Training Industry Magazine - Fall 2016 - 38


would have to rectify violations in order
to re-open. This type of activity would
also align with the desired emotion we
want users to feel: anxiety.

TRUE QUESTS
SOLVE A PROBLEM
OR OVERCOME A
MAJOR OBSTACLE.
used the help menu - even though they
provided the exact same information. In
the food safety course, then, it might be
a good idea to develop a character who
is a customer, coworker or FDA inspector
rather a helper.
Another online course element is
mechanics: the rules of the game or
method of interacting with the content.
The most effective mechanics are quests:
tasks that a player-controlled character
completes in order to gain a reward. The
quests become the navigation, or user
interface, rather than relying on a series
of swiping or clicking actions to advance
players though the course.
It's important to note that a quest is not
just a series of tasks. True quests solve a
problem or overcome a major obstacle.
For example, in the food safety course,
rather than force learners to complete a
series of mundane drag-and-drop, true/
false, matching or hotspot tasks, why
not create a simulated FDA restaurant
inspection? The learners would proceed
through the steps of an inspection,
catching food safety violations and
fixing them before the inspector found
them. They would either pass the
inspection, or the game would close the
restaurant for violations, and the learner

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You could also require the leaners to
perform an action, which would cause
an effect within the simulated world.
For example, if a learner didn't check the
temperature of the perishable condiments
station at the proper time intervals, five
patrons would develop food poisoning,
and the restaurant would be subject to
an inspection. The learner would have
to make another action based on this
new information.
Another type of mechanics are points,
badges and leaderboards. However, the
scorekeeping and "leveling up" must make
sense for the game's challenge. In the food
safety course, instead of badges for passing
an inspection, learners could receive
virtual coins to symbolize the money
their restaurant earned because it did not
close. "Leveling up" could include being
promoted to manager or opening another
franchise location. Instead of showing
highest point scores, a leaderboard could
list the players who opened the most
additional franchise locations.
Motivation
A third component to HCI is motivation:
Why would the learner/player want to
spend time taking the course or playing
the game?
Motivation comes in two forms: intrinsic
and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation refers
to our internal drive to perform an action
purely for the enjoyment we receive from
it. It's one of the most important HCI
psychological theories in gamification.
Three psychological needs trigger
intrinsic
motivation:
competence
(successfully mastering an environment
or solving a complex problem); autonomy
(the ability to make choices without

interference or control); and relatedness
(developing a close relationship with the
character and/or content).
To ensure your course or game hits all
three motivators, follow these steps:
* Let learners know their actions have
some impact on the system.
* Show users that they are in control of
how the system responds.
* Demonstrate to users that the characters
in the game are on their side and just
like them.
By incorporating these human-computer
interaction psychology elements into
your course or game, you'll have an
interactive, engaging and effective
e-learning program.
Vicki Kunkel designed e-learning and gamebased learning programs for 19 years as
gamification director at DigitalWits. She
currently works as the senior instructional
designer for gamification at MedImmune,
where she helped build a regulatory
compliance gamification portal from the
ground up. Email Vicki.

ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
* For more information on human-computer
interaction psychology, read Clifford Nass' book,
"The Man Who Lied to His Laptop."
* For online courses on game mechanics, motivation
and user interface design, visit the Interaction
Design Foundation.
* To learn more about the qualities that make a
virtual character engaging, read the study in the
Journal of Consumer Research.
http://www.digitalwits.com/el-tv/ https://www.interaction-design.org/courses https://www.interaction-design.org/courses http://jcr.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/04/27/jcr.ucw016?rss=1
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Fall 2016
