| Calls for new models of education, models that take into account the changing means of producing and accessing knowledge in the information age, have increasingly focused on informal learning environments. While the elements of openness and participatory learning that characterize informal learning are valued as components of education, incorporating these elements into traditional, formal learning institutions remains a challenge. In response to these issues, I argue for gamification, the use of game structures in non-game environments, as a means of incorporating more informal learning elements into formal environments.;Current models of gamification, most commonly seen in business and marketing, lean more toward pointsification and are ineffective at achieving the level of agency and engagement that characterizes informal learning environments. This project develops a new heuristic for gamification. Because gamification has yet to be fully explored by the field of Rhetoric and Composition, this heuristic acts as a synthesis of both game design principles and pedagogical theory. Thus, I highlight and extend the game design principles of meaningful mechanics, nonlinearity, challenges, evocative spaces, and procedurality, considering how these elements have the potential to create more open and participatory learning spaces. This heuristic is modeled through the analysis of three successful gamified environments. While the objectives and constraints on each environment are different, the gamified spaces seen in C's the Day, Justin Hodgson's Rhetoric and Serious Games course at the University of Texas-Austin, and BattleShirts, demonstrate how a thoughtful engagement with game design principles opens up new learning opportunities. |
