over HTTP. 75.55.199.5 20:16, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow has a system of badges that I think works rather well. Although it is possible to do actions to try and earn badges, more often, users just get a pleasant surprise when they happen to earn one through their normal activities. It is a relatively hands-off way of rewarding desired behaviours. --pfctdayelise 06:13, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
- Cool. That could be tied to some tutorial pages that basically lead new editors through the steps of getting a well-rounded first set of badges, and then once they have a feel for all the different things that they can do on the projects, it could be more in the pleasant surprise mode from there.--ragesoss 06:36, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
page title
The page title is somewhat distracting. When I read "Add video game-like features", I immediately thought WTF, another completely useless proposal. Now that I read what it's about, I think the general idea is brilliant (if implemented in the right way). However, this proposal is mainly about implementing a system of rewarding that creates more incentive to behave productively. That is, by introducing a (set of) token(s) that ease the creation and perception of a user's reputation. So I think the proposal should be renamed to something that points in that direction, because "games" call up too many associations like running around in a fancy 3D-graphical environment shooting at things...
- What might it be called instead? The essence of the proposal is to apply elements of video game psychology to projects, but you're right that that's quite a different thing from what people first think of when they hear "video game".--ragesoss 18:08, 24 August 2009 (UTC)
- I'm not sure what I'd call it instead. I think there should be other proposals that are more to the point in what I think is the essence of this one. If I can't find any, I'll make one. --Hyrsebrigh 21:26, 30 August 2009 (UTC)
- I have an idea along somewhat similar lines. I think this proposal is very good. It will greatly appeal to many people, especially the young. I hope my proposal (to be written tomorrow time permitting) will have similar appeal but for people of a more... advanced age (like me). It will be different enough to be worth discussing separately, though. --Bodnotbod 21:22, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
- I'm not sure what I'd call it instead. I think there should be other proposals that are more to the point in what I think is the essence of this one. If I can't find any, I'll make one. --Hyrsebrigh 21:26, 30 August 2009 (UTC)
- I had the same thought. I'd suggest removing the "video" from the title. --Waldir 22:48, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Done by Ragesoss on 01:41, 10 September 2009
Impact?
Some proposals will have massive impact on end-users, including non-editors. Some will have minimal impact. What will be the impact of this proposal on our end-users? -- Philippe 00:04, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
The professional networking site LinkedIn does a pretty good job of this: when you sign up, they give you a progress bar for "profile completeness." You get something like 10 points for uploading your resume, 5 points for uploading a picture, 5 points each for posting up to 3 positions...stuff like that. Seeing the green progress bar advance toward "complete" is a strong motivator for many people.
Implementing something like that on Wikimedia projects is a neat idea. It could be integrated with the "[w:Wikipedia:Service awards|service awards" on Wikipedia. -Peteforsyth 02:24, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
Lessons from the Wiki Cup
The English Wikipedia has a very successful contest EN:Wikipedia:WikiCup that would be worth looking at when designing the detail for this. It is only partially automated, and is aimed at existing editors rather than newbies, but has overcome some of the inherent problems in such gaming. Most crucially those who choose not to participate need scarcely know it exists. However you do need a way to stop people flagging minor edits as not minor; and forming alliances and giving each other "gentle" reviews for Good articles etc. WereSpielChequers 22:05, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
Anti-Vandalism
Turn anti-vandalism into a game, with points and a scoreboard, and encourage "unconstructive editors" to join the game. --Alchemist Jack 10:38, 3 October 2009 (UTC)