Epic Win! What Librarians Can Learn

from Gamers

(National Institute of MentalHealth, n.d.)

(Cognitive Therapy, 2004)

Depression is merely

brain chemistry.

(Danforth & Dehm, 2010)

(McGonigal, 2012)

(McGonigal, 2011)

Happiness is also merely

brain chemistry.

• Endorphins

• Opioids

• Dopamine

• Oxytocin

• Serotonin

• Endocannabinoids

• Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid

• Adrenaline

(Breuning, 2011; Dell, 2005)

Focus on happiness,

rather than depression.

Games make us happy.

Four elements common to all games:

• A goal

• Rules

• Feedback

• Voluntary participation

Games provide us with

unnecessary obstacles

that we choose to overcome.

Games provide us with

unnecessary obstacles

that we choose to overcome.

Games provide us with

unnecessary obstacles

that we choose to overcome.

Intrinsic vs.

extrinsic reward

(McGonigal, 2011)

Gamifying the

Library Experience

Gamifying the

Library Experience• For Librarians

Play Games!

Once upon a parsec, there lived a

Pixie. Her name was Dulcinea.

She was the shiniest Library worker

in the all the ‘verse. One day, while

jump-roping through the Labyrinth,

She met Darmok and Jilahd.

It was awkward. The end.

Gamify your stats!

Gamifying the

Library Experience• For Patrons

Scavenger Hunts

QR code scavenger hunt generator from

Classtools.net

QR code scavenger hunt generator from

Classtools.net

QR code scavenger hunt generator from

Classtools.net

(Classtools.net, n.d.)

Port Angeles Library / Albertsons

scavenger hunt

(North Olympic Library System, n.d.)

“I think it’s an interesting, cool idea, and I like the link between a

grocery store and early literacy… I think in general,

the more present libraries can be in people’s everyday life

(like the grocery store), even if it’s just a sign advertising the

program is also a good thing, and might have long-term dividends

in terms of getting the library ‘out there’. ”

(Knight, J., personal conversation, July 18th, 2004)

Alternate Reality Games

Humans vs Zombies!

BookwormErwin MagbanuaProgramming and Special Events Librarian

San Diego Public Library

Aaron VanekExecutive Director

Seekers Unlimited

“It was kind of unusual, because this fake character was

starting to develop relationships with the players. Nothing

serious, but I started to know a little about their lives, how

busy they were, where they worked … roughly what age

they were, etc. That couldn’t have happened if I scripted

everything ahead of time and let the software handle it.”

(A. Vanek, personal communication, August 7th, 2014)

(Vanek & Magbanua, 2014)

(Vanek & Magbanua, 2014; Ayersman, 2014)

“We had around 50 participants, but I believe such a thing is more

than just patron counts. When our library commission, Friends

group, foundation and others heard about the ARG the response

was one of pleasant surprise and excitement because of its

innovation and the possibility of bringing in people wouldn’t

normally come to the library. I can tell you that many people

started seeing the library in a whole different way…”

“… What other library programs have this kind of outcome?

In that sense, they are ‘converts’ to the idea that the library

is not a passive setting where they come to simply consume

information, but participants in how we provide programming

and content.”

(E. Magbanua, personal communication, August 7th, 2014)

The Epic Win

Epic Win:

• An unexpected victory from an underdog

• Something fantastic that has worked out unbelievably well

• The greatest possible way for man to succeed at anything

(from The Urban Dictionary, as cited in McGonigal, 2011)

Characteristics of Epic Wins:

• Discovering abilities we didn’t know we had

• Upsetting other people’s expectations of what’s possible

• Inventing new positive outcomes we hadn’t even imagined before

(McGonigal, 2011)

Examples

(Lorimer, 1931)

(LaRue, 2013)

Dave’s Vision for the

Future:

More Epic Wins!

Create Opportunities

to Achieve Epic Wins.

Embrace the concept!

Train!

Go on adventures!

Be excellent!

Continue to

Gamify the Library

Experience.

Create a persistent, extensible

game world.

^ Broken Bat

< Grand Prix Racing Online

Allow users to create

characters.

(McGonigal, 2012)

Blackout Rugby

Give them games to play

(adventures / quests / missions)

(Maricopa County Library District, 2014)

Encourage user-generated content.

^ HabitRPG

< SocialWorkout

Make Epic Wins

your goal.

Create circumstances

under which Epic Wins

can happen.

Make them happen!

They don’t happen on

their own.

Celebrate them!