http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html
These items are based on the article linked above.
(You may want to read it first/at the same time, but it's not
necessary.)
5. lo tanxe be fi'a la .skinr.
Pulling the most basic ideas out of our arses, we can use a modified
spaced-repetition system to learn vocabulary words (I like how SmartFM
does it. Flash cards for the gismu and one for each place as well as
the reverse, plus a multiple-choice and a fill-in-the-blank.), but we
give experience points on a curve (much like the standard MMO levels
are fast at first, and take proportionately longer as one continues).
What happens when we hit that lull about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way to the
level-cap?
4. lo pacman xu
Some kind of unrelated thing! A side effect of killing monsters in an
MMO is getting items/money which can be cashed in for better items,
which makes killing that next tier of monsters a bit easier. When
you're not grinding and levelling, you're focusing on getting that
newest suit of armour, that cool new sword, that spell scroll, and so
on. However, that stuff comes easily with levelling, so you get
collectibles. Cards are a great example for this. Employing this in
the idea for Lojban, we can reward skins, collectible cards, avatar
decorations, or anything else applicable. Once the player is done
levelling, there's still another activity they have to do to earn
those other items. Maybe once they're done with vocab exercises, the
players can hop on IRC and earn credits for every line of Lojban they
use (this is obviously not a perfect idea, but you see what I mean).
So for every 50-100 lines of Lojban, they can earn X credits (perhaps
modified by their level), which go towards a collectible item.
3. lo dirgo be lo cizda'u
Every X number of successes earns the player a chance to do activity Y
which has a random chance of producing desired effect Z. Perhaps after
every 10 new words in SRS the player gets a chance to pull a slot
machine lever to get a bonus Z. This could be coins (as mentioned in
previous), mini-games (which also somehow teach lojban), or any other
kind of reward. Using this kind of system all over means that the
users will press that button thousands and thousands of times because
they don't know just when that next pellet will come out. Again, start
it on a curve, like...
2. lo rapybatke
...easing them into playing. Start off with fast levels, (small)
rewards more often, get them hooked. Yes, this is what drug peddlers/
tobacco companies to do get people hooked and get more customers. Why
not do it for good instead of evil? =D
Let's take a hint from both the MMO and casual game markets. Involve
players in small, bite-sized adventures with immediate rewards. Before
they've even started, they're already done! It's like eating potato
chips. It's small, delicious, crunchy, satisfying, but not enough. So
the player eats another one, and another one, and very quickly the
whole bag is gone without the player having noticed.
However, it's not good to fill up on crisps, so we have to include
meal options here. Space the save points out so that if the mission is
abandoned, the player loses all of that progress. One must finish or
lose the progress for the entire mission. It's the all-you-can-eat
scenario. No matter how hungry a person is, ey only has so much room,
but ey must eat enough to warrant the purchase.
So now we have our burger and chips.
Penultimate element is "play it or lose it". In Everquest, one must
return to one's castle or it will decay. In Farmville (facebook game)
one must constantly tend to one's crops or they will wither. In Animal
Crossing, one must play every day or the town will become infested
with weeds and the player's neighbours will feel lonely. The whole
idea is to introduce an element wherein the player's progress will
decay if not advanced, or at least maintained. This is pretty much a
given in Lojban, however, as NOT playing means forgetting Lojban.
Finally, putting in an achievement system (think XBOX, steam, and
similar) gives players a reason to continue long after everything else
is done. Even fluent players would want to unlock the achievements!
"Writer Rank 1" - Player has written at least one short story which
has been recognised by the BPFK. =D
1. norgleki
Autonomy (that is, you have some say in what you do day to day);
Complexity (so it's not mind-numbing repetition);
Connection Between Effort and Reward (i.e. you actually see the
awesome results of your hard work).
These are the three things that a person needs to have a satisfying
job. I bet you don't even have two of them. Video games fill a void
and are designed to fill in all three of these, or at least make you
think you're getting all three of these things.
Autonomy: Class, race, quests, skills, build.
Allow the players a choice in what activities they do. Do they want to
learn a certain selma'o? A certain set of concepts (time and space
cmavo, words about colours, animal names)? Do we introduce other
choices like creating a virtual country and giving the player a choice
between cities/backgrounds/other choice?
Complexity: Remember all those quests? They were the same thing (fetch
100 $item !) over and over again, but they got more complex. Fetch 100
$item_a, then continue to $place to talk to $sage who will turn them
into $component_a and tell you that you need $item_b and $item_c to
get $component_b and $component_c plus $reagent, and then you have to
go through $dungeon to $ancient_fires to bless them, and then cool
them in $sacred_waters of $holy_place, but you have $short_time to get
them from $ancient_fires to $sacred_waters, so you better hurry. You
get the point. So, really, it's just fighting monsters over and over
again, but you THINK it's complex.
Connection between effort and reward: DAH DAAAAAHHH!! Victory music,
lights, sounds, confetti, level up, new abilities! "Knowing more
Lojban" is, unfortunately, a side effect. You need immediate
neurological stimulation in addition to the more obvious rewards
(better items, which is a "wow, these -are- better") and higher level
areas, "Huh, this is kinda cool.". Likewise, we have to provide some
kind of immediate connection so the player recognises that they are
being rewarded, and that it is a good thing.
So, in a world dominated by technology and gaming, why not turn Lojban
into something fun. Perhaps we can tie in a story line? Turn the
children's show (or a comic book series, or something else, but a plot
none the less) into the variable spaced reward. =D
Let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions. Throw
this idea around and concept as much as you'd like. I'll be back later.