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Several news media have started to introduce gamification techniques into their digital
platforms as a new storytelling format for news consumption. Since habit strength is the
most powerful predictor of news consumption, the goal is to not only engage news
consumers, but also to provide a personalized news experience and to persuade users to
foste...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... following four case studies are analyzed within a framework that takes into consideration the reach, strategies, drivers, motivators, and outcomes of each case (Ferrer Conill, 2014). The measurements and criteria used to drive the analysis can be found in Table 1 and are identified by conducting a critical qualitative content analysis of each gamified interface. ...
Citations
... I prodotti transmediali rappresentano, in definitiva, la risposta del mondo dell'industria culturale a fronte di un mutamento dei bisogni di informazione ed intrattenimento di un nuovo soggetto che si presenta sulla scena sociale e sul mercato: il pubblico connesso (Boccia Artieri 2012, 130). C'è chi ha espresso dubbi sul fatto che i videogiochi possano essere qualificati come "giornalismo" e che le notizie possano essere comunicate attraverso questi strumenti, evidenziando il rischio di banalizzare questioni di interesse pubblico (Ferrer-Conill 2016). ...
... The application of videogames and virtual reality to the journalistic account of the facts has generated several concerns in the field of journalism studies: first of all, gamification implies a definitive abdication of the values of "modern journalism," that is of detachment, objectivity, and impartiality (Beckett & Deuze, 2016;Wahl-Jorgensen, 2017;Jukes, 2020). Furthermore, there are those who have highlighted how, through news games, there is a risk of trivializing issues of the public interest (Ferrer Conill, 2016). Over the years, however, other studies have highlighted the positive potential of news games and the more general application of video games and virtual reality to news stories (Bogost et al., 2010;Dowling, 2021). ...
... We understand gamification in news media as distinct instances in which game elements and game thinking have been embedded in the story as a narrative strategy [18]. These instances help us visualize how gamification can be understood as an innovative genre in its own right, one that combines and integrates different social aspirations, technological artifacts and storytelling techniques within journalism. ...
This chapter explores how innovative narratives, supported by a combination of playful approaches and technological convergence, provide a reconfiguration of digital news storytelling. The use of gamification and newsgames exemplifies what has been called “Total Journalism”. Newsgames seek to integrate two opposing logics: the culture of journalism, based on truthfulness and credibility, and the culture of games, characterized by the creation of imaginary worlds, persuasion, and mechanics. We analyse The Ocean Game (2019) and The Amazon Race (2019), which use different procedural strategies. We examine the development of gamification in journalistic storytelling, which uses game elements to enhance the user experience. The relationship that gamified news products establish with the audience illuminates changes in the rhetorical and structural dynamics between the news organization, the different types of media workers, and the users. Thus, innovation in journalistic narrative through gamification and newsgames might translate into effective ways of producing content that combines rigour in substance with attractiveness in form, while preserving journalistic quality and incorporating the playful elements of games.
... There are a number of publications (Barnes 2015;Bergström 2020;Conill and Karlsson 2015) that highlight that an aging audience of online news is growing, especially in terms of the consumption of digital morning and local news, but social anchoring and relatedness to news content is still challenging. Thus, gamification is presented as a way to regularly engage audiences with news content (Conill 2016). It is worth noting, however, that caution must be applied when gamifying news given the possibility of spreading fake news and politicizing particular news sources and, as such, a value-sensitive design (Manders-Huits 2011) should not be overlooked. ...
... Similar to online communities, news platforms have also been using game elements as a way to engage their readers. Progression levels, progression bars, points, levels, badges, leaderboards and community-shared goals-that have been used to reward readers (Sotirakou and Mourlas 2015), give feedback on their current state and translate it into the readers' reputation (Conill 2016)-are part of the vast portfolio studied not only by the industry but also by the academic community. ...
... The example of the game developed by Al Jazeera in 2014 can be a great contribution to the ongoing research. It consisted of an interactive investigation and, as users progress in the game, the story is deciphered and cumulative points are earned-'Investigation Points' (Conill and Karlsson 2015), levels are progressed (Conill 2016) and content is unlocked (Conill 2016;Conill and Karlsson 2015). Therefore, it becomes a storytelling technique that immerses and engages its readers (Conill 2016). ...
Aging audiences and the shift of news consumption to an online paradigm have led to the need of finding strategies to engage aging readers with online news by assessing their news consumption habits and identifying the potential for digital platforms to assist the reader’s journey, i.e., the activities performed from access to the information to the relatedness and shareability of the news content. It is well established that the use of game elements and game thinking within the context of a community can capture the user’s attention and lead to behavioral engagement toward repetitive tasks. However, information about the design implications of socially gamified news to the aging reader’s experience is still lacking. Using a development research approach, we implemented a prototype that socially gamifies news to support the aging reader experience based on a pre-assessment survey with 248 participants about their news consumption habits and motivations. We then validated the prototype with six market-oriented representatives of Portuguese newspapers and eleven adults aged 50 and over. A model for onboarding a reader’s 6-step journey (read, react, discuss, share, relate and experience) within the context of a Senior Online Community using gamification is proposed. The game elements used can inform the design of a much more personalized experience of consuming news and news behavioral engagement.
... Thus, it is necessary and crucial to develop strategies that capture not only the users' attention, but also their motivations -being gamification an ideal instrument to do so (Conill, 2016). Gamification can be defined as the use of game elements in contexts that go beyond entertainment purposes (Bista et al., 2014;Deterding et al., 2011;Kapp, 2012;Werbach & Hunter, 2012;Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011). ...
It is a fact that the world’s population is ageing at a very fast pace (Fisk et al., 2009; WHO, 2002). And, in a similar way, the production and consequent consumption of technology has been increasing, including among the senior citizens (PORDATA, 2019). Understandably, this brings increased challenges in the development of technological solutions due to the changes that occur during the ageing process (whether they are physiological, psychological and/social) (Ferreira & Veloso, 2019; Fisk et al., 2009; Marcoen et al., 2007; Pak & McLaughlin, 2011).
Thus, it is necessary and crucial to develop strategies that capture not only the users’ attention, but also their motivations – being gamification an ideal instrument to do so (Conill, 2016). Gamification can be defined as the use of game elements in contexts that go beyond entertainment purposes (Bista et al., 2014; Deterding et al., 2011; Kapp, 2012; Werbach & Hunter, 2012; Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011).
Given the miOne online community (https://mione.altice.pt/), which was developed to foster social interaction, information sharing and activities among community members by offering a range of communication, health, tourism, and news services, two main gamification strategies were developed in order to deeply capture users’ motivations and engage them, while targeting different community’s aspects: (i) gamification and cyclotourism; and gamification and online news. The next sections delve into how these gamification strategies were applied and what results and conclusion were obtained.
... attention, but also their motivations -being gamification an ideal instrument to do so (Conill, 2016). Gamification can be defined as the use of game elements in contexts that go beyond entertainment purposes (Bista et al., 2014;Deterding et al., 2011;Kapp, 2012;Werbach & Hunter, 2012;Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011). ...
... In addition, mobile phones tend to be very popular, although they are not suitable for very immersive experiences, as users prefer quick news (Wojdynski, 2015), for on the go experiences. It is, therefore, important to appeal to the readers/users and viewers' motivations to consume news and understand the way gamification can enable a personalized experience of consuming news and, at the same time, persuade users to integrate reading, reacting, and discussing news into daily habits (Conill, 2016). There are many different mechanisms to gamify a system proposed by different authors and these will be further explored in Chapter 2. Gamification. ...
... Also, the different kinds of fun that will be provided to the gamified system will rely on the context. This concept includes both the product application and the socio-cultural aspects, in which gamification will take place, the players' transference of meaning (Conill, 2016), the device used, among others. ...
... Game mechanics embedded in online journalism are very likely to increase readership while on an all-immersive experience. Indeed, gamification has the potential of providing a personalized news' consumption experience while at the same time persuading users to make a habit of using the service regularly without changing the news' content or quality (Conill, 2016). ...
The growing ageing population, combined with the increasing use of information and communication technologies, i.e. online communities, by older adults, has heightened the need to study the challenges and solutions in presenting empathic products that meet the users’ needs, customized to their context. Online news present growing challenges due to new interaction paradigms and games have already demonstrated to be very effective in capturing user’s attention, as well as the adoption of game elements and techniques to non-game contexts - i.e. gamification.
This Development Research reports, firstly, the motivations and the context of use in digital platforms by adult learners from the Universities of the Third Age (UTAs), supporting the design and development of a gamification strategy in the context of an online community entitled miOne. To meet this challenge, a literature review centered on the keywords 'Older Adults', 'Gamification', 'Motivation and Engagement' and 'Digital Media' was performed, as well as a questionnaire survey that was administered to 248 people aged 50 and over from 16 different countries. Secondly, a digital artifact was developed, applying gamification to online news, within the miOne online community. This artifact was validated with 6 national newspaper players to understand the challenges posed to the journalistic sector and assess the product’s relevancy to the market. Finally, the proposed solution was tested with 11 participants from Universities of the Third Age.
The results suggest that the developed mechanics and gamification elements can engage older adults with online news on digital platforms. Additionally, these can guide the integration of a gamification strategy in the previously mentioned context. These interconnected elements are: (i) a leaderboard with the most weekly news’ interactions; (ii) levels with different missions and rewards (external and internal to the platform); and (iii) a community-endorsed award system to recognize and validate user-generated content towards news.
... In addition, several developments currently influencing journalism are largely extensions of public behaviors that existed without such enabling technology (Bivens 2008) but operated in less visible and influential ways. Even the digitization (Karlsson et al. 2015) and gamification (Ferrer 2016) of news does not seem to motivate users to become more active netizens Therefore, incorporating technology in a TV show must be a well-organized effort to ensure a continuous loop of interaction between media and audience. ...
Mobilizing information (MI), defined as “information that allows the public to act,” is often omitted in news stories because it is considered partisan. Without relevant MI in media, participation in public discourse is restricted to the politically aware, i.e., to politicians, interest groups, and activists. This paper argues that Lemert’s definition of MI is limited and does not consider building upon audience' orientation. Applying a more complex form of MI identified earlier (Uppal, 2003) that takes audience orientation into account, to a television talk show, the paper demonstrates how varying levels of MI may be utilized. Depending on audience orientation, MI can be either invitational or empowering. More specifically, the three types of invitational MI, in ascending order of their mobilizing potential, are motivational, informational, and purposive. MI’s (Uppal 2003) application is illustrated through one episode of Satyamev Jayate (SMJ), an Indian talk show, to demonstrate how MI may be directed at citizens with different levels of political orientation. SMJ has successfully engaged the public by adeptly bringing together interactive technologies, and journalistic methods. This paper also introduces the concept of “mobilizing context.”
... Such a fictional world is different and separated from the real world by carving out an area where certain rules apply as Juul (2005: 164) further concludes. By contrast, gamified news goes beyond being 'just a game' by keeping the original news narrative and offering a game-like experience aiming to engage players into people's real life experiences to foster empathy or generate compassion (Ferrer-Conill, 2016;Plewe and Fürsich, 2018). ...
... While Bogost et al. (2010: 6) use the term newsgames to generally refer to 'a broad body of work produced at the intersection of videogames and journalism', it is very important to refer to the distinction that Ferrer-Conill and Karlsson (2015) and Foxman (2015) draw between newsgames and gamification of news as concepts. While newsgames indicate bringing news to games (Ferrer-Conill, 2016) by developing computer games with an intention of participating in the public debate (Sicart, 2008:27), the gamification of news rather implies bringing games to news by employing certain game mechanics into a digital news service (Ferrer-Conill and Karlsson, 2015: 367). In this context, the first research question (RQ) emerges as following: RQ1: How do the level of gamification and incorporated game mechanics in each of Al Jazeera's games influence the framing and delivery structures of the news? ...
Declining consumption rates of traditional news have led media outlets to search for innovative ways for engaging their audiences. News gamification emerged as a way to offer a more personalized news experience and a playful content by employing tools like badges, points, and leaderboards. As we are beginning to understand the benefits and pitfalls of gamifying news, the influence of the gamification on the news reporting techniques and news delivery structures is still not fully explored. The current study analyzes two games: Pirate Fishing: An Interactive Investigation and #Hacked Syria’s Electronic Armies, for the main generic news frames employed within interactive gamified contexts. Drawing on the integrative framing analysis approach, the study employs an innovative qualitative content analysis to investigate the multimodal – structural, textual, and visual – generic frames each game involves. By revisiting a contemporary list of news values, the study provides a further discussion about changing news values in the gamified setting.
... In this regard, Ferrer-Conill (2015) explained that the introduction of digital technologies has derived into two formats in journalism practice: "newsgames" and "gamified news." According to Conill, newsgames are used with the intention of explaining or commenting on current news, whereas gamification attempts simply to "apply game elements to digital interfaces that endeavor to merge both news and games in new storytelling formats using game mechanics as a defining feature." ...
Sports media coverage of mega-events is partly oriented to gamification, the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-gaming contexts. This infotainment approach to events has been developed by media outlets as an original and effective way to capture wider audience attention and to place events in context before a competition starts. This article examines 28 gamified sports pieces developed by media outlets from seven countries during the last two Olympics (2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang) and Football World Cups (2014 in Brazil and 2018 in Russia). This sample comprises two categories following Ferrer-Conill (2015):
“gamified pieces” (game like elements that are part of a bigger interactive feature) and “newsgames” (more sophisticated pieces often included in complex graphics or multimedia content). The results show that, despite its entertaining formula, gamification
serves mainly informational purposes and adds value to sports coverage. Especially in the Summer and Winter Olympics, gamified sports pieces tend to be explanatory and data-driven in order to inform the audience about non-mainstream sports.
