In-Browser Implementation of a Gamification Rule Definition Language Interpreter

Abstract

One of the practical obstacles limiting the use of cloud-based gamification applications is the lack of an Internet connection of adequate quality. In this paper, we describe a practical solution to this problem by the implementation of client-side gamification rule processing so that most events generated by players can be processed without the need to involve server-side functions; therefore, only a handful of data have to be transmitted to the server for global state synchronization, and only when an Internet connection is available. For this purpose, we adopt a simple textual gamification rule definition format, implement the rule parser and event processor, and evaluate the solution in terms of performance in experimental conditions. The obtained results are optimistic, showing that the developed solution can easily handle rule sets and event streams of realistic sizes. The solution is planned to be integrated into the next version of the FGPE gamified programming education platform.