Is Gamification About Rewards… or Something Deeper?

We just published a new episode of the Professor Game Podcast with James Portnow (Extra Credits, Night Crew Games), and it hits a nerve I see all the time in gamification and community design.

One of the big ideas we explore is this:

Real engagement doesn’t come from just points, badges, or leaderboards. Those can help sometimes, but by themselves, they rarely create motivation that lasts.

Instead, James talks about intrinsic engagement, iteration, failing fast, and designing experiences people actually care about, even after the “game” ends.

So I’m curious to hear from this community 👇

From your own work or experience, what has driven the most meaningful engagement for you?

Rewards and incentives, or something deeper like autonomy, mastery, purpose, story...?

No right answers here. Let’s compare notes and learn from each other.

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