Episode 125 What is the Player Journey?
Hi and welcome to Experience Points by University XP. On Experience Points, we explore different ways we can learn from games. I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. Find out more at www.universityxp.com
When we play games, we often get caught up in the excitement of the moment—exploring vast worlds, connecting with others, completing quests, and simply enjoying ourselves. But have you ever stopped to consider the journey you take as a player? This journey is not just about playing the game; it's a crucial process, especially when we examine games in the context of teaching, training, learning, and development.
In today’s episode, we’re diving into the concept of the player journey. We’ll start by defining what the player journey is and why it matters. The player experience is a key part of this journey, so we’ll explore how individual motivations shape goals and achievements throughout the game.
Feedback plays a vital role in any game, and we’ll discuss how it influences player progression during their journey. We’ll also take a closer look at the social aspects of gaming and how they tie into the different phases of the player journey.
Speaking of phases, we’ll break down each stage of the player journey, from discovery to onboarding, scaffolding, play, endgame, and post-game. Each phase brings its own set of challenges and needs, and understanding these is crucial for guiding players through their experience.
Finally, we’ll wrap up with some practical tips on designing the player journey—focusing on how it supports player agency and effort, which are essential for incorporating these concepts into games-based learning.
What exactly do we mean when we talk about the "player journey"? In short, the player journey refers to the overall experience, actions, and progression a player encounters throughout a game. It includes the various stages and interactions a player has with both the game and other players.
The player journey is deeply intertwined with the player’s experience—encompassing every action and interaction they take within the game. But there's more to it than just gameplay. There are strong parallels between the player journey and the learning journey—a concept that’s critical in teaching and development.
The learning journey mirrors the player journey in many ways. It represents the time and effort learners invest as they engage with various methods and platforms created by instructional designers, educators, instructors, and facilitators. Just like the player journey structures the grand aspirations of a game’s theme and narrative, the learning journey structures the learner’s path toward mastering new skills and competencies.
This journey can happen through traditional education or, more progressively, through serious games and games-based learning. Both the player’s journey and the learner’s journey share similarities with the "hero’s journey" narrative, echoing stages like the call to adventure, crossing the threshold, and returning with newfound skills. In both gaming and learning, players and learners progress through levels and stages, creating a sense of achievement and motivation to keep going.
Moreover, the player journey can also be seen as the overall experience that players and learners have when playing a game.
Understanding this journey is crucial for designing and supporting the learner’s journey, leading to a more holistic connection between game mechanics and learning outcomes in serious game design.
The player journey holds significant importance for a variety of stakeholders, including game designers, developers, players, educators, and facilitators in games-based learning.
From a commercial perspective, the player journey offers game developers and publishers valuable insights into player behavior, especially in digital and online games. This understanding helps in refining game design and enhancing the overall player experience. But the player journey is not just about commercial gains—it also plays a crucial role in education.
In games-based learning, the player journey aligns with various learning pathways, helping to shape, curate, and guide both the learning and play processes. When we view the learning journey and player journey together, they create a dynamic environment that fosters continuous play, growth, and learning. This combined journey balance’s structure and flexibility, allowing individuals to discover what to learn, how to learn, and how to play to their strengths.
The real benefit of considering the player and learning journeys in tandem is that they honor the autonomy and navigation of individual players. By bringing structure to the engagement process, these journeys accelerate the achievement of competency and mastery through effective and continuous feedback.
The player journey also parallels other "onboarding journeys" people encounter in different contexts. A familiar example is the onboarding process for new employees. In this journey, companies introduce new hires to company culture, operations, and behavioral expectations that align with business goals. This structure closely mirrors the steps and stages of the player journey, which we'll explore in this episode.
Ultimately, the success of the player’s journey is grounded in the autonomy and agency it affords to players and learners. The most effective journeys offer the freedom and flexibility for individuals to choose how and when they engage, all while being supported by the structured pathways set by game designers and educators.
In the player’s journey, honoring the player’s experience means giving individuals the freedom to exercise their will and agency within the game. This is especially crucial for learners, who can exhibit a wide range of behavioral patterns—from dominant and self-centered roles to more collaborative ones, and everything in between.
To accommodate these diverse roles, it's essential to implement consistent and repeatable mechanics throughout the gameplay. This becomes even more important for players who might be unfamiliar with the platform, modality, or genre of the game. Core mechanics and gameplay loops should be designed to engage and meet the needs of individuals, often described as "fun"—a key driver of intrinsic motivation.
"Fun" is a significant allure of games and a major reason players are drawn to them. However, not all games deliver fun universally, particularly learning or serious games. Purposeful design that respects player agency and autonomy enhances this experience and helps to maintain motivation.
This is where gamification comes into play. By integrating game-like elements into learning programs and systems, gamification can strategically boost motivation. These elements are used in specific areas of the learning journey to promote engagement, much like how time spent on virtual games can resemble actual work tasks in business settings.
No matter how a player's experience is shaped, tracking progress remains a crucial aspect of the player journey. A common method is using percentage-based progress indicators for linear progression in learning content, such as time or content completion bars.
Some systems combine learning and game content by developing character progression, where learners are represented by avatars that evolve based on their decisions and progress within the game.
Motivation is a crucial element in understanding the player experience. To effectively motivate individuals in both the learning and player journey, it's essential to delve into what drives their behavior.
The key goal is to tap into intrinsic motivation. This means making the journey—its actions, options, and outcomes—more enjoyable and aligned with deeper desires. By doing so, individuals are more likely to explore, learn, and master skills voluntarily.
Understanding what intrinsically motivates players allows us to create journeys that resonate with diverse user profiles. Even if we can't predict every player's unique experiences, knowing what drives their engagement helps shape effective pathways for their progression.
Intrinsic motivation is vital in the learning journey as well. It strengthens innate skills and encourages exploration of various learning experiences. This is why gamification often plays a key role in enhancing learning. By integrating game-like elements into non-game settings, gamification focuses on these intrinsic motivators without the need for complex game adaptations.
When designing a combined learner and player journey, focusing on intrinsic benefits is paramount. This includes allowing individuals the freedom to access information, use performance tools, and interact with others in similar learning stages. This approach creates a supportive scaffold for success in both gaming and learning environments.
Ultimately, maintaining motivation is essential for keeping players and learners engaged throughout their journey, ensuring they continue to progress and enjoy the experience.
Player motivation often revolves around the goals and objectives embedded in the game or learning content. These goals can drive both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, playing a crucial role in keeping players engaged. We see this in regular activities like daily tasks, assignments, or quests.
In learning content, creating personalized and authentic goals can be challenging because it requires a deep understanding of individual learning preferences. However, making the process of overcoming obstacles part of the challenge and outcome in a learning or serious game can enhance the experience.
To build a coherent player journey, it’s useful to break down goals and objectives into short-, medium-, and long-term categories. This approach helps players tackle challenges progressively, ensuring they are prepared for the next hurdle after overcoming the previous one.
Progression systems in games reflect this approach by offering vertical or horizontal advancement options. Vertical progression might enhance a player's abilities, while horizontal progression could advance them through different game areas. This variety helps address player boredom and provides multiple paths for growth.
Additionally, it’s important to balance rewards for achieving goals and objectives. Meaningful rewards offer valuable feedback, boosting motivation and satisfaction as players advance through their journey.
In the player journey, individual motivation, as well as goals and objectives, create a framework for the feedback loop that drives interaction. This feedback loop is crucial for maintaining engagement, as it provides insights into performance and achievements.
Feedback can be interpreted in various ways depending on the context and modality. Many players seek immediate feedback from their gameplay experience, contrasting with traditional learning environments where feedback can be slower and less frequent. This delay often leads to decreased engagement.
Engagement can also wane if players or learners perceive risks, such as losing face or valuable time. When individuals feel they have something to lose, they are less likely to persist, leading to gaps in practical knowledge for learners and reduced play for gamers.
Therefore, it’s essential to provide feedback regularly and consistently throughout the player journey. In games, feedback can take many forms, such as mission hints, achievement messages, or level updates. These feedback mechanisms guide players towards desired behaviors and achievements.
In learning environments, feedback can be tailored to honor the learner’s agency, offering curated choices and specific insights into potential actions. Regular feedback reinforces that the learning or playing process is continuous, not a one-time event. It highlights that the journey is an investment in growth and progression.
Additionally, progress is further emphasized when players have opportunities to start new games or new instances after an accomplishment. Similarly, traditional learning environments often offer new or related courses to continue the learning journey, underscoring growth and advancement.
Socialization is a key aspect in some games and is increasingly important in learning journeys. In games, social elements can include cooperative play, competitive dynamics, and online communities that reinforce interaction and engagement. Similarly, in education, learning can be an individual pursuit or a communal process.
In traditional learning, relationships with peers, mentors, and educators are often built through collaborative projects and group activities. These methods are known for developing communication and teamwork skills, though they can sometimes feel like a one-size-fits-all approach. Modern learning techniques recognize the value of learning communities that offer personalized pathways for students.
Games-based learning parallels this by using cooperative games to build teamwork and communication skills similar to those developed in group projects. However, supporting the agency and individuality of learners can also be achieved through various methods.
One effective strategy is to address learners’ social concerns by integrating them into a socialized learning system with peers who share similar experiences. Another approach is to create more intimate learning environments by pairing individuals for dual learning relationships, much like lab partners in science classes.
This socialization is most impactful when integrated into broader environments, such as organizational learning and operations, which share similarities with player journeys in commercial games. Building thriving communities around play and learning involves sharing achievements, challenges, and progress to maintain engagement and interest.
Socialization is a constant throughout the player and learner journey, but the entire experience can be divided into several distinct phases. These phases are informed by the player’s journey in gamification, which includes discovery, onboarding, scaffolding, endgame, and post-game
As players progress through the journey, they also develop mastery. In games, this is where players become familiar with the game and take on more complex challenges by achieving goals and objectives.
The entire engagement spans a broader timeline known as the "emotional arc" of play. This arc starts with initial engagement and continues through to resolution. In games, this arc is often illustrated through narrative storytelling, music, and game mechanics, that evoke a range of emotions.
To effectively design and structure the player and learner journey, creating an active map can be incredibly useful. This map visually represents an individual’s experience, from their first discovery and introduction to post-game or post-course activities.
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The goal of mapping the player and learner journey is to set appropriate expectations, predict progress, and stay focused on goals. Successful application involves creating smooth transitions between stages, enabling individuals to refine their insights through ongoing engagement and iterative feedback.
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The journey for both players and learners begins with discovery. This is the moment when individuals first encounter the game or course and decide whether to engage with it. At this stage, they haven't yet committed to the activity and are uncertain about how much time and effort they will invest.
For games, creating a compelling hook during the discovery phase is crucial to keep players interested. In learning, this phase is about laying the foundation and demonstrating the relevance of the content. It’s essential to clearly communicate the goals, objectives, and outcomes to capture the learner’s attention.
In educational settings, transparency is key. This often involves outlining the course objectives and possibly conducting pre-activity assessments to gauge prior knowledge and skill levels.
Both games and learning experiences share an interest in intrinsic motivation. For games, the discovery phase may include introductory activities that showcase core mechanics and create a meaningful impact. Mobile games, for example, often use early levels to quickly engage players and highlight key gameplay features.
Similarly, the learning journey can benefit from a gamified approach. By framing the learning experience within a narrative or game-like context, learners are more likely to be engaged and motivated. This approach transforms the course from a traditional learning module into an immersive experience.
Ultimately, the discovery phase is crucial for setting the stage and offering individuals the opportunity to make a significant choice: whether to continue with the game or course.
After the discovery phase, we move into the onboarding phase. This stage builds on the initial encounter by introducing deeper elements of the game or learning experience. Here, players and learners are introduced to additional mechanics, controls, and starting objectives. These formative moments are crucial as they establish the tone for the entire journey.
In traditional learning environments, onboarding can be emulated by presenting a clear overview of goals, expectations, and how sessions will be conducted. This helps learners understand what to expect and how to engage effectively.
Just like in the discovery phase, "hooks" are essential during onboarding. These hooks are key moments that capture interest and encourage continued participation. For games, this might involve early achievements or milestones that motivate players to stick with it. For learners, it’s about engaging with the content in a way that makes the experience compelling from the start.
Onboarding often includes regularly scheduled goals and objectives. In mobile games, for instance, features like daily tasks and login rewards help keep players engaged by integrating these activities into their daily routines. This approach helps to cement the learning and play process as part of their regular habits.
Graphical progression trackers are another effective tool. They highlight personal development, competency, and accomplishments, reinforcing intrinsic motivation. By gradually increasing the complexity and challenge of tasks through scaffolding, onboarding aims to ramp up engagement and investment, setting the stage for deeper learning and play.
As players and learners advance through their respective journeys, they encounter more complex challenges and objectives. This is where scaffolding becomes essential. Scaffolding involves providing support to help individuals overcome these new challenges by connecting their prior knowledge and skills to new activities.
In video games, scaffolding is effectively implemented through the gradual increase in difficulty and complexity of game mechanics. Players start with basic mechanics that are frequently used and then face progressively harder challenges as they progress. This incremental approach ensures that they build their skills in a structured way.
Scaffolding also leverages rewards and "win-states" to reinforce motivation. Achieving rewards encourages players to continue playing, just as learners are motivated to return to their studies and apply what they've learned. This continuous practice helps refine their skills.
Instructors can enhance scaffolding by incorporating metacognitive activities. This means asking reflective questions and providing tailored feedback to help learners understand their current progress and future direction. It’s about situating them in their journey and guiding their next steps.
In traditional learning environments, scaffolding is often seen through course reviews and summative assessments, like tests and projects. These assessments help learners focus on their progress towards course objectives and set milestones along their learning path.
An often-overlooked aspect of scaffolding is the development of confidence. Confidence is crucial in self-determination theory, as it empowers individuals to pursue their goals with a sense of agency and autonomy. As learners and players gain confidence, they move beyond relying on tutorials and can engage more deeply with the content and challenges ahead.
Play is central to games, but when it’s incorporated into learning, it represents the pinnacle of agency and autonomy for learners. It’s through play that players interact with game mechanics, progress along their journey, and tackle challenges and objectives.
In the initial stages, players are introduced to the game's basics. They familiarize themselves with the game mechanics and apply their understanding to see how this game fits with others of its genre. This stage is about learning the ropes and beginning to engage with the game.
As players advance, they encounter more complex challenges. This phase often includes tougher enemies or intricate puzzles. Similarly, learners face new questions and applications of their knowledge, testing their understanding in deeper ways. The complexity increases, reflecting the scaffolding they’ve previously encountered.
Throughout all stages of play, individuals are empowered to make meaningful choices. These choices impact the direction of the game or learning experience. Whether localizing the content to a single unit or seeing connections across different areas, the ability to influence their journey is key.
Play reaches its zenith in the “flow state,” the peak of excitement and engagement. This is often the most intense moment, filled with challenges, narrative highs, and significant achievements. It represents a crucial turning point that greatly influences player investment and engagement.
After the high point, maintaining engagement can be challenging. Therefore, it’s crucial to manage this transition carefully. Balancing continued engagement with rewards ensures players and learners remain motivated through reflection and prepare for the endgame phase.
The transition into the endgame phase signifies the conclusion of the primary experience in both games and learning journeys. This phase wraps up the core content and offers opportunities for reflection, re-engagement, or exploration of new areas.
In games, the endgame phase often includes the climax and resolution of the main objectives. Players leverage the skills and knowledge they've acquired to navigate and complete the final challenges. This stage is about concluding the journey with a sense of accomplishment.
Following the endgame, players may have options to replay or explore different aspects of the game. Similar to streaming services like Netflix offering related content, games and learning experiences provide additional avenues to deepen engagement. This keeps players and learners connected, encouraging them to revisit or explore new content.
For learners, the endgame represents the culmination of their educational efforts. It’s a time to reflect on their achievements and prepare to mentor others or pursue further knowledge. This transition is about moving forward and using the completion of one experience as a stepping stone to the next.
A crucial aspect of the endgame is maintaining a positive outlook and focusing on future opportunities. This forward-looking approach helps individuals move beyond past experiences and seek new ones. In education, this is evident when learners view the completion of a course or project as a gateway to further learning.
The final stages, including the post-game phase, are vital for reinforcing the overall experience. This phase involves structured debriefing, reflection, and metacognitive outcomes. It’s where players and learners review their journey, assess their progress, and integrate their experiences.
Now, welcome to the post-game phase, where the journey doesn’t just end—it transforms into a time of deep reflection and consolidation. This phase is pivotal for personal and academic growth. It’s the opportunity to evaluate the experience, integrate feedback, and reflect on both achievements and areas for improvement. This reflection is crucial for consolidating knowledge and preparing for future endeavors.
In this phase, interaction with peers and mentors becomes significant. Sharing insights and discussing experiences contribute to the collective knowledge of the community. This socialized environment helps reinforce individual learning and enhances the overall learning experience through collaboration.
Structured reflection and debriefing sessions are key components of the post-game phase. These activities encourage learners to develop a deeper understanding of their experiences and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. It’s a time to process what has been learned and how it can be used going forward.
Traditionally, this phase includes formal recognition of accomplishments through certificates, degrees, and credentials. Recently, micro-credentials and badges have become popular, providing a more granular approach to acknowledging achievements and skills.
These credentials often serve as steppingstones for further professional and academic development. They represent a commitment to ongoing learning and skill development. The post-game phase thus reflects a continuous process of self-assessment and growth.
Designing the player’s journey is an intricate art—one that requires thoughtful structuring and deep understanding. It's not just about creating a path but crafting an experience that resonates and engages.
Modern digital games exemplify how to honor the structure of the player journey while accommodating diverse players, playstyles, and modalities. Yet, despite these efforts, players with high game literacy might find similar journeys across different games. Therefore, the uniqueness of each journey may seem less apparent.
The key to truly designing an impactful journey lies in enhancing the emotional arc of play. First, start by understanding the backgrounds and emotional impacts on players. Then, create a framework that not only guides but also emotionally engages them throughout the experience.
In learning design, the focus traditionally has been on a linear pathway from start to finish. However, this approach often neglects learners' agency and autonomy. A more effective design acknowledges both cognitive and emotional milestones, ensuring that learners’ insights and skills develop in a meaningful way.
Design should aim to promote a flow state—where engagement and challenge are balanced, making the experience both enjoyable and educational. Clear goals and well-organized scaffolding help build a journey where each success paves the way for the next.
Visual journey mapping can enhance the player experience by representing and optimizing the journey through adjustments based on user experience. This approach is invaluable not only in game design but also in educational contexts, offering insights into how to improve the learner’s journey.
While linear pathways might be unavoidable at times, prioritizing activities that allow for experiential application of knowledge is crucial. Engaging individuals regularly and thoroughly throughout their journey ensures their agency is honored and their learning is deeply impactful.
Individual participation is a cornerstone of both impactful gaming and effective learning. Granting learners and players a degree of agency—allowing them to choose their own routes, activities, and assignments—empowers them to take control of their journey.
For adult learners and professionals, this agency is crucial. Allowing them to set their own goals and manage their learning fosters a sense of self-determination and autonomy in vocational learning. It acknowledges their experience and capabilities, making their learning journey more relevant and personalized.
However, providing this level of agency isn’t always scalable in every learning environment. To address this on an individual basis, manual design around pre-defined playstyles or experiences can be employed. This approach involves selecting specific games, content, or objectives based on learners’ existing knowledge or skills.
In professional development, learners may be assigned advanced content suited to their background and competencies. This tailored approach ensures that learners are challenged appropriately and can continue to grow without feeling overwhelmed or under-challenged.
A more advanced method involves empowering learners to create their own stories and evaluate their outcomes. This concept, explored in games-based learning through matrix games, can be adapted to allow learners to personalize and self-author their learning journey. It’s a powerful way to enhance engagement and ownership of the learning process.
Another technique used in commercial games is randomization—introducing random events and outcomes to keep players engaged. While this can be effective for short-term engagement, it often lacks appeal for long-term learning and can disincentivize learners in a games-based learning context.
Games-based learning represents a transformative approach in education, using games as a medium to create interactive and engaging learning environments. This transformation hinges on the effective design and progression through the player journey, ensuring that learners are actively involved in their educational experience.
Understanding the phases and stages of the learning journey helps designers create educational experiences that honor player agency and autonomy. This is especially vital in remote and digital learning environments, where learning is not confined to a single event but supported over time through various modalities.
Games-based learning often involves simulated real-world scenarios, such as stock market simulations and role-playing exercises. These applications provide practical, risk-free decision-making opportunities, enhancing engagement and experiential learning.
Educators using commercially available games can benefit from adapting these games for educational purposes. By integrating parts of a game or modifying it to suit specific content and skill levels, educators can offer personalized learning experiences. This adaptive approach structures interaction and engagement, promoting a sense of earned accomplishment.
Games inherently promote the development of essential skills through play. Players hone skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, collaboration, tactical thinking, and strategic planning. These competencies are vital for overcoming in-game challenges and are transferable to real-world contexts.
Games-based learning excels in knowledge retention and application. The immersive nature of games ensures that knowledge is not merely transferred didactically but created experientially. This experiential learning is reinforced through gameplay and various game contexts, leading to a deeper understanding and retention of knowledge.
Incorporating the player journey into games-based learning enriches the educational experience, making it interactive and engaging. By focusing on empathy, adaptive design, skill development, and experiential learning, educators can create meaningful and impactful learning experiences for all learners.
In this episode, we delved into the player’s journey, exploring its significance for both gamers and learners. We defined the player’s journey and discussed its importance in the context of learning and play.
We examined how individual motivation plays a role in the player’s experience and the impact of setting and achieving goals. These goals and objectives provide a feedback loop, helping individuals progress through the player journey and are often influenced by social aspects of both play and learning.
We explored the different phases of the player journey, including the Discovery Phase, where individuals are introduced to new content, and the Onboarding Phase, where they learn basic competencies and mechanics. We then moved into the Scaffolding Phase, where learners build advanced competencies before entering the Play Phase, where they exercise agency and autonomy according to their motivations.
As the play phase concludes, individuals transition into the Endgame Phase, where they face challenges and summative assessments. This phase leads to the Post-Game Phase, which involves debriefing and reflection with oneself, peers, and instructors for maximum learning and development gains.
I hope you found this episode useful. If you’d like to learn more, then a great place to start is with my free course on gamification. You can sign up for it at www.universityxp.com/gamificationYou can also get a full transcript of this episode including links to references in the description or show notes. Thanks for joining me!
Again, I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games. If you liked this episode please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing.
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Dave Eng, EdD
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Cite this Episode
Eng, D. (2024, November 17). What is the Player Journey? Retrieved MONTH DATE, YEAR, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2024/3/5/what-is-the-player-journey