You chose the Red Pill!
You gained: a free sample of gamification. Merry Christmas!
Part 1 of 2
My brother is a big fan of the Zelda video games, which include puzzles, chests, finding keys and hidden characters.
He’s getting married on 4/27 (April, 27th, 2024).
So I decided to gamify his Christmas gifts.
First clue will be the code to a case (or Treasure Chest!). The code is his wedding date.
Inside he’ll find a key to my mom’s, where we spend Christmas, and my phone.
For comparison, here is the inspiration for this first little trick.
My phone will be linked to AirTags that will display the location of everyone’s gifts at my mom’s. It’s an imitation of a "treasure detector", notably present in the latest Zelda game.
So Christmas Treasure Hunt it is.
Part 2 of 2
This second video is a plush toy of one of the hidden characters in that Zelda game. All the sounds are from the Zelda game. The character holds his present (stuff related to the game).
Again, for comparison, the inspiration for this second neat little trick.
Cost: the gifts, and the two recorder cards (€14 each). Everything else is recycled stuff from home.
No points, no badges, no leaderboards, no fancy technology I need to buy in addition to what I already own. What matters: finding your audience's motivation and likes and dislikes.
In this case:
Likes: The Zelda universe.
Motivation: solving puzzles and mysteries. That's what Zelda Games make you do, that's what I made him do with the code and the (unseen) AirTag Treasure Hunt.
Bonus information
The motivators in play here are unpredictability (mainly) and ownership & accomplishment to a lesser degree. To get the best out of this article, learn about the Octalysis gamification framework.
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