Michael Gugel

The Power of Progress Bars

Posted on20. Feb, 2011 by Michael Gugel.

The effectiveness of progress bars in ProgressWars really blew me.  So much so that it inspired me to create my own version.
I’ve been wanting to learn how to code PHP, so I created Level Up, a simple “game” whose sole objective is to click a button and increase your level.  It was a great project to [...]

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The Sin of Gaming

Posted on18. Feb, 2011 by Michael Gugel.

If you knew nothing about me, what kind of impression would you get if I told you that:

I just read a book for 30 minutes
I just listened to a music album for 30 minutes
I just watched a movie for 30 minutes
I just watched TV for 30 minutes
I just played a video game for 30 minutes

Most [...]

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Gamification: You’re Doing It Wrong

Posted on15. Feb, 2011 by Michael Gugel.

There’s a been a huge trend in the last couple of years to bring game mechanics to EVERYTHING.  Sebastian Deterding talks about why you’re doing it wrong.

Pawned. Gamification and Its Discontents
View more presentations from Sebastian Deterding.

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Progress Wars: A Game Mechanics Parody

Posted on13. Feb, 2011 by Michael Gugel.

Jakob Skjerning’s Progress Wars is amazingly insightful.
Progress Wars doesn’t have any fancy graphics or a compelling story.  You just push a button and level up.  Somehow, I still managed to get all the way up to level 6
Jakob is making fun of how game designers focus in on classical conditioning to increase user [...]

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Cognitive Dissonance & Gaming

Posted on11. Feb, 2011 by Michael Gugel.

Cognitive dissonance is a fancy term psychologists use to describe the mental distress you feel when you hold two conflicting ideas.  It’s an extremely powerful way for game designers to attract users, keep them engaged, and increase perceived enjoyment.
The classic example of cognitive dissonance is Aesop’s fable The Fox and the Grapes.  In the fable, a fox [...]

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