What web designers can learn from games

Great piece from Aleks Krotoski about how game mechanics can inform modern web design:

‘I recently ran into a web designer friend who’s developing the user experience for a new site. She’s never worked in the games industry, nor is she a particularly keen gamer, but she told me that games are a key inspiration for her work. Web designers eager to draw people into their sites are keen to understand the processes that lead to games’ phenomenal stickiness. Thankfully, they haven’t gone down the route of creating login forms that will only progress by collecting coins or solving puzzles; instead, savvy designers are deconstructing the mechanics of games and applying those lessons in ways relevant and unique to their services. Games offer three intriguing features for web design, my friend said: pacing, story and engagement.

Pacing is probably the most crucial element, and gamemakers have mastered the art of the adaptive learning curve. They carefully construct experiences that take the player from novice to expert, usually at a pace determined by the player. If the curve is too steep, the game will haemorrhage players. If it’s too easy, gamers will complain that there’s no challenge. Web developers manipulate the pacing in such a way as to bring the visitor in through touchpoints which - hopefully - become rabbit holes for the user to fall through.’

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