dribdat/gamification

This mirror contains a paper prototype and user manual for testing a new approach to gamified hackathons.

This is an open source board game concept about prototyping and hackathons. It is the result of research to learn about the typical experiences and problems at a hackathon, that we could illustrate in a playful form.

The story

Put yourself in the role of a casual participant of tech meetups with an interest, but not necessarily deep expertise, in a particular technology. You might well assume that hackathons and similar events are only for the top tier, the code-wizards and math-gods. A summit which only a few tech-mortals may dare to ascend.

Prepare to be surprised, for community events could also be very welcoming and inclusive. For instance, there are a variety of tasks at open data hackathons that could be done by the general public. Indeed, there are many challenges that benefit greatly from an interdisciplinary exchange - like working out how to display the energy consumption of one's own home, or helping to create concepts for promoting accessibility or biodiversity.

At the hackathon itself, you may be struck by how busy the organisers and coaches are with with helping and guiding the participants. People assume a large range of roles, ideally everyone pitches in their ideas and improvements freely. It is important that everyone documents their work on an online platform (like Dribdat, the inspiration for this gamification prototype).

Active participation is an important point for research, so in this game every activity generates data points for contribution of participants and the development of the challenges. The goal is to try to combine the superpowers of every individual on your team to the best effect.

About

Image: Koboldgames GmbH 2021

This Paper Prototype is a game to be played at a hackathon. Through a playful format, we hope to learn about how to improve the whole experience for everybody! It is still in development and 🗨comments are welcome.

• Game designer: Jasmin Widmer (Koboldgames)
• Consultant: Oleg Lavrovsky (Datalets)
• See making of blog post at Koboldgames (in German)

Download

• Hackathon Gamification - Paper Prototype.pdf -> Print out and cut where needed.
• Hackathon Gamification - Paper Prototype Procedure.pdf -> User guide, how to play and examples.