Gamification Fit

Gamification Fit

Analyze a product, idea, or resource set against a stated goal and report where gamification genuinely fits — and, far more often, where it deliberately does not. Each candidate feature is run through a fit-test, not a template: the value of this skill is whether it correctly withholds a mechanic, not whether it generates a long list.

The job is discrimination. Most features should not be gamified. A tool that gamifies everything manufactures dark patterns and noise — it is actively harmful. The most valuable section of every report is "deliberately NOT gamified, and why." Treat restraint as the deliverable.

This is not a reviewer of gamification you already have, and not a generator that decorates every action with points. It ingests resources + a goal, finds the few places play would honestly serve the user, refuses the rest, and hands a buildable brief to a developer or agent.

Anchor — Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Good gamification supports intrinsic motivation (autonomy, competence, relatedness); dark patterns hijack it. Default to intrinsic-supporting mechanics. The lazy LLM answer — Points/Badges/Leaderboards (PBL) — is usually the worst, most manipulation-prone choice; steer away from it unless explicitly justified.

What this skill produces

Always produced under the resolved output root (default docs/gamification-fit/):

1. gamification-fit.md — canonical, editable Markdown. Sections in order: ## Scorecard (N analyzed / Y recommended / Z refused), ## Recommended mechanics (few, high-conviction cards), ## Deliberately NOT gamified, and why (prominent, usually the majority), ## Cross-feature checks, ## Hand-off. Headings are load-bearing.
2. gamification-fit.html — single self-contained HTML file rendering the scorecard header + a variable-length card grid (recommended vs. refused) with collapsible provenance. Opens offline, prints cleanly to PDF, zero network dependencies.

The HTML is the visual primary; the Markdown is the source of truth the builder edits and hands off.

What this skill is NOT

• Not a generator. It does not gamify everything. Restraint is the point; the refusals are the most important output.
• Not a reviewer of existing gamification. It suggests where to add play. To audit an existing AI feature's UX, use ai-ux-review.
• Not a game-design tool. It gamifies non-game products. Designing an actual game is team-composer with @game_designer.
• Not an implementer. It prescribes mechanics, motion specs, and microcopy — it does not write feature code or run experiments. Hand off the report.
• Not analytics integration. It reads provided analytics exports; it does not connect to live PostHog/GA. Absent analytics, the "is this action repeated?" question is confidence-tiered, never asserted.
• Not a substitute for craft. Good gamification is textural (easing, timing, a fill that feels earned). A static report can prescribe motion specs and references; it cannot deliver the feel. The report says so plainly.
• Not regulatory advice. Regulated / risk-bearing flows are refused, not advised (see the ethics veto).

Influences. This skill draws on general ideas from Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan), the Octalysis framework (Yu-kai Chou), the Fogg Behavior Model (BJ Fogg), and Hooked (Nir Eyal — used as much for what to refuse as to apply). It is not a derivative work under copyright law: it uses general concepts (ideas / facts, not protected expression) and authors its own fit-test, mechanic taxonomy, and anti-pattern prose from first principles. No framework's protected expression, diagrams, or pattern names are reproduced. See README.md for full attribution.

Phase 0: Intake (RUN FIRST, BEFORE ANY ANALYSIS)

Goal: establish what's being analyzed, where output goes, and what context already exists — so the analysis adapts and never re-elicits what an upstream artifact already answers.

Step 0.1 — Resolve the output root

Look for these in order; first match wins:

1. Explicit output_dir arg → use as-is.
2. STARTUP_KIT_DOCS_ROOT env var → ${STARTUP_KIT_DOCS_ROOT}/gamification-fit/.
3. Smart default — docs/startup-kit/ exists → docs/startup-kit/gamification-fit/. Surface: "Writing to docs/startup-kit/gamification-fit/ (smart default — kit folder exists). Set STARTUP_KIT_DOCS_ROOT=./docs for standalone."
4. Solo fallback → docs/gamification-fit/.

If a prior gamification-fit.md exists at the resolved root, this is an update-mode run — see "Update mode" below.

Step 0.2 — Scan for adjacent artifacts

Before analyzing, read what already exists — never re-elicit what these answer:

• <canvas-root>/validation-canvas.md — Key Metrics, the value-prop "aha" behavior, and ICP. Best goal source for early-stage products. If present, the goal is largely settled — confirm, don't re-ask.
• <root>/.gtm/config.yaml — the GTM North Star metric. Best goal source for post-launch products.
• <root>/ai-ux-review.md — its trust / feedback / control blocks tell you where mechanics could honestly live (a feedback affordance is a natural home for progress visibility; a trust surface is not a place for a streak).
• <brand-root>/DESIGN.md — brand tokens for the HTML (colors.primary per the Google Labs spec; neutral fallback otherwise).
• Provided analytics exports (CSV/JSON from PostHog/GA/Amplitude/Mixpanel) — the only source that grounds "is this action actually repeated?". Read event/action counts only; never read or echo user-level rows or PII.

Step 0.3 — Pick the ingestion lane + lock the redaction rule

• SocratiCode MCP present (mcp__socraticode__codebase_*) → index once, then query. Best for large / unconventional repos.
• Absent → glob/grep fallback over high-signal files. Record which lane ran; the report states it.

Secret- and PII-redaction rule (hard, non-negotiable). Capture key names / presence only — never values. A STRIPE_SECRET_KEY entry is signal that Stripe is wired; its value must never enter any artifact or log. If a real secret is encountered, record <redacted secret present> and move on. The same applies to analytics: capture event names and aggregate counts only — never user-level rows, identifiers, or PII.

Step 0.4 — Confirm the framing in one line

Mirror back before proceeding, so the user can correct you:

"Analyzing a SvelteKit habit-tracker for the goal 'users log an entry 4+ days/week'. Found a validation-canvas — I'll take the goal from its Key Metrics and pressure-test it. No analytics export, so repeat-usage is inferred, not measured. Stop me if I should reframe."

Hard rules for Phase 0

• Never start analysis without resolving the path. Files in the wrong folder are the most common skill failure.
• Never re-elicit a goal an upstream artifact already states. Read it.
• Never read or echo a secret value or user-level analytics row. Names and aggregates only.

Phase 1: Ingest → feature/action inventory

Goal: turn the resource set into a provenance-pinned inventory of the user-facing actions the product affords — the subjects the fit-test will judge.

Read references/signal-extraction.md for the broadened source taxonomy (code + docs/PDF + URL + analytics) and the per-ecosystem extractors. Output of this phase is an internal signal set, each entry:

{ source: "<file:path | url | export>", action: "<the user-facing action>",
  category: "<taxonomy #>", repeatable: <observed|inferred|unknown>,
  data_captured: <yes|no|unknown> }

The provenance gate is absolute: source == null → it cannot become a candidate. An action with no evidence is not analyzed — it is not a guess.

Triage, don't enumerate. A product affords 3 to 40+ actions; you cannot fit-test 40. Rank by goal-relevance (does this action move the stated metric?) and repeatability, and carry the top candidates (aim ≤ ~12) into the fit-test. State how many were found vs. carried — silent truncation reads as full coverage when it isn't.

Phase 2: Acquire the goal (cascade)

Two inputs are required: the resources AND a goal/metric. Gamification only makes sense relative to a target behavior. Acquire the goal by cascade — stop at the first that succeeds:

1. Upstream artifact — validation-canvas.md Key Metrics / aha-behavior, or .gtm/config.yaml North Star. Confirm it in one line; don't re-ask.
2. Infer-and-confirm — from the inventory, infer 2–3 candidate goals, each pinned to provenance (e.g. "'increase weekly active logging' — inferred from the entries table + a streak column already in schema"), and ask the user to confirm or correct one. Costs one turn; grounds the goal in real evidence.
3. 3-question intake (fallback when neither exists):
   • What's the target behavior + metric you want to move?
   • Who is the user (segment)?
   • Is this behavior a chore (extrinsically motivated) or intrinsically motivated? (This sets the mechanic branch in Phase 4.)

Do not proceed past this phase without a confirmed goal — except when the request or goal itself trips a hard veto bar, which is refused immediately (see Phase 5 "Early refusal").

Phase 3: Fit-test each candidate

Goal: for each carried candidate, decide [FIT] or [SKIP — reason]. Read references/fit-test.md for the full per-feature test. The load-bearing questions:

• Is there a repeatable user action? (One-shot actions rarely reward play.)
• Is there visible progression worth reinforcing?
• Is there a goal worth reinforcing here, tied to the Phase 2 metric?
• Is intrinsic motivation present or absent? (Branches Phase 4.)
• Is the underlying data even captured? (Can't reward what you can't measure.)
• Is the action reversible / low-stakes? (Never gamify high-stakes or irreversible decisions.)

A "no" on a load-bearing question → [SKIP] with the reason. Specificity gate: a vague candidate ("add points to the dashboard") fails the same way ai-ux-review rejects "we handle errors" — name the action, the metric, and the mechanic, or it's a skip.

Phase 4: Select mechanics (SDT branch)

For each [FIT] candidate, choose mechanics from references/mechanic-taxonomy.md (every entry tagged intrinsic-supporting vs. extrinsic). Branch on the Phase 3 intrinsic read:

• Intrinsic motivation present → support it: progress visibility, mastery feedback, meaningful choice, a satisfying "done" state. Do NOT bolt on extrinsic rewards — they can crowd out the intrinsic motivation that was already working.
• Intrinsic motivation absent (genuine chores — compliance training, expense reports) → extrinsic scaffolding (e.g. a streak) is honest only if the mechanic card names an explicit, checkable sunset condition. No named sunset → the mechanic is refused, not recommended.

Default away from PBL. If the chosen mechanic is Points/Badges/Leaderboards, justify why nothing intrinsic-supporting fits — PBL is the answer of last resort.

Phase 5: Ethics veto (STRUCTURAL — non-droppable)

This is a behavior-change tool; the harm filter is mandatory and refusal-capable, not a cooperative flag. It runs before render. A mechanic that trips a bar does not get softened — it moves to the refusals section with its reason, and if a whole recommendation set is built on a tripped bar, the run re-derives rather than ships soft.

Early refusal (skips the two-input requirement). If the request or goal itself trips a hard veto bar — a regulated / risk-bearing / minors flow (bar 5), or an explicit manipulation / time-on-app-maximization objective — refuse it immediately, before ingestion or the goal cascade. The veto is category- and goal-triggered; it does not need a completed inventory. State the refusal, decline the regulated flow (point to qualified review where relevant), and go straight to the refusals output. Do not demand the resource set first just to refuse something the request already made unsafe.

Read references/anti-patterns.md for the full blocklist. The veto bars (refuse on any hit):

• Variable-ratio / "Skinner box" reward schedules engineered for compulsion.
• Shame / loss-aversion microcopy ("Don't lose your streak!", "You'll disappoint your team").
• Manufactured-loss streaks that punish a single missed day.
• Social-comparison leaderboards that demotivate the bottom ~80%.
• Regulated / risk-bearing flows — financial risk-taking (Robinhood-style), health, safety-critical actions, anything targeting minors.
• Extrinsic mechanic with no named sunset (from Phase 4).
• A recommendation with no provenance (violates the Phase 1 gate).

The litmus test: does this mechanic respect the user's ability to put it down? If it only works by making stopping feel like loss, it is manipulation wearing a progress bar — refuse it.

Phase 6: Cross-feature checks

Read the whole recommendation set together and apply:

1. Cannibalization — two mechanics competing for the same attention (don't recommend a streak and a leaderboard and a daily quest for the same action).
2. Attention/notification budget — sum the total interruption load across all recommendations. If the product would become a slot machine, cut the weakest. State the budget you assumed.
3. Goal contradiction — flag a competitive mechanic (leaderboard) that contradicts a stated collaboration goal, or a speed mechanic against a stated quality goal.

Phase 7: Render & ship

Goal: produce gamification-fit.md + gamification-fit.html, save to the resolved root, present to the user. Read references/report-contract.md for the per-card contract and templates/gamification-fit.html for the render.

Per recommended card

feature → goal it serves → recommended mechanic(s) → SDT/behavior rationale → sample microcopy + tone note → effort tag (CSS-afternoon | websockets-project) → "skip if" condition → anti-pattern warning → confidence (analytics-grounded observed when an export backs the repeat-usage claim, else inferred/unknown).

Top-level scorecard

N analyzed / Y recommended / Z refused. Z is usually the largest number — that is the skill working, not failing.

The "feel" honesty note (render verbatim-equivalent)

Good gamification is textural craft — easing curves, asymmetric timing, a progress fill that feels earned. This report prescribes motion specs and references; it cannot deliver the feel. Implementation craft is required, and the mechanic is only as good as that craft.

Opinion framing (this is a behavior-change tool)

Every recommendation is an opinion, not a directive. Frame as "in our opinion" / "the evidence suggests". Never claim a mechanic will move a metric. Render the disclaimer block from references/report-contract.md.

Three-line close

End every run with exactly three lines:

1. "The single highest-conviction place to add play is: …"
2. "The most important thing to deliberately NOT gamify is: … — because …"
3. "Next step: hand the recommended cards to a developer or agent to build; or run team-composer / sub-agent-coordinator to scope the build."

Do not replace with a "final deliverable" header or meta-commentary.

Update mode (loop-back)

When gamification-fit.md already exists at the resolved root:

1. Read the existing file first. Don't overwrite cards the user hasn't asked to change.
2. Confirm scope. "Your last report recommended 3 mechanics and refused 9. Re-analyze everything, or just re-test the streak you asked about?"
3. Apply the same rigor on changed cards — a glib revision gets the same veto.
4. Mark changes with <!-- updated YYYY-MM-DD: <reason> -->.

Output Files

<root>/gamification-fit.md     Canonical, editable source of truth
<root>/gamification-fit.html   Self-contained visual report (primary deliverable)

Where <root> resolves per Phase 0.1. No other files — do not scatter drafts.

Quality Checklist

Before presenting, verify:

Phase 0

• Output root resolved; smart-default notice surfaced if it fired
• Adjacent artifacts scanned (canvas / gtm / ai-ux-review / DESIGN.md / analytics)
• Ingestion lane recorded; secret/PII redaction rule active
• Framing confirmed in one line

Analysis

• Inventory is provenance-pinned; no source == null candidate carried
• Candidate count stated (found vs. carried) — no silent truncation
• Goal confirmed via the cascade; two inputs (resources + goal) present
• Every candidate is [FIT] or [SKIP — reason]; specificity gate enforced
• Mechanics branch correctly on intrinsic present/absent; PBL justified if used
• Every extrinsic mechanic names a checkable sunset

Ethics veto (non-droppable)

• All veto bars run; tripped mechanics moved to refusals with a reason
• No regulated/risk/minors flow recommended
• The "put it down" litmus applied to every recommendation

Cross-feature

• Cannibalization, attention budget, and goal-contradiction checks run

Render

• Scorecard present (N / Y / Z); refusals section prominent
• Each card has the full contract incl. "skip if" + confidence tier
• "Feel" honesty note + opinion disclaimer present
• HTML is a single file, opens offline, prints to PDF, no localStorage / network / PII
• Response ends with the three-line close

Cross-Skill Integration

Principle: this skill owns the gamification-fit recommendation — where play honestly serves the goal, and where it must be withheld. It does not validate the business model (validation-canvas), review existing UX (ai-ux-review), design a game (@game_designer), or implement the mechanics (hand off).

Graceful degradation: if a referenced skill is absent, this skill still ships both artifacts. Cross-skill chains are enhancements, not requirements. When a goal source is missing, the skill tells the user and offers the cascade — it does not hard-gate.

Reference files

• references/signal-extraction.md — broadened source taxonomy (code + docs/PDF + URL + analytics); per-ecosystem extractors; provenance + secret/PII redaction
• references/fit-test.md — the per-feature fit-test; load-bearing questions; SKIP patterns
• references/mechanic-taxonomy.md — mechanics tagged intrinsic vs. extrinsic; the present/absent branch; the named-sunset requirement
• references/anti-patterns.md — the ethics-veto blocklist; the "put it down" litmus; regulated/minors refusals
• references/exemplars.md — good, often-invisible gamification vs. cheap bolted-on badges; the "feel" honesty caveat
• references/report-contract.md — per-card shape; scorecard; refusals section; opinion disclaimer

Read these when the phase calls for them — progressive disclosure, not front-loaded (see CLAUDE.md → "Harness vocabulary").

Tags: gamification, behavior-design, self-determination-theory, product, ethics, restraint