Octalysis of 8 Gamified Alarm Clock


(This is a post by one of the very few people who hold a Level-1 Octalysis Certificate in Gamification: Average Joey. To check out their other writings, go to the StartMyQuest Blog!)

The “Eye-Opening” Gamified Alarm Clock Industry

Alarm clocks. We have a love, hate relationship with them.

There are alarms that fly around sending you on a blurry chase in the morning or ones that wake you to the gentle rising of a fake sun. These innovative alarms rely on harder or softer sensory feedback to get you up, but some of the most exciting wake-up solutions are coming from a growing market of gamified alarms and app designs.

I present to you here, 8 of the most engaging gamified wake-ups to help illustrate the gamification techniques at each point around the Octalysis Alarm Clock.

1) Epic Meaning & Calling: Shadow

The team behind “Shadow” have got epic meaning nailed with an epic goal for building the world’s largest database of dreams for the betterment of humanity, no less.

2) Development & Accomplishment: Wake n Shake

Wake n Shake is one of the gamified alarms heavily using achievement symbols in its design.

3) Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback: Sleep Cycle

The “Sleep Cycle” iOS app doesn’t just work as an alarm, but tracks and records your sleeping hours enabling you to analyse and adjust your sleep-play.

4) Ownership & Possession: AlarmMon

The AlarmMon app gets you to set-up your alarms with the different choices of cute characters to build your own wake-up experience from scratch.

5) Social Influence: Spotify The Social Alarm Clock

This alarm from Spotify is still in concept stage, but shows an app that will give you the ability to create and send re-mixed alarm tones and wake-up messages to friends.

6) Scarcity & Impatience: Starbucks Early Bird

As soon as you accept the ‘Starbucks Early Bird’ wake-up it gives you a 1 hour countdown to get yourself down to the nearest store to claim a discounted cup of coffee or build up points towards future ones.

7) Curiosity & Unpredictability: Brian Blessed Alarm

For pure mischief (Game technique #51). I give you the ‘Brian Blessed’ alarm. Will it be Shakespeare, an insult or Brain on a rocket?

8) Loss & Avoidance: SnuzNLuz

The SnuzNLuz alarm still stands out as putting the most interesting and perverse twist on the idea of charitable giving as something you’d want to avoid!

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4 thoughts on “Octalysis of 8 Gamified Alarm Clock”

  1. last one is wicked 🙂
    I don’t know if i would like to start my users day with something that would irritate him as soon as he opens his eyes.

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