Alessandra Antonaci

Since its origins (2011) ‘Gamification’ has gained popularity as a very engaging, mo-
tivating technique, in both academic and corporate fields. Despite this assumption,
there is a general need of understanding when and under which conditions gami-
fication works as an engaging and motivational boost for users. More specifically,
there are still some confusions in relation to the empirical effects of gamification
on short and long term. As a consequence, in both academic and corporate fields,
there is a need for more rigorous studies focusing, on the one hand, on the impact
of gamification, and on the other hand, on its design and implementation. As far
as the gamification design is concerned, it relies on several disciplines such as psy-
chology, learning science and design, game design, user experience (UX) design,
human-computer-interaction (HCI) and technology-enhanced learning (TEL) (when
the intervention implies the use of technology). Furthermore, its design and there-
fore implementation are strictly related to the context of application and its target
audience. This dependency from the context makes generalisations difficult.
This thesis contributes to the field of gamification by providing the gamification
design process (GaDeP) which is context-independent and consists of six consecutive
phases: 1) analysis of the application scenario; 2) problem definition; 3) theoretical
framework; 4) game elements selection; 5) game elements design and implementa-
tion; 6) evaluation. In addition, this thesis addresses, through GaDeP, the current
lack of designing and evaluating gamification by offering a methodology that can be
applied in the specific case of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), like in this
thesis, as well as in a broader range of fields. The main objectives addressed and
presented in this thesis are (1) validate the applicability of GaDeP to MOOCs; (2)
implement a new way of designing game elements, without relying only on external
rewards; and (3) bring a more objective way of testing the effects of a gamification
design to the field.
The thesis approaches these objectives in four distinctive but interrelated parts. Part
I introduces the gamification design process in general, and the conceptual design
on how to apply it to MOOCs, in particular. Furthermore, Part I specifically addresses
the first objective, validate the applicability of GaDeP to MOOCs, which is however
to be considered the fil rouge of the whole thesis, as all GaDeP parts outline the
thesis itself. Part II and part III address the second objective, i.e. implementing
a new way of designing game elements. Based on the results of the systematic
literature study and the need to move towards a more meaningful gamification
(Part II), Part III presents the game elements suitable for the gamification design,
the methodologies applied to find them, and connects the target problems with the
theoretical framework and the game elements identified. As a consequence, the

Alessandra Antonaci inhoud tabs v3.indd 208 2-9-2019 11:47:

Since its origins (2011) ‘Gamification’ has gained popularity as a very engaging, mo-
tivating technique, in both academic and corporate fields. Despite this assumption,
there is a general need of understanding when and under which conditions gami-
fication works as an engaging and motivational boost for users. More specifically,
there are still some confusions in relation to the empirical effects of gamification
on short and long term. As a consequence, in both academic and corporate fields,
there is a need for more rigorous studies focusing, on the one hand, on the impact
of gamification, and on the other hand, on its design and implementation. As far
as the gamification design is concerned, it relies on several disciplines such as psy-
chology, learning science and design, game design, user experience (UX) design,
human-computer-interaction (HCI) and technology-enhanced learning (TEL) (when
the intervention implies the use of technology). Furthermore, its design and there-
fore implementation are strictly related to the context of application and its target
audience. This dependency from the context makes generalisations difficult.
This thesis contributes to the field of gamification by providing the gamification
design process (GaDeP) which is context-independent and consists of six consecutive
phases: 1) analysis of the application scenario; 2) problem definition; 3) theoretical
framework; 4) game elements selection; 5) game elements design and implementa-
tion; 6) evaluation. In addition, this thesis addresses, through GaDeP, the current
lack of designing and evaluating gamification by offering a methodology that can be
applied in the specific case of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), like in this
thesis, as well as in a broader range of fields. The main objectives addressed and
presented in this thesis are (1) validate the applicability of GaDeP to MOOCs; (2)
implement a new way of designing game elements, without relying only on external
rewards; and (3) bring a more objective way of testing the effects of a gamification
design to the field.
The thesis approaches these objectives in four distinctive but interrelated parts. Part
I introduces the gamification design process in general, and the conceptual design
on how to apply it to MOOCs, in particular. Furthermore, Part I specifically addresses
the first objective, validate the applicability of GaDeP to MOOCs, which is however
to be considered the fil rouge of the whole thesis, as all GaDeP parts outline the
thesis itself. Part II and part III address the second objective, i.e. implementing Summary
a new way of designing game elements. Based on the results of the systematic