PRP! Artefact 3 - Rewards Research

From the few results i have collected from my reinforcement banner Q&A sheets, people have said that people would have continued to use the banner more if they had recieved some kind of reward. By coincidence a reward system was also an addictive trait identified within the written document. Therefore as I am linking the banners to gaming addiction traits i have decided to do some preparatory research into gaming rewards.

I came across a blog 'Casual Game Design - Designing games everyone can enjoy' which outlines the basics of the reward system. They include:

Rewards

• A reward is something you receive and feel positive about.
  
• What is or is not a reward is completely subjective.
  
• Only the one who receives the something can determine whether it’s a reward or not.
  
• Therefore you can only make an educated guess as to what may be percieved as a reward.
  
• There is a notion that a reward must be earned. action = reaction = reward. This is not always the case as in games, rewards are often gained at random time intervals with no action required to keep the users attention.
  

Types of reward (some not all!(according to the blog))

• Resource rewards: Resources can be anything: money, food, soldiers, weapons.
  
• Skill rewards: Some games have explicit systems for letting the player improve eg. strength, stamina and speed. Skill rewards give the player a feeling of improvement.
  
• Extension rewards: If a game can end because the player runs out of health or time, then there is room for extension rewards. Extending the time the player can spend on the current game.
  
• Visceral rewards: Graphics, music and sound, when well done, can be very rewarding to the player. A visceral reward doesn’t offer the player anything in terms of the gameplay, but it does enhance the experience.
  
• Accomplishment rewards: When a player accomplishes something in the game that can be a reward by itself: beating an opponent. Accomplishment rewards are tricky, because everyone feels differently about them.
  
• Motivational rewards: The points a player receives during a game usually have no effect on the gameplay whatsoever, but they do help to motivate the player, to encourage her to score more points. An encouraging word from an in-game character might also do the trick.

Reward intensifiers

• There are the various methods you can use to increase the effectiveness of your rewards. I call these methods reward intensifiers. They don’t add new rewards to the game, but they do make the rewards you receive more effective.
  
• Increased benefits: A simple way to intensify a reward is to increase the benefits the player receives from the reward. Increased benefits have only limited effectiveness; there is a point beyond which the player just won’t feel more positive for receiving more benefits.
  
• Anticipation: If all the characters a player meets during thier quest keep talking about that beautiful Magic Gemstone, then it’s likely they'll want to find that much sought after item. Anticipation can also come from outside the game, for example, when all your friends keep talking about that cool cut scene that’s coming up after you beat the Big Annoying Boss.
  
• Accomplishment. Accomplishment can be a reward in itself, but it can also serve to intensify other rewards.
  
• Prize. If you offer a reward as a prize, then that implies that the player has earned the reward. Prizes and accomplishments complement each other nicely. The player already feels rewarded because of her accomplishment and by offering her another reward, making that reward the prize, they'll surely be left with a positive feeling.

From this I can take the rewards suggested and test them among subjects to determine which is the most popular and keeps their attention the longest.