Gamification is a method used to motivate users to change their behavior. Reward mechanisms are often used to ensure the sustainability of gamification and keep players in the flow. The reward mechanism used in gamification is divided into internal and external rewards. Gabe Zichermann, a gamification expert, has introduced a reward model called SAPS. According to this model, there are 4 types of rewards: Status, Access, Power and Stuff. We can think of the SAPS model  as a pyramid. At the bottom of this pyramid is Stuff. Rewards belonging to this category are usually extrinsic rewards, that is, they are based on materiality. They are often used early in the game to lure players into the game. In the next step, there is Power. These awards include users having certain rights over each other. On top of Power are Access awards. These are the rights that the players have against the game, that is, against the system. Accessing content that no one else has access to, having a meal with the CEO, being included in a project within the company are examples of these awards. In short, we can summarize these types of awards as having an authority that is secret to everyone. The top rung of the pyramid is Status. In status rewards, players have full powers. Status rewards include all rewards in the lower tiers. The scope of status awards is that some roles in the game are given directly to the players. Examples of this type of reward are setting quest points, determining the topic of a quest for that week, or having a special badge.  

While creating the reward mechanisms, care should be taken to randomly distribute these rewards instead of going in a certain order, that is, linear. In other words, instead of always giving the same type of award, these awards should be given in a mixed way and the motivation of the players should be kept alive. In the SAPS pyramid, intrinsic motivation increases as you go up from the bottom, and the materiality of the rewards increases as you go down from the top. While extrinsic rewards are preferred to attract users to the game, internal rewards are used to keep players flowing in the game. For this reason, the reward mechanism should be constantly changed according to the activities of the players in the game, that is, according to their movements in the game. While the external rewards are increased for the players who quit the game, the internal rewards should be brought to the fore in order not to break the chain in the processes where the players are active in the game. 

Imona Game Team