Using Hobbies as Proxy for Gamification Player Types

Abstract

Many gamification approaches use a one size fits all approach. Different gamification player types and associated preferences have been proposed, such as the gamification player type Hexad. According to the Hexad, people prefer different gameful activities, such as exploration, social activities, or competition. Similarly in hobbies, different things motivate and interest different people, such as some finding board games interesting, while others like hiking and going on camping trips. We propose that a person’s hobbies and interests provide an insight into what type of person they are, indicating what they might like, and could have a connection to gameful system preferences. In this paper, we explore the relationship between free-time activities and gamification player types, to enable earlier and faster detection of the player types and their preferences. The research was conducted by building a survey to measure the free-time activities of people and also measure the Hexad player type as defined by Marczewski and Tondello et al. Significant relationships were found between free-time activity variables “Active physical exerciser”, “Audience of cultural events”, and the player type Philanthropist. Overall, these results indicate that free-time activities can have correlations with player types and reported hobbies can be used as a proxy when selecting personalized gamification approaches.