Creating Ecosystems Builds Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance
This article was written by Erik van Mechelen based on the Octalysis Framework by Yu-kai Chou.
Work with Yu-kai
The Blog
Ideas on motivation, behavior & design.
Deep dives on the psychology behind why people do what they do — from Yu-kai Chou, creator of the Octalysis Framework. Pick the topic that matters to you.
Using the 8 Core Drives to Make Seriously Fun Lifestyle Changes (2026)
Lifestyle design is one of the clearest places where Octalysis stops being abstract and starts becoming useful. Most…
How the Great eCourse Adventure Rapidly Increased Community Engagement through Gamification
This article is written by Brad and Andy of the Great eCourse Adventure based on the Octalysis Framework…
Improving Habitica with Octalysis Gamification: Jacob Bender Design Challenge Submission
Author Credibility: Yu-kai Chou Yu-kai Chou created the Octalysis Framework after studying gamification since 2003 — years before…
My TEDx talk on Gamification just reached 100K viewers on Youtube!
Table of Contents My Gamification TEDx speech in Switzerland reached 100K! The First-Sentence Fumble What Happened After Author…
How to Design User Journeys with Octalysis: 4 Phases Every Product Gets Wrong
Most products treat the user experience as one big thing. Sign up, use the features, hopefully stick around.…
How Nathaniel Tseng Would Improve Habitica with Octalysis
In Spring 2017, The Octalysis Group opened a challenge to Octalysis fans and experts. The challenge was to…