Pure Gamification: An Energy Case

Laura van der Neut, Ton Spil, Robby van Delden

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
357 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Dutch energy suppliers are obliged to cooperate in reducing consumption by stimulating energy saving behaviours among their customers. One important strategy for this context is personalized gamification. We investigate how a personalized gamified energy saving application can be designed based on individual preferences within the context of an energy supplier. To design a personalized gamification application the proposed method of Knutas et al. was adapted by leaving out the parts about machine learning and adding an evaluation phase. We show that customization by users can be a valuable alternative for using machine learning personalization strategies. We used this iterative design process to focus on personalizing, in this use case for the three main user types of the customer base of a Dutch energy supplier. The design of the gamified application was adapted using feedback of both stakeholders and customers using interviews and focus groups. This resulted in two final designs designed to stimulate energy saving behaviour among customers. The design had a dashboard which allowed for personalization within gamified elements, and an energy editor in which users can change characteristics in their households to learn about the effects of actions on their energy consumption. These two final designs were validated using an interactive prototype along with interviews. The added value of this study is that it shows that the Hexad framework with its proposed gamification user types is suitable to understand the main motivations of a target group. Results suggest that designing within gamified mechanics based on a user type's main motivation is an effective strategy for personalization. Motivation-based design is not the only successful personalization design strategy but adapting designs to personal situation and existing energy saving behaviour might also motivate users.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 16th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2022
EditorsConceicao Costa
Place of PublicationReading, UK
PublisherAcademic Conferences International (ACI)
Pages784-792
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-914587-52-8
ISBN (Print)978-1-914587-51-1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event16th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2022 - Lisbon, Portugal
Duration: 6 Oct 20227 Oct 2022
Conference number: 16

Publication series

NameProceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning
PublisherAcademic Conferences International Ltd.
Number1
Volume16
ISSN (Print)2049-0992
ISSN (Electronic)2049-100X

Conference

Conference16th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2022
Abbreviated titleECGBL 2022
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisbon
Period6/10/227/10/22

Keywords

  • Energy
  • Game based learning
  • Gamification
  • Personalization
  • Sustainability

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