Gamification Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity

There’s a well-known video from years ago, usually posted with a caption along the lines of “See if you can find the hidden ghost in this commercial!” The video shows a car winding through a beautiful countryside. Peaceful music plays as the camera pans to follow the car. And as you’re intently looking for something that isn’t there, a grotesque-looking ghoul pops into the shot with a loud shriek. The ad is a simple example of how curiosity and unpredictability (Core Drive 7) can create engagement.

Easy Doesn’t Mean Engaging

Core Drive 7 is all about the unknown. Create a mystery, and you spark curiosity. Create surprise elements, and people will constantly be on the edge of their seats in anticipation. It’s why mysteries and thrillers are so engaging. It’s why sporting events can be so thrilling. It’s why opening presents on Christmas or your birthday is exciting.

Without unpredictability, things can get bland and boring. This doesn’t mean that you don’t establish routines in your class, but do look for ways to add unpredictability to your classroom. It could easily be something as simple as having a variety of activities at hand, where students may know what they’re doing in your class, but they could be curious as to how they will go about it.

The fear of the unknown is something we can harness to create anticipation in class. As Yukai Chou explains, “we are more engaged in an experience when there is the possibility of winning than when we know our odds for certain.”¹ Certainty can sometimes have a detrimental effect on motivation.

I’ve often heard teachers, myself included, venting about a participation grade activity meant to boost grades that ends up hurting grades because students that needed a boost simply didn’t do it. It’s frustrating, but I think this core drive explains why. There’s no challenge, no risk, no uncertainty connected to the activity, and therefore no engagement and no excitement. At least, it’s one factor.

“It is productive to ask yourself, ‘Is there any way to add a little bit of randomness and chance to the process?'”¹

Yukai Chou

So what do we do? We have to balance the razor’s edge of creating risks and randomness while maintaining grade security (since that is the primary concern of so many). By finding this balance, we can up the engagement in class. As Chou explains, “With the right risk/reward incentive, the game suddenly becomes so much fun!”¹

Game Design Techniques

When designing elements of Core Drive 7, consider ways that you can add some unpredictability and randomness in your class to create curiosity.

Technique	Description	Technique	Description
Boss Fights	Putting skill to the test	Mystery Boxes/Random Rewards	Instead of giving users Fixed-Actions Rewards where the steps to obtain them are known, build unpredictability by altering the context of how the reward is given by the nature of the reward itself. The user receives a random reward by completing a required action.
Anticipation Parade	The sensation reward of getting closer to a Win-State	Refreshing Content	Regularly updating content to keep the experience new and engaging. This prevents user boredom and encourages continuous engagement.
Beginner’s Luck	Focused on the Calling part, people feel like they are one of the few chosen to take action, increasing the chance that they will take it. Randomly earning some major prize can keep someone going.	Lottery/Rolling Rewards	Somebody has to win during each period. Keeps users going.
Humanity Hero	Incorporate a world mission into the context.	Obvious Wonder	Presenting intriguing and visually striking elements that naturally draw users’ curiosity and encourage exploration.
Easter Eggs/Sudden Rewards	Surprises that are given our without the user acknowledging it beforehand. Rewards based on unexpected triggers.	Spinning Wheel	A randomized reward mechanism that users can spin to receive a prize. This adds an element of chance and excitement to the experience.

What can look like in the classroom?

When adding Core Drive 7 elements to your classroom, think of ways you can add some unpredictable randomness to what you’re already doing. Here are a few ideas I’ve found.

• You can create some Obvious Wonder by upping your visual game in class. It does take some more time, but creating engaging visuals can go a long way.
• I use a Spinning Wheel in class for random rewards. I have stickers, candy, and random trinkets. Students spin to discover which prize they get. It adds a little random fun to class.
• Create randomness in questions by having students choose random questions rather than having a standard list.
• Add some curiosity to class by blurring out or pixelating images. Add some scribbles or black out words to notes and reveal them as you continue forward.
• Using narratives (Core Drive 1) can be a good way of generating some curiosity in class.

These are some ideas I’ve been able to come up with. What about you? What ideas sparked to life? Please share in the comments section.

1. Chou, Yu-kai. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Packt Publishing, 2019. ↩︎
2. Chou, Yu-kai. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Packt Publishing, 2019. ↩︎
3. Chou, Yu-kai. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Packt Publishing, 2019. ↩︎