Play: A Framework for Design, Development, and Gamification

Abstract

This article presents a model of play to distinguish the ethos of activities as part of a continuum between play, games, work, and threat. The key to determining the ethos of an activity is the discourse of the activity, and how an activity is communicated as a message (process & content of communication), the mood of the communication (how it should be interpreted), and consequence (what is at stake). These three discourse categories can be binaries, and presented as a spectrum based upon: coherence and ambiguity. The proposed model suggests that play can be measured across three axes presented as binaries based upon the degree of coherence and ambiguity. This model frames a method for distinguishing and designing for play in any medium.