The role of gamification in fitness apps for users not interested in fitness

The Role of Gamification in Fitness Apps for

Users not Interested in Fitness

Tim Tempelaars

11317965

Master Information Studies

Game studies

Faculty of Science

University of Amsterdam

29-11-2017

Supervisor:

Dr. Teresa de la Hera

Second reader:

Dr. Frank Nack

The Role of Gamification in Fitness Apps for

Users not Interested in Fitness

Tim Tempelaars University of Amsterdam Graduate School of Informatics

Science Park 904, Amsterdam

1. ABSTRACT

During the past few years, gamification has been used to design non-game contexts in such a way to become more attractive to use. In the field of physical activity and specifically fitness, many apps have been developed to increase motivation. In order to research the role of gamification in the motivation of the users who use these kinds of apps, this exploratory study was proposed. Limited research is done on the role of gamification in fitness apps qualitatively, and mostly on a higher level. Therefore, this study uses the Octalysis Framework (Chou, 2015), which divides gamification into eight motivational core drives. This framework was used in order to find out what aspects of gamification play a role in the engagement and motivation of users not interested in fitness, by covering many game elements, on the level of motivation. Two fitness apps (Nike+ Training Club (NTC) and Fitness&Bodybuilding (F&B)) were analysed with the use of a textual analysis to get an indication of the game elements and then a diary study was carried out amongst eight participants who indicated they did not have interest in fitness. The participants were divided into two groups of four to use one of the apps and keep a diary for the duration of a week. After these diary studies, two focus groups were conducted to discuss the results with the users. The results from the textual analysis indicated that the NTC app had more gamification elements implemented compared to the F&B app, based on the Octalysis Framework. Although the results from the diary studies and focus groups showed some similarities with the textual analysis, both groups generally indicated their motivation did not increase after using the application. This could be a result of the small sample of both groups. Besides, the social aspects in the NTC app are dominating compared to other elements, while the participants indicated they generally would not be interested in these kinds of elements. Future research is recommended to discover more about the role of gamification in fitness apps.

2. INTRODUCTION

Since a few years, the term gamification has come up as a means to design non-game contexts in such a way to become more engaging to use. The appliance varies from business to social media and from education to physical activity. The latter, physical activity, is essential to live a healthy life. Empirical findings suggest, among other things, that physical activity furthers longevity, improves general health status, and contributes to prevention of certain chronic diseases (Warburton et al, 2006). Fitness is a common sport for people who want to start exercising. Moreover, many apps are available regarding this specific field of physical activity. This study, therefore, focuses on the role of gamification in fitness applications using a exploratory research design.

2.1 Academic and social relevance of

the thesis

Regular exercise is essential in order to live a healthy life. However, in the Netherlands, only 55%, of which 52% from 18-34 years old, (RIVM, 2016) of the population exercises sufficiently. Taking these numbers into account, it seems beneficial to stimulate those who do not exercise sufficiently in order to improve their well-being. Because of the rapid increase of smart-phone usage within the past decade, the use of apps that stimulate physical behaviour has increased accordingly. These kinds of technologies might intensify the engagement to interventions to increase levels of physical activity in young people (Direito et al, 2015). Interventions to stimulate behaviour could have a positive effect on health related variables, such as the amount of physical activity (Proper et al, 2006). From a theoretical perspective, gamification ought to improve engagement and appeal of applications and, thus, further the ability of apps to stimulate certain behavior such as physical behavior. Empirical findings as well suggest that gamification is an effective means to improve both engagement and motivation in different fields (Hamari et al, 2014). However, thus far, empirical coverage regarding gamification in

the area of fitness apps is limited. By employing qualitative research methods, this study examines the motivational aspects for users of fitness apps on which gamification elements could be based; in order to yield insights regarding the role gamification plays in engagement and motivation of fitness apps.

2.2 Brief description of state of the

art

As already mentioned, in the field of physical activity apps, in particular fitness apps, research is limited with regard to the role of gamification. An explanation is that few health apps apply gamification (Edwards et al, 2016). Moreover, if gamification is applied, many studies are plainly focused on a selection of game elements, such as rewards, leaderboards, social influence (Hamari & Koivisto, 2015) or the role of GPS (Boulos & Yang, 2013). Furthermore, current research (Chen & Pu, 2014, Payne et al, 2015) has focused mainly on quantitative evaluation of results. Considering qualitative research distinguishes in various ways from quantitative research, this bares consequences for the scientific insights these two distinct methods of empirical inquiry yield. Therefore, qualitative research might foster different insights in what users actually indicate as elements of motivation and, in that way, further knowledge on the role of gamification in these kinds of apps. This study will employ a qualitative approach on a deeper understanding on how users perceive gamified applications, using the Octalysis Framework (Chou, 2015). This framework is designed to analyze and design gamified applications, based on eight motivational core drives. This study will cover Octalysis level I. This will be elaborated in section 3.3.

2.3 Research questions

Research question: How is gamification implemented in fitness apps and what is the role that gamification plays for users not interested in fitness?

Sub-questions:

How could gamification be defined? What makes a fitness app gamified or not? How are fitness apps gamified?

What is the role of gamification in fitness apps based on user experience of users not interested in fitness?

2.4 Brief description of the method

To examine the role of gamification in fitness apps, on two fitness apps for the smartphone, “Nike+ training club” (Nike, Inc., 2017) and

“Fitness & Bodybuilding” (Xsalgold Universal LP, 2017), have been analysed. A textual analysis has been carried out based on the 8 core drives of the Octalysis Framework in this exploratory qualitative study. After these apps were analysed and described carefully, two groups of users both used one of these apps for the duration of a week. They were requested to fill in some questionnaires beforehand and Then, focus groups were conducted in order to find out whether the participants were motivated to use the apps and which elements they think stimulated them to become physically active and to use the application or not. In comparison to the results of the textual analysis, this could foster more insights regarding the role of gamification in fitness apps.

2.5 Chapters overview

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This section describes how gamification could be defined and what definition has been used in this research. Besides, the state of the art of gamification in fitness apps is covered, followed by a description of the Octalysis Framework, which is used for the analysis of the fitness apps.

4. METHODOLOGY

This chapter covers the methods used in this study. This includes a description why a textual analysis of the fitness apps was used, and an explanation for the diary studies and the focus groups. Besides, the procedure of the study is explained in this section.

5. RESULTS

In this section the results of the textual analysis are shown, followed by the results of the diary studies and the discussions from the focus groups.

6. DISCUSSION

In this section the results of the previous chapter are discussed, comparing the results from the textual analysis to the results from the diary study and focus groups. Also, this chapter discusses how these results relate to the research questions.

7. CONCLUSION

In the conclusion, the study is briefly summarized, the insights from the study are shown and the research questions are answered.

8. FUTURE RESEARCH

This section proposes recommendations for future research.

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 Gamification defined

Although gamification could be referred to as: “use of game design elements in non-game context” (Deterding, 2011), this definition is often limited to high-level elements, such as rewarding and social influence. Moreover, this definition leaves much room for interpretation. Gamification could be much broader than these elements, on various levels of abstraction. For this research, the Octalysis Framework (Chou, 2015) was proposed, since it focuses on a broad variety of gamification characteristics, to enable a more extensive analysis in terms of motivation.

3.2 State of the art (Gamification

and Fitness)

In the field of gamification and fitness apps, previous research has been done. In an extensive research (Lister, 2014) gamified apps were compared. This was based on inclusiveness criteria of 10 categories of game elements. The elements varied from self-representation with avatars to narrative context and from feedback to three-dimensional environments. However, this study covered a great amount of apps, which impedes an in-depth comparison or analysis of the role of gamification in the apps itself. Besides, the level of gamification is not based on motivational core-drives, as proposed by the Octalysis Framework later discussed in this chapter, but rather a selection of game-elements that could be more easily recognized from at first sight. The research is mainly focussed on the game elements itself than the type of motivation from the user that drives the engagement to these elements. For example, 4 out of 10 elements (1, 7, 8 and 9) appear to be social elements, which would all be part of one specific core drive (Core drive 5: social influence & relatedness, see section 3.3) of the Octalysis Framework. Therefore, the Octalysis Framework seems to encapsulate a more comprehensive amount of game aspects in total, since it operates on a lower level. In an empirical review (Zuckerman, 2015), two versions of a fitness app were compared in two different field studies. One of both studies investigated a quantified version of the app, in which: walking time, a daily goal and real-time feedback on the progress were continuously measured. The results showed that these features lead to reflection on activity and an increase in walking time. The other study was about a gamified version of the app, which offered virtual rewards and social comparison

and seemed to be only as effective as the quantified version. This study seems to have a definition of gamification on a high level; it focuses on rewards and social comparison. By taking this as a reference point, it could be assumed that the other app does not include gamification. However, a daily goal and real-time feedback could also be considered as gamification, as it will be later argued in this chapter.

This review study (Zuckerman, 2015) also concluded that the context is crucial when talking about the engagement of gamification. Accordingly, the effectiveness in the field of gamification for physical activity remains uncertain. This makes it worthwhile to do more research in the context of fitness applications in combination with gamification. Another study (Yue Wu et al, 2015) researched a model based on the social comparison elements of gamification, such as leaderboards. This study seems to deliver a valuable contribution to the research area of gamification, since it zooms in on the social aspects, which provides an extensive analysis on how social comparison could be applied in fitness applications. However, since it focuses merely on these social aspects, it does not cover all elements of gamification, which therefore could not be used to completely analyze fitness aplications in terms of gamification.

Concluding, limited research has been done on the role of gamification in fitness or physical activity apps. Besides, many studies focus on merely a selection of elements of gamification, like rewards and leaderboards; the more obvious higher-level elements of gamification. Most researches focus on a quantitative approach rather than qualitative. In qualitative research, interviews with the users might give more insight in what actually motivates them compared to a different application and therefore might lead to valuable results. No previous research has been done that focuses on the role of gamification in fitness applications by comparing a gamified and non-gamified application in a qualitative way, on a deeper level of gamification and with the attempt to cover all gamification aspects, such as proposed by the Octalysis Framework. Therefore, this study will compare two apps in the field of fitness (a gamified app and a “less” gamified app). By using a qualitative approach more insights can be derived regarding how people experience the usage of these apps and compared to the textual analysis carried out from the perspective of the Octalysis Framework, these results could be analysed to discover what elements seem to make one

application more engaging or motivating than the other.

3.3. Octalysis Framework

The Octalysis Framework is described in the book: “Actionable Gamification: beyond points, badges & leaderboards” (Chou, 2015). This framework provides an in-depth approach of gamification by relating them to eight motivational core drives. The framework is derived from behavioural theories, such as the Behavior Model (Fogg, 2009). Other insights regarding behavior in this framework came from the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) and Flow Theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1992). The framework also refers to game design related sources, such as The Art of Game Design (Schell, 2008) and Reality is Broken (McGonical, 2011). The framework is built with the intention in order to improve the engagement and motivation around activities and applications that are normally not interesting to use. By implementing game elements in daily activities, these activities are considered to become more challenging and enjoyable, than without this gamification added. As the title describes, this goes further than points, rewards and leaderboards. This approach is different from the earlier mentioned researches that only focus on these higher-level elements. The framework is divided into 8 core drives, which each cover a separate motivation related to a specific area in gamification. Examples of features in each core drive are shown in the model (see figure 1).

The first core drive, core drive 1: Epic Meaning & Calling, describes the higher purpose behind a certain application or activity. If this element exists in a certain application, it could contribute to a motivation for the player since there is a higher goal behind it.

Core drive 2: Development & Accomplishment is about the general experience of development and the user having the feeling of being capable to do something and to work from goal to goal in order to experience achievement.

Core drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback discusses the freedom of the player to express their creativity and enjoy the process, getting in the flow, rather than focussing on the end goal.

Core drive 4: Ownership & Possession encompasses the desire of the player to own something. In games, these could for example be virtual goods such as coins or other rewards. Once the user has invested time into earning these goods, in their perspective it

becomes more valuable.

Core drive 5: Social influence & relatedness includes the social facets of motivation. This motivation could for instance exist out of modelling, in which users admire a certain famous soccer player or a certain authority. Another aspect could be competition, in which the user gets motivated by challenging peers to become best at a certain activity.

Core drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience arises in the aspects where the player becomes motivated to wait or put extra effort in order to achieve or obtain a certain element. For example, if an activity or item could only be unlocked with time, the player needs to be patient in order to be able to unlock this. Scarcity is in the limited availability of certain activities or items. When a certain object in a game is scarce, the players are more likely to want it or to put effort in to it in order to receive it.

Core drive 7: Unpredictability & curiosity covers the motivation that originates from the chance aspects in games. This effect is employed in many games, and appears to be influential, for example looking at card games and gambling machines.

Core drive 8: Loss & Avoidance partly describes the opposite of the third core drive. When the user has put time and effort in a certain application for a while, they want to avoid to lose all progress they made during the usage of the application. An example in which this is applied is Facebook, in which users build their own personal page, including pictures over the years. It has become valuable for the user and therefore the user is less likely to delete their profile. Another aspect of this drive is the avoidance to lose from the game and not being able to manage to survive in a certain difficulty mode, for example.

These core drives will be used to perform a textual analysis (see chapter 4.1.1) on the fitness apps that will be discussed in chapter 5.1. By using this framework to analyse these applications, it is expected that this analysis gives a comprehensive account of the role of gamification in these fitness apps. Furthermore, it is expected to give guidance in comparison between both apps against each other and discuss it in relation to how the apps are evaluated in terms of user experience. Although this model seems to be an effective method to outline the gamification elements of the apps, it is important to take into account that by using the Octalysis Framework is that the less obvious game elements might be missed, which therefore might lead to a misinterpretation of the framework in a certain

application. Besides, this study only covers Octalysis level I, while the framework of Chou (2015) also describes other levels, such as the different phases (level II) and player types (level III).

Figure 1: The 8 motivational core drives of the Octalysis Framework

4. METHODOLOGY

This section addresses the research approach. With the use of the theoretical framework and certain research methods, two fitness apps were examined by conducting a textual analysis and then qualitatively examined by two small groups of users.

4.1 Methods

First, two fitness apps, “Nike+ Training Club” and “Fitness & Bodybuilding”, were analysed in a textual analysis with the use of the Octalysis framework, then a diary study was conducted, followed by a focus group for each app to get more in-depth qualitative results about the experience with the app.

The use of a textual analysis seems to suit to this specific research, since the Octalysis Framework is rather a qualitative interpretation than a quantitative one. This is because when analysing from the angle of the Octalysis Framework, it has a certain amount of subjectivity. The level of gamification is based on how the reader interprets the framework and the implementation in the app. Therefore, a descriptive, textual analysis is useful in order to get insight in the gamification elements of the applications discussed in this study. Carr (2009, p. 3) described textual analysis as it “tries to say no longer from where the text comes (historical criticism), nor even how it is made (structural analysis), but how it is unmade, how it explodes, disseminates – by what coded paths it goes off.” In the case of using the Octalysis Framework to analyse fitness apps, this could be acknowledged, since it is merely an analysis that breaks down

several elements from a certain objective. An advantage of this method is the translation from a form of media different than text into text, which makes it more measurable in comparison to the results from the diary studies and focus groups.

However, it should be taken into account that this approach tends to be subjective which could lead to skipping or misinterpreting certain core drives from the framework, or functionalities from the application. Besides, textual analysis is limited since it solely has textual characteristics, it is descriptive, and therefore does not cover the complete experience, because apps/games are also interactive and therefore about the “enactment as it is played.” (Carr, 2009, p. 2)

Procedure

Eight participants were selected on their lack of, or limited interest in, fitness. They were instructed to install a specific fitness app (one group was instructed to use the NTC app, the other group the Fitness&Bodybuilding app). Besides, the participants were requested to fill in a questionnaire that focussed on general questions related to their actual sport activity and apps usage. This was followed by a diary study with the duration of a week, concluded with two focus groups between the members of each group. All questionnaires and diary studies were offered digitally, using Google Forms (Google, 2017), so the users were able to fill in their diary on the same device as the application. This lowers the threshold for the participants to keep their diary.

During the diary study, the compliance of the participants differed, varying from motivation issues to use the app with limited diary entry as a result, to a lack of understanding of the instructions. During the diary study the users were able to ask questions via the group chats created. With the use of these chats, participants were informed as clearly as possible whenever they indicated any uncertainties. One of the reasons for using a diary study is that the influence of the researcher on the results is decreased, since the participants have control over their input in the diaries; they could decide when to record their behaviour, what aspects they think should be recorded and how much time they take for it (Rapp, 2015). This is also a disadvantage, since the participant is less aware of the research goal and therefore might leave out crucial data in the results.

Another advantage of the method is that it stimulates users to do a self-reflection on the matter and therefore they need to focus on meanings and perceptions that indicate their

personal experience and therefore the results become more personal (Rapp, 2015). This could lead to more valuable qualitative data, but, on the other hand, have influence on the experience of the activities itself and, as a consequence, distort the data. Therefore additional focus groups are organized, to use the diary results in order to make sure certain indefinite answers are clarified by the participants or to get more comprehensive results other than the limited answers in the diaries. Focus groups can be used to create new ideas and support researchers in understanding how people use certain services or products. They are used in order to determine the preferences, attitudes motivations and beliefs of the participants (Brennen, 2012). One of the benefits of using focus groups is, if guided correctly, that the dynamic discussion that could arise between the participants may lead to more valuable qualitative information.

An explanation for the decision to do a qualitative approach for this study is because HCI research is more and more focussed on qualitative research (Rapp, 2015). In qualitative research, a smaller sample is used than in quantitative studies, which impedes generalizations. However, in qualitative research, the data gathered in this type of research is deeper and richer, which allows to get more insight into the subjective experience and be able to answer how and why questions, which makes this approach valid to use for issues such as user experience (Rapp, 2015). By acquiring qualitative data, this could be compared with the results from the textual analysis in order to find out whether the gamification elements influence the engagement and motivation of the users.

4.1.1 Textual analysis

This part of the current research is about the analysis of the fitness apps. The Octalysis Framework has been used as the theoretical framework that serves to structure the textual analysis. All screens from both apps are analysed to see if one or more of the 8 core drives is represented in the features. By doing this, a fundament is created for this research to be able to compare the content of the apps with real user experience of the users.

Then, the participants were asked to download the app, read the instructions and fill in the informed consent (see appendix B). The instructions were focussed on the functionalities of the app and users were requested to do certain specific activities, like creating/choosing a training program and

inviting friends. After they had completed reading these instructions, they received a diary entry successively for six days and the seventh day was focussed on overall user experience during the week, using questions more focussed on the specific features of the apps. After completion of the diary study, the participants were requested to participate in a focus group.

4.1.3 Diaries

A diary study was conducted for a week in order to get longitudinal data from participants. This was done to get extensive results from the participants and to find out what aspects of the app were used, whether they were experienced as useful and at what phase of the test. Mostly closed questions were used in order to get a higher response rate. As an addition to these questions, open questions were used to understand why the participants chose certain answers and get more qualitative valued data. The questions were focussed on the usage of certain features during the test week; whether they used the features and how they experienced these features.

4.1.4 Focus group

By doing a focus group at the end of the diary study, more extensive and qualitative results could be acquired.

A focus group was conducted, in which the questions of day 7 were used as guide line to go through the 8 core drives and the related aspects to these drives in the specific app they used. Based on the answers

4.2 Chosen apps

4.2.1 Nike+ Training Club (NTC)

The NTC app is one of the apps that is analysed with the use of the Octalysis framework. This app has been chosen because it seems to have a high level of unobtrusive gamification. This means that the users might experience a certain level of motivation without noticing the actual techniques behind it. Therefore, it could be less obvious when testing their motivation. Besides, as described in the state of the art section, many researches only focus on easily visible game elements, like rewards and leaderboards. Therefore, it is worthwhile to dive deeper into the less prominent aspects of gamification and find out their role in fitness apps.

4.2.2 Fitness & Bodybuilding (F&B)

In order to find out what role gamification plays in the NTC app in the motivation of the

users, it is compared to an app that seems to have a lot less gamification implemented as a way for motivating the user. It is expected that comparing the experiences of the users and testing this on the level of motivation in terms of gamification will lead to a better insight into the role of gamification in fitness apps.

4.2.3 Target audience

Both apps are not necessarily focussed on a specific target audience. However, looking at the videos, the Fitness & Bodybuilding app tends to focus on male users since all trainings are demonstrated by males, including the images with information about the positions of the muscles. The developer also offers a different application targeted to female users. In this research the focus was on the male version. When looking at the NTC app, it seems to be more focussed on both genders.

4.3. Participants

For the diary study, eight participants were selected. They all indicated that they did not practice fitness regularly or had interest in doing fitness. The participants were between 25 to 30 years old. None of them were students, all employed. From the participants, 5 were male and 3 female. 4 male participants were placed into the NTC app group; the others were placed into the F&B group. The genders were not divided equally for practical reasons. Although they mentioned they were not interested in fitness, participants indicated that they did sport regularly, varying from three to ten hours a week.

5. RESULTS

This section presents the results that derive from the textual analysis and from respectively the diary studies and the focus groups.

5.1. Textual analysis

In this section I discuss the results of the textual analysis of the two apps: Nike+ training club and Fitness & Body building. I used the Octalysis Framework (Chou, 2015) to structure the analysis of the two apps. Using the

Octalysis tool

(http://www.yukaichou.com/octalysis-tool/ ), each of the 8 motivational core drives was used to identify the different types of gamification strategies used in the apps. The Octalysis tool is an online tool developed for the Octalysis Framework to classify and assign a score (from 1 to 10) to certain app features to indicate the role of gamification for each core drive. To

justify the scores, the corresponding features are listed down next to the core drives. Based on a scale from 1 to 10, the intensity of a certain core drive that the app encompasses was determined. I tried to identify these aspects as objectively and careful as possible, although it is worth noting that the score attached to each core drive is not necessarily “fixed”. If a certain score is chosen, it could also be a slightly higher or lower score, but this would not influence the actual interpretation of the core drive or functionality. Besides, the notes placed next to the specific core drives, explain in which app-functionalities these gamification elements exist.

Although many functionalities could be divided into one of each core drives, cored drives could also appear into multiple sections and functionalities could have overlapping core drives at once. In the following sections, the core drives analysed for both apps will be discussed thoroughly.

5.1.1. Nike+ training club (NTC)

Core drive 1: Epic meaning & calling (score 5)

In games, this core drive could be related to the overarching goal in many story-based games. For instance, in “Zelda, Twilight Princess” (see figure 3), one of the overall goals of the player is to save the world from dark influences. The player gets the feeling that he is acting towards a greater good. When looking at real-world situations, Wikipedia illustrates another example. People who contribute to this online encyclopaedia spend their time to improve this database of knowledge without receiving a (monetary) reward for doing it. For the NTC app, this core drive is concerned with improving the physical health and sports skills of the users. Another aspect of this core drive in this application is creates an overarching common goal, by creating a community that let’s people all over the world together strive for the same purpose. The score is however rated averagely, because the underlying goal could be considered a great example of epic meaning & calling, but it does only occur in this specific underlying aspect.

Fi gu re 2 : S cr ee n sh ot of th e re su lts of th e a n aly si s fo r t h e “ N ik e+ T ra in in g Cl u b ”-ap p w ith th e u se of th e O ct aly sis to ol

Figure 3: Fighting against dark beasts in Zelda: The Twilight Princess

Core drive 2: Development & Accomplishment (score 8)

In the Octalysis Framework, the second core drive is about the experience of development and accomplishment a certain player has while playing a game. In many games, this core drive is applied to create a feeling of progression in a game. This is often done with a map of the game world, a score or levelling up to a higher rank. For example, the game Candy Crush has an overview of the progression in the game between the levels of the “actual” game by showing a map of the player to indicate the progression in the game (See figure 4).

Figure 4: Candy crush level overview

In the NTC application, the development and accomplishment aspects could be found mostly in the personal schedule that can be created by the user. When the user selects a certain ready-made training that fits to his or her preferences, the app creates a schedule in which there is the possibility to see the planned activities for the week and check which ones are finished or not (See figure 5).

Figure 5: Snapshot of NTC app; the training schedule overview

When starting a specific training, the app displays instruction videos that show how to do a certain workout. While these videos continue, a voice over gives audial instructions and stimulating feedback. Besides, a timer shows the duration of each activity and the time that is left in total. Moreover, a progress bar gives an indication of how far the user progressed with a certain activity at a certain moment (See figure 6). Furthermore, the user is able to check which activities are completed already and which are left. This feature has similarities with the candy crush example mentioned before.

Figure 6: NTC app snapshots; progression aspects in training videos

Figure 7: NTC app snapshot; filling in activity data at the end of workout.

Then there are the rewarding elements of the application. When a workout or training is finished, the user gets feedback to be rewarded for the behaviour. By giving insight in the progression, and checking of the activities, the user might receive a feeling of accomplishment. Besides, also by filling in the activity data at the end of an activity (See figure 7), the user could indicate the experience he or she had during a certain training or workout, and the training gives feedback based on this data. To have a greater overview of the accomplishments over time, in the “Activity” screen (See figure 8), the user has insight in the rewards they have earned by doing several activities. By checking the “mile stones” the user could see how many minutes he or she has trained while using the application. The user could also look back to the specific results of trainings done in the passed. Besides, the user gets rewarded with “posters” when doing more activities.

Figure 8: Activity overview and all milestones

Core drive 3: Empowerment of creativity & feedback (score 4)

The empowerment of creativity and feedback core drive is the one that covers both intrinsic and white hat gamification. In many games, the player gets room for creativity. This can be found in being able to customize the player character such as the Wii Mii’s (See figure 9). These are modifiable characters so the players can adjust their visual appearance to their preferences. Another example of games that give a lot of room for creativity is Minecraft (See figure 10). In this game you are free to build whatever you prefer in an open world setting. Although there is a lot of space for the player to express their creativity, the freedom always has certain constraints because of the set of rules the game is build of. In Minecraft, for example, in a specific game mode, the player first needs to get the resources in order to build the construction he has in mind.

Figure 9: Example of Nintendo’s Wii Mii’s; in this screen it is possible to modify a character.

Figure 10: In-game impression of Minecraft

When analysing the NTC app, from the first insight there does not seem to be much room for creativity. However, there is a functionality that gives the player the freedom to make a photograph after completing the activity (and share it with friends, see core drive 5). Besides making a picture, it is also possible to add stickers and adjust it in a way so it becomes more interesting for friends to check out, by using one’s creativity. This is a feature that is also possible to use in the game “Super Mario Odyssee”.

Figure 11: Screenshot editor in Super Mario Odyssee

Figure 12: NTC app functionality to take picture and adjust it.

A less obvious example, but one that could be associated with the third core drive as well, is the possibility to add a separate activity that is not planned in the training schedule by the app itself. The user is able to choose from many sports such as soccer or boxing. In this way, the user creates his or her own environment related to sports activities.

Although not as creative as the other features, creating a profile picture is also part of creativity and feedback, since the user can decide what kind of picture this would be. However, this feature probably has a stronger effect in the next core drive: ownership & possession. Since these features are definitely creative aspects, although quite limited in terms of representation in the app, it receives a score of 4.

Core drive 4: Ownership & Possession (score 7)

This core drive, about ownership & possession, is about what aspects could make the user stay committed to the specific app and not leaving it (for another app). The NTC app has the option to choose a training schedule that fits preferences of the user. The user could choose specific settings like the difficulty of the trainings. This is also an aspect of many

games, like shooters, in which there is the possibility to choose difficulty so the content of the game is adjusted to this preference (See figure 13).

Figure 13: NTC app; indicate difficulty

Figure 14: Uncharted (Naughty Dog) difficulty screen

In the NTC app, there is the possibility to add external activities, such as soccer or boxing, next to the trainings that are part of the trainings inside the app (See figure 15). Therefore, the overview becomes more personal than only the activities that are related to the app. By using it over time, the user becomes used to the schedule and it becomes part of the users “property”, which in comparison works for the pictures on someone’s Facebook wall. In games, this effect also appears, when players are trying to complete the game for 100% for example. In order to reach this, they need often need to get trophies or achievements (See figure 16). When they succeed to complete all the challenges linked to these trophies, the players often care about the overview of trophies so they can look back what they reached so far.

Figure 15: NTC; adding external activities

Figure 16: Trophy screen on Sony’s Playstation 3

Another aspect is the specific workouts in the app. Although the player is able to choose his own trainings and the training are universally applicable, the specific trainings are related to this app. Therefore, when the player has learned these workouts, he is probably less likely to choose another fitness app, since he or she got used to the nike+ trainings.

Moreover, in the NTC app there is the possibility to create a profile picture (See figure 17). By making the environment more personal, the application becomes more personal to the user and therefore less easy to leave. Facebook users would think twice when they have a certain reason to delete their account, since it is like a digital photo album with all experiences collected since they have started using it. In games, this is again relatable to characters created. When a player created a name or identity in a game, like in GTA Online (See figure 18), he is not likely to switch accounts, since he built up his identity already. Besides, in the example of Facebook, the network of friends often becomes also very

extensive over time, which is another reason not to just leave the platform.

Figure 17: NTC; add profile picture

Figure 18: GTA Online character creation Core drive 5: Social influence & Relatedness (score 7)

This core drive is about the social aspects of motivation. This could be about the relatedness to someone inspiring (a famous soccer player) or a peer with similar skills. Another aspect of this core drive is about the social influence, which is mostly used in competitive games, with the use of leaderboards for example. In many games there is a multiplayer option, which could be either be cooperative or competitive. Players could do things together or compete against each other by trying to be the highest on the leader board.

Examples of these situations are racing games, in which players compete each other, like in rocket league (See figure 19). In the NTC app, users are able to compete against each other and see their positions in a leaderboard (See figure 20).

Figure 19: snapshot of rocket league

Figure 20: NTC leaderboard

Also (social) games like candy crush or Farmville are depending on the network of the player. They can share objects with each other to be able to continue in the game (see figure 21).

Figure 21: Farmville share gift via social media

In the NTC app, by sharing personal activities via social media (See figure 22), people could be stimulated to do more activities when they received many “likes”.

Figure 22: share activities in NTC

The players could also be inspired by a “model” figure(s). In games, they could admire the main characters because they are heroic, or are a simulation from a real life person. For example, in FIFA (See figure 23), players of the game could be inspired by their favourite soccer team or player and want to be them while playing the game.

The latter is also an aspect of the NTC application. Famous people or sporters show workouts in the app, which could be an inspiration for the users (See figure 24).

Figure 23: Ronaldo in FIFA (EA Games)

Figure 24: relatedness; train like Ronaldo

Games could also be played cooperatively, like Portal 2 (See figure 25). In this type of game mode there can also be a sense of social influence, since the player are depending from each other.

Figure 25: Portal 2

In the NTC app there is a complete community in which people share images of their progress and events are organised to let people join the same challenges (which is an aspect that is also named before in core drive 1). Furthermore, users are able to create their own network and invite their friends to share activities. (figure 26, 27).

Figure 26: NTC; community, train together.

Figure 27: NTC; community (similar hashtag shares)

Core drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience (score 4)

In some mobile games, like Farmville (See figure 28), the player has to wait some time to be able to continue. This is beneficial for the earning model, since the player can become impatient and therefore buy play credits instead of receiving them in change for waiting. Besides, it also helps creating curiosity for the player. Since they have to wait, they want to return later to find out what they received or how many credits they earned in change for their effort of waiting. Moreover, when the crops in Farmville are ready, the player could receive notifications that they need to harvest them in order to receive coins. This is al based on timing, because if the player does not harvest the crops in time, they will not be able to harvest the crops (at least not with the same reward). Therefore, this impatience goes both ways.

Figure 28: wait time in Farmville

In the NTC app, the impatience is in the notifications the user receives. It reminds the user of the activities that are planned and creates curiosity. Besides, the schedule has trainings planned at specific moments. Therefore, the user should try to act according to this schedule. However, the NTC app also adjusts the schedule when it is not executed at the moment as expected.

Core drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity (score 5)

This core drive describes the unpredictable part in games. In many games, there is a random aspect in which the player has no influence or at least is not aware of the outcome. This works for video games, but also board and card games. The dice and the cards, the random events, create the unpredictability. This core drive could work very strong since it is focussed on rewarding.

Although the NTC app covers this core drive slightly, it is not as strong as in games like poker or monopoly, in which the unpredictability and the choices that come along have more impact. The unpredictability and curiosity seem to be in the events and feed

aspects of the app, which deliver new content. Besides, the application adjusts the schedule to the behaviour of the user, which should make the trainings more interesting and challenging for the user. Therefore, the user might become curious about how the system is adjusting the schedule to their behaviour.

Figure 29: “posters” and “club” feature in NTC

Core drive 8: Loss & Avoidance (score 4)

Although there is no specific design element attached to this core drive, in general the app builds up the commitment of the user to the app by building up the friends network, saving the activities and adjusting the schedule according to the activity the user does.

4.1.2. Fitness & Body building (F&B)

Core drive 1: Epic meaning & calling (score 3)

Just like the NTC app, the epic meaning & calling core drive exists in the striving of the users towards a healthier lifestyle. However, the score is slightly lower than in the case of the NTC app, because the F&B app does not build a community in the application to increase the strength of this core drive.

Core drive 2: Development & accomplishment (score 4)

In the app, the user could experience some development and accomplishment in the “exercises” section (see figure 31), in which the progression of the user is indicated in the amount of workouts done in total for each category. Besides, the user is able to see an overview of what workouts are about to come. Therefore, it can be said that there appears to be a certain level of core drive 2 in the application. However, this level is limited, since the progression of the activities is not clearly shown in a way that the user is able to have insight in progression over time or for a

specific period. Besides, during the activities itself, there is no indicator of the progression of a training itself.

Figure 31: “exercises” section

Core drive 3: Empowerment of creativity & feedback (score 3)

In the F&B app, there is the ability to create a personal training, so the user could decide what kind of workouts he or she would like to do. This freedom gives room for a certain amount of creativity, which could be referred to core drive 3. Although there is some freedom for creativity in this feature, overall the third core drive is poorly represented so it receives a low score of 3.

Figure 32: overview of the workouts in the “exercises” section

Figure 33: “custom” (adjust training) Core drive 4: Ownership & Possession (score 3)

While using the F&B app, core drive 4 appears in the “history” function and the feature were the user is able to make their own training. In the history function, the user is able to see activities done in the past if the activity data was filled in (See figure 35). With the ‘custom’ feature (see figure 34), the user is able to create their own training. If the features are used, they build up to a situation were the user “owns” certain trainings and might be proud of the results that could be viewed in the history overview. Therefore, the user will be less likely to leave the app, since core drive 4: ownership and possession has arisen.

Figure 35: check history

Core drive 5: Social influence & Relatedness (score 1)

Core drive 5 is almost not represented in the F&B app. There is one function to share the application via social media, although these are

not specific sharing features of the app, but merely about asking others to download the application. Therefore, there is no specific feature that offers to share activities or do activities together with friends from the community.

When looking at relatedness, there is almost no role model in the app that would motivate users to continue sporting. Only for some users, the man with the muscled body in the icon and background could be a model for the users who would are using the app to build to having the same body as this man. Besides, the app is obviously focussed on men, which could exclude female users.

Figure 36: share application

Core drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience (score 2)

The notifications in the application remind the user to use the application as much as possible. Although the user is able to choose the moment and amount of reminders via notifications, the standard setting it to remind the users each day to sport, not specified to the training schedule the user has chosen.

Core drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity (score 1)

Core drive 7 is about the unpredictability and curiosity aspects. In the F&B app, this aspect is poorly represented. Since there are no unpredictable rewards aspects, this core drive could solely be found in the offer of new trainings, which are limited in the regular version. The user needs to buy (with actual money) new trainings in order to receive new content, so it could not be unlocked by doing certain activities.

Figure 30: Screenshot of the results of the analysis for the “fitness and body building”-app with the use of the octalysis tool

Figure 37: buy training programs Core drive 8: Loss & Avoidance (score 2)

Just like in core drive 4, the user could have the feeling of building up his own training database. However, there is no additional aspect in the app that increases this feeling, which could therefore lead more easily to the situation that the user leaves the app.

Figure 38: History and adjust training

5.1.3. Comparison and Conclusions

When comparing both analyses with the use of the Octalysis Framework (See figure 2 and 30 for an impression of both analyses, table 1 for the comparison of the scores), a great difference can be noticed between the Octalysis score that is attached to these apps, namely ~275 for the Nike+ Training club app and ~53 for the Fitness & Bodybuilding app.

Table 1: Octalysis scores compared

Core drive Nike+ training club Fitness & body building Difference 1: Meaning 5 3 2 2: Accomplishment 8 4 4 3: Empowerment 4 3 1 4: Ownership 7 3 4 5: Social influence 8 1 7 6: Scarcity 4 2 2 7: Unpredictability 5 1 4 8: Avoidance 4 2 4 Since this is a qualitative analysis about the user experience (in terms of gamification) and it is impossible to express the level of gamification in numbers, conclusions should not come from this data only.

However, it gives a clear impression of the difference between the gamified aspects of both apps. Namely, this table clearly shows that the majority of the core drives is more representative in the NTC app than in the F&B app. This is especially the case for core drives 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8.

Core drive 2: Development & Accomplishment clearly comes forward in the overview of the training schedules. In the NTC app there is the possibility to see the progress in the app in a visual overview, while F&B only shows how many “practices” have been completed and on which date a certain training was executed. Besides, the NTC app has a reward/achievement section (in the activity screen), while F&B does not.

Core drive 4: Ownership and possession is mostly about the overall in the application, which appears to be stronger in the NTC app compared to F&B. This could be a result of the NTC app saving more of the activity data, both in actual activity data as in rewards. Besides, when the user is involved in the community or created a friends network, this effect would probably even be stronger.

Core drive 5: Social Influence & Relatedness appears to be the strongest core drive represented in NTC in comparison to F&B. These phenomena could be explained by the many features discussed in the section of this core drive. Unlike NTC, F&B has almost no features that stimulate this motivational core drive. The only feature is to share the app via social media, which is not about the contents the app offers, but just sharing the app itself. Core drive 7: This core drive is also much higher represented in NTC than in F&B. This has mostly to do with content in different

sections (community, events, feed, trainings) that is constantly updated. Also the fact that the schedules adjust according to the preferences of the users plays a role in this section.

Core drive 8: The last core drive is more powerful in the NTC than in F&B, because it adjusts to the schedule of the user. This means that the behaviour has consequences for the level of the schedule. Besides, when the user does the workouts as planned, there are less notifications to stimulate the user, while in F&B (if this is not adjusted by the user), the user receives notifications everyday, no matter what he or she planned that day, because the trainings are not part of a schedule.

5.2 Questionnaire beforehand

In the questionnaire that was filled in at the beginning, almost all participants indicated that they usually do not do fitness as a sport. Only P1(F&B) and P2(F&B) indicated that they did fitness related exercises sometimes at the gym.

When asking about their opinion regarding fitness, the majority (only 1 participant indicated she likes to do fitness sometimes, although it is not her favourite activity) indicated they did not like fitness as an activity, because they prefer other sports (for example soccer or running). However, some of the participants acknowledged that it is healthy and they were therefore doing it. Moreover, half of the participants indicated that they were already using some kind of sports app or had used it. The apps that were named are: Nike+ (running), Strava (cycling), Endomondo (fitness), MysSports (TomTom), Runtastic (running).

5.2.1 Diary study

NTC

During the diary study of the NTC app that lasted one week, the participants used the app for three days on average. In the beginning, the usage appeared to be higher than at the end of the week. Although the amount of exercises most of the times corresponds with the exercises done, this is not always the case. As an explanation, users indicated that they did activities outside the app; “I added my own activity”.

According to the diary results, the participants indicated they had some overall feeling of accomplishment or progression. Although these results give an impression of how the app has been used over the week, the sample is too small and the data too limited to draw quantitative conclusions on this data. Besides,

the approach of this study is to rely on qualitative data, therefore the attention is mostly paid to the comments the participants made as an addition to the closed questions during the diary study and the information they gave during the discussions of the focus groups. When looking more closely at the usage of the specific features and the users view on it over the 6 days in total, the option to choose a schedule is indicated as useful. Besides, most of all answers, they indicated that they checked their schedule. This was not the case for the workout section and during the diary study they indicated this feature was not useful. The audial and visual feedback appears to be equally used and found about equally useful. The notifications as reminders were sometimes indicated useful.

In contrast to the other the other elements in the app, the more socially related features were not used regularly and not experienced as useful.

5.2.2 Focus groups

During the focus groups, the participants were asked about their experience on using the app, based on their input in the diary studies. A selection of the answers of the participants from the diary studies is displayed above (table 2). Furthermore, during the focus group they were asked to give their general opinion about the app and to discuss their experience with more specific features of the app. With the use of the diaries, they were also asked why they did not use certain features or decided to not do an exercise at certain moment. The topics of the questions were aimed to the specific functionalities of the app that are indirectly related to the motivational core drives from the Octalysis Framework.

NTC

The main findings based on the focus group with the NTC participants is that overall, they did not have a positive opinion about the app. Firstly, they were asked what their general opinion was about the app after using it for a week. P1 indicated that if you plan to use it specifically for fitness it would be useful. He was used to doing teamsport, which he also added in the schedule as additional workouts. He did not become more interested in fitness by using the app. P3 indicated that the content was not interesting enough: “In my opinion it was too boring to use for daily routine”,

Table 2: selection of answers from questionnaire at the end of the week, day 7. (See appendix A for all answers)

Participant: comment

Topic Fitness &

Bodybuilding

Nike+ Training club Progression P4: “Yes, forced more

often/regularly to do power exercise”

P2: “No, in order to experience progression, I think I need to use it for a longer time.”

P1: “If you really want to train, then this app could help you because you do exercises you would not make up by yourself”

P3: “No, after 1 week you don’t really notice result”

Room for creativity P4: “No, but I prefer to have assignments from others rather than make up by myself”

P2; “Yes, by making your own schedule’s”

P1: “Yes, I think you could get more out of it than I know.”

P3: “Yes, you can add your own workouts, skip a workout or replace one”

Freedom to choose trainings

P1: “No, paying for some programs is demotivating”

P4: “Yes, you could do programs or separate trainings, perfect for the amount of time and intention you have to sport”

P1:”Yes, there are enough possibilities to train”

P3: “Yes, you could choose every schedule you want to do”

Freedom to choose

training moments P2: “Yes, could choose on your own when to do a training”

P3: “Yes, I only had one notification when I did not open it for a day. In general, it was up to me when I trained.”

P1: “Yes, every moment of the day when it suited.”

P3: “Yes, you could start a training every moment of the day.”

Shared activities with friends

P1: “No, I exercise for myself, not for someone else.

P2: “No, I did not realise I could do that”

“No.” P3:” No, in my opinion it is unnecessary”

Feel like sharing P3: “No, I train for myself. I don’t feel the need to share it with friends”

P4: “No, I like Strava en it motivates to continue, because of a competition. But this app does not suit for competition.”

“No” “no, don’t need it”

Notifications motivating P1: “Yes, it helps as a

reminder” P2: “No, normally I have notifications turned off. I think it is nicer to decide myself when I do something.”

P1: “Yes, nice reminder, would have been useful if you could choose your own time for the reminder.”

P3: “Yes, an extra reminder with motivating text”

Activity overview stimulating

P1: “No, because I usually already train regularly for soccer.”

P3: “Yes, an overview of what you have done is nice to see’

Amount of different activities interesting

P3: “No, I prefer to see the same exercises everyday so I could experience

progression.”

P2: “Yes, to learn more things”

P4: “No, I did not see that you could play soccer or swim or something?”

P1: “Yes, I think because of this you are more likely to do a different training.”

“No, a lot of repeating”

Usage in spare time “No, I think it is to limited for that.”

“Yes, especially the functionality in which exercises are explained. Very useful”

“No, only if I feel the need to do something different than my sport”

“It is nice for the variation to do a training. Also the benchmark training is a nice benchmark to check your progression.”

Usage of this specific app in spare time

P4: “Yes, I would be advised by other people I sport with and choose an app with running options, but also strength training. “

P2: ‘Yes, because of the clear explanation of the exercises”

P3: “No, I think the app is too limited and I would want to have more guidance. It is not clear how often and with what weight you need to do an exercise.”

P1: “I think I would check and compare”

“Maybe a mix of this app and “runtastic”