Category: Games & Travel

• Travel is fun.
• Travel is fun?
• It should be.
• Is it always the case?
• Can you enjoy your week in Madrid or your 3 days in Berlin at the fullest?
• Can you discover Italian, Swedish or Russian culture in such a short time?
• No, but you can optimize that time to get the most out of your séjour.

• How?
• Gamification.
• Gamification turns Travel into a Real-Life open world Game.
• How do you create games for your team?

Here’s how:

• Bigger Goals
• Status & Progression
• Teams & Collaboration
• Learning through Interaction
• Rewards & Incentives

Bigger Goals

• It’s the easier part of the Journey.
• The simplest, the earnest.
• What do you want to do?
• Because you can do anything.
• Do you want to learn Spanish?
• Do you want to run around the Taiga?
• Do you want to find the best deals in Instanbul?
• Choose your hurdles, better yourself & win.

• Where : At the Beginning.
• Games : What kind of soup would I be?

• Customization :
  • Define your symbol, your icon, your motto.
  • It doesn’t have to be fancy, a blue square/green triangle/red circle/purple pentagone could do.
• Balance :
  • Your Goal will set the difficulty & interest of each game and location you visit..
• Replayability :
  • Autonomy is Engagement.

Status & Progression

• A global board would be useful to track everyone’s progress.
• This could be unequally perceived by your team mates.
• That’s the occasion to normalize the expectations & the reactions.

• Additionally, each of your Teammates can make their own character sheet.
• Let them track their Progression through a leveling system or a small graphic.
• Team members increase their level/rank/skills through completing games.
• Let them express their Individuality by designing their own character sheet.
  • Through the game ‘If I were a Pizza’ your teammates define their core goal/mission (the Crust), then choose themselves 4 behavior traits & accessories (Topping) for the duration of the game.

• Where : Cafes & Hotels, or anywhere you can sit & write.
• Games : The Final version of myself, Evolution (requires a small insect you’ll keep on yourself), Make your own Sheet, If I were a Pizza.

• Customization :
  • Let everyone make a different character sheet.
  • Impose no unnecessary standards.
• Balance :
  • Everyone should have some sort of advantage over the others in order to justify everyone’s role.
  • Start with an easy game and progressively let them get a taste of difficulty & Uneasiness.
• Replayability :
  • Give them many progression system that they will want to try.
  • For exemple you could give them 1 based on sheer Effort, another on Patience & a last 1 based on Precision or Agility.

Teams & Collaboration

• Team members will be essential to solve problems, complete quests & achieve an objective.
• This will train you to retain, recruit & assign people so that they can play at the top of their game.
• Context & Culture of your team building is the core of the team building experience.

• During a Travels there are 4 main categories of Settings : Shopping districts, Landmarks, Parks & Restaurants.
• Each type of setting will correspond to a different types of Adventurers: The Shopper, The Explorer, The Rester & The Fooder.
• Each team member possessing a keen interest for a specific category of activity will always be able to help the rest of the group if they aren’t too fond of that particular activity.
• These 4 types apply for the Urban travels.

• If you are going through a jungle, a forest, a island, a mountain or even by seas you’ll need other types of adventurer (The survivalist, the trapper, the fisher, the hiker or the sailor).
• Tailor your group to your needs & to your ambitions.

• Where to team-build : Everywhere, especially is parks & wild open spaces.
• Games : A Bet, At the end of the day no one wins, Remember my secret, Find me a Nickname, Find yourself a new name, The Army of Us.

• Customization :
  • If you’ve got some graphic skills draw a small portrait for each team mate.
  • Finding a name/nickname for the travel will make the journey more memorable.
• Balance :
  • When determining each players roles balance Skills & Interests.
  • Each player should choose at least 1 activity.
• Replayability :
  • If you are a group of 4-6 you can make more than 1 team.

Learning through Interaction

• You can assist your team by offering them Hints, Enigmas & Quizzes through the games.
• Your Team will go through 3 types of Interactions (or activity types) in order to grow.

• The Competition is the common game setting.
• There will be winners & losers.
• This is the traditional setting in term of offensive behaviors such as beat, brag, taunt, challenge, & fight.

• The Cooperation is less common, but maybe more desirable as a 1st shot if you wish to develop group cohesion.
• There may be losers, if some players do not follow the rules.
• The whole team may win.
• Cooperation generally requires to unit the whole team against a common threat.
• Another scenario may be a collect-type quest or a scavenger hunt.
• This is the traditional setting in term of collaborative behaviors such as gather, recover, share, assist, gift, encourage, & trade.

• The Exploration is the last type of interaction.
• The most adapted for an adventure type game, a long quest or campaign.
• It could also be adapted to a mystery/investigation setting.
• It’s nice to play this type of game in an outdoor setting as well, such as a hiking trek, a forest trek, or even an underwater environment.
• This is the traditional setting in term of Seeking behaviors such as Unveil, Questions, Discover, Read, Search, Collect, Complete, Decrypt & curate.

• The Expression is a subset of Exploration games.
• It can be construed as a 4th type of interaction.
• It is a type of mental Exploration and can be exercised through a canvas of some sort.
• The most common type of expression is the physical art expression.
• This is the traditional setting in term of Seeking behaviors such as Decide, Customize, Design, & Transform.

• At this stage your players may want to develop their own games.
• Encourage them to do so.
• They will fail to create balanced or replayable games.
• That’s fine.
• Give them the chance to do something different.
• Not better or worse, just different.

• Where to use it : Landmarks & Museums, can apply to any other place with a little history (10 years or so.)
• Games : Ask the owner, order the Specialties, Trap the tour guide, The Irregular’s Itinerary, Draw the place you are In, Travel Journal.

• Customization :
  • If a game is too difficult for now don’t hesitate to delay.
• Balance :
  • Let them struggle, and let them know why.
• Replayability :
  • Don’t drown them with data.
  • Keep some mystery.
  • Let them ask for more.

Rewards & Incentives

• Fuels the user’s motivation and keeps engagement high.
• Experience Points, Medals/Badges are common rewards.
• Other rewards could be a simple treat.
• A dinner to wherever they want.
• Maybe they’ll just want a day of rest because they’ll be fed up with your games.

• You can give your team a sense of protection through your ownership, which in return will entice them to show you more of themselves.
• You can help them achieve Personal victory conditions though experiences tailored for them.
• You can develop a progressive system of rewards adapted to the difficulties encountered.

• The Paroxysm of this system is when the task itself become the reward.
• A Game or an Activity could make you happier than resting.
• In order to achieve this state the Game must make you feel fulfilled.
• Assign only meaningful & rewarding tasks during your Games.

• Where : Anywhere they are pleased to play.
• Games : Blissful Productivity.

• Customization :
  • Adapt the reward/incentive to your team’s needs & wants.
• Balance :
  • Don’t make the game punishing.
• Replayability :
  • Make the gaming experience rewarding on its own right.