Appendix and Raw Survey Data - Back to the Roots of Gamification: Identifying Game Design Elements of The Binding of Isaac to Motivate Students in Randomized Tasks

Abstract of the corresponding study:

Nowadays, an often used approach to design educational materials is gamification, i.e. the enrichment of educational materials with game design elements. Although more and more scholars highlight the importance of specific game design elements on the resulting motivational effects, the variety of used game design elements seem to stagnate. Gamification approaches that are implementing Points, Badges and Leaderboards, are still the most applied gamification designs, although their effect on motivation is questionable. By conducting an online-survey study with 109 players of the rogue-like video game The Binding of Isaac, this study aims to identify game elements that are motivating players to play the game and repeatedly restart the randomized gameplay loop that defines the game. We aim to identify these elements in order to explore possible ways to gamify randomized educational tasks. Utilizing a gamification taxonomy, these statements were then independently coded by four researchers that afterwards came to a consensus on these statements. We report that The Binding of Isaac makes use of wholly other game elements to motivate their players than those often used in gamification approaches in educational contexts, namely Chance, Rarity, Novelty, Acknowledgement, and Puzzle. The results of this study highlight that researchers and practitioners do not have to rely on time-honored game elements like Points and Leaderboards to motivate students, but could use the game elements identified in this study to motivate students in randomized tasks.

Keywords: Gamification, Gamification design, Game Element, Survey study, Rogue-like.