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The 8 Core Drives of Gamification — Why Games Are Actually Fun (3 of 90)
Gamification Video Course

The 8 Core Drives of Gamification — Why Games Are Actually Fun (3 of 90)

Yu-kai Chou
Yu-kai ChouCreator of the Octalysis Framework · cited in 3,700+ academic papers
June 15, 2013Published
10 minRead time
The Beginner

New to Gamification? Check out What is Gamification and the Octalysis Framework first.

← Previous: Episode 2 (What is Gamification) | Next: Episode 4 (The Octalysis Framework) →

See all 90 episodes in this series

This is Episode 3 of my Beginner’s Guide to Gamification video series. In this episode, I answer the most fundamental question in gamification design: why are games fun?

Spoiler: it’s NOT because of points, badges, and leaderboards.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why “just add points and badges” is a recipe for failure
  • The real reason games are engaging (hint: it has nothing to do with game elements)
  • All 8 Core Drives of the Octalysis Framework, with examples
  • Why good gamification design starts with feelings, not features

📑 Table of Contents

About the Creator of the Octalysis Framework

Yu-kai Chou — creator of the Octalysis Framework

Yu-kai Chou created the Octalysis Framework after studying gamification since 2003 — years before the term entered mainstream vocabulary. As a Human-Systems Architect & Behavioral Designer, his framework has been applied by LEGO, Microsoft, Porsche, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, and MrBeast, impacting over 1.5 Billion Users.

Chou has taught the Octalysis methodology at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Tesla, Google, BCG, and IDEO.

His work has been cited by Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Wired, US Department of Energy, NIST, NSF, NCBI, US Department of Education, ClinicalTrials.gov, and 3,700+ more academic publications. Explore his books here.

Why Games Are Fun (It’s Not Points and Badges)

Most people in the gamification industry obsess over game elements: points, badges, leaderboards, quests, avatars.

They think: “If I add these elements to my product, it automatically becomes engaging.”

Here’s the problem with that thinking: every game has game elements. And most games are still boring failures.

A bad game designer asks: “What game elements should I use? Monsters? Swords? Cards?”

A good game designer asks: “How do I want my users to FEEL? Proud? Inspired? Curious? Then which elements create those feelings?”

Games are fun because they appeal to our Core Drives. The fundamental motivations that drive everything humans do. And after studying games since 2003, I identified 8 Core Drives that I organized into the Octalysis Framework.

Everything you do in life is based on one or more of these 8 Core Drives. If none of these Core Drives are present, there is zero motivation, and zero behavior happens.

The 8 Core Drives of Gamification

Octalysis Framework octagon showing all 8 Core Drives of gamification — the complete behavioral design framework created by Yu-kai Chou

Core Drive 1: Epic Meaning & Calling

This is the drive where you feel you are doing something greater than yourself, or that you were “chosen” to take action.

It’s why people contribute to Wikipedia for free. They aren’t doing it for money or resume points. They’re doing it because they’re “protecting humanity’s knowledge.” That sense of higher purpose makes people work hard without any tangible reward.

In games, this shows up as epic narratives: “The world is about to end, and YOU are the only hero who can save it.”

Core Drive 2: Development & Accomplishment

This is the internal drive of making progress, developing skills, and achieving mastery.

This is where most points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL) live. Points are counters that create a feeling of progress. Badges are achievement symbols, but they must represent a real accomplishment, or they feel insulting.

The key insight: the badge itself isn’t motivating. What’s motivating is the feeling that you’ve gotten better at something. The badge is just a symbol of that progress.

Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback

This is the drive where users are engaged in a creative process where they try different combinations, see the results, and adjust their strategy.

Think of it like LEGO: basic building blocks with infinite creative possibilities. You try something, see how it works, adjust, and try again.

This creativity loop is one of the most engaging patterns in all of game design. When Core Drive 3 is properly designed, the experience never gets old because the player is always creating something new.

Core Drive 4: Ownership & Possession

This is the drive where users are motivated because they feel like they own something and want to improve it, protect it, and get more of it.

It includes virtual currencies, virtual goods, and collecting behavior (stamps, baseball cards, Pokémon). But it also covers abstract ownership. When you spend hours customizing your profile or character, you become attached to it and won’t switch to a competitor even if their product is better.

That time investment creates switching costs. You own this thing now, and you don’t want to lose it.

Core Drive 5: Social Influence & Relatedness

This drives all the social elements of motivation: mentorship, competition, envy, group quests, social treasure, and companionship.

It also includes “Relatedness.” The sense of connection to things that feel familiar. If a product reminds you of your childhood, or if you discover the founder is from your hometown, your trust and engagement go up immediately.

Humans are social creatures. What other people think, say, and do has a massive influence on our own behavior — whether we admit it or not.

Core Drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience

This is the drive of wanting something BECAUSE you can’t have it.

Put grapes on the table — nobody cares. Put those same grapes behind a locked glass case — suddenly everyone is obsessed with them.

Facebook used this at launch. They started with Harvard only, then opened to other Ivy League schools, then other universities, then everyone. That exclusivity created massive demand. People wanted in BECAUSE they couldn’t get in.

This is also the Core Drive behind appointment mechanics in games (“Come back in 2 hours when your crops are ready”) and limited-time events.

Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity

This is the drive of wanting to find out what happens next.

It’s why you can’t stop watching a TV show after a cliffhanger, why gambling is addictive, and why surprise rewards feel so much better than expected ones.

When you don’t know what’s going to happen, your brain stays engaged. Predictable experiences become boring. Unpredictable ones keep your attention.

This Core Drive is the main engine behind mystery boxes, loot crates, and variable reward schedules.

Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance

This is the drive of avoiding something negative happening.

If you’ve built a 200-day streak on Duolingo and you miss a day, that streak is gone forever. That fear of losing your progress is far more motivating than the desire to extend the streak by one more day.

Loss Avoidance is one of the strongest motivators in human psychology. Kahneman and Tversky’s Prospect Theory research shows people are about twice as motivated to avoid losing $100 as they are to gain $100. Game designers and behavioral designers use this asymmetry constantly.

The Key Insight: Core Drives Come First, Game Elements Come Second

The whole point of understanding the 8 Core Drives is this: good gamification design does not start with game elements. It starts with the Core Drives you want to activate.

First, decide how you want users to feel. Then pick the game elements and mechanics that create those feelings.

If you start with “let’s add a leaderboard!” without asking “does my user base respond well to competition?” you’ll build something that nobody cares about, or worse, something that alienates your users.

The 8 Core Drives are the foundation. Everything else builds on top. To go deeper, explore how these drives split into Left Brain (Extrinsic) vs Right Brain (Intrinsic) motivations — a distinction that changes how you design for long-term engagement.

The PBL Trap: Why Most Gamification Fails

Here’s something I see all the time in the gamification industry: companies come to me and say, “We added points, badges, and leaderboards to our product, but nobody cares. Gamification doesn’t work.”

I tell them: gamification works. YOUR gamification doesn’t work. And the reason is you started with game elements instead of Core Drives.

Points, badges, and leaderboards (what I call “PBL”) are the most superficial layer of game design. They’re like the graphics of a game. Graphics can make a game look good, but graphics alone don’t make a game fun.

Minecraft has terrible graphics and is one of the most successful games ever made. Why? Because it activates Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity) and Core Drive 4 (Ownership) at a world-class level.

Runescape had primitive graphics when it launched and still attracted millions of players. Why? Because its economy design activated Core Drive 4 (Ownership) and Core Drive 6 (Scarcity) in ways that kept players hooked for years.

If you want your gamification to work, stop asking “what game elements should I add?” and start asking “which Core Drives am I activating?”

That’s the shift this entire video series is built around.

Here I explain why Core Drives matter more than game elements in this Octalysis Masterclass lesson:

Octalysis Masterclass - Lesson 1-3: The 8 Core Drives

Key Takeaways from This Episode

  • Games are NOT fun because of points, badges, and leaderboards. They’re fun because they activate Core Drives.
  • Every game has game elements. Most games are still failures. The difference between a hit and a flop is WHICH Core Drives the experience activates.
  • The 8 Core Drives cover the full spectrum of human motivation. Every behavior you’ve ever taken was driven by one or more of these 8 drives.
  • Good design starts with “How should the user feel?”, not “What features should I build?”
  • The Octalysis Framework organizes these Core Drives into a practical tool you can use to analyze and design any experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 8 Core Drives of gamification?

The 8 Core Drives are: (1) Epic Meaning & Calling, (2) Development & Accomplishment, (3) Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback, (4) Ownership & Possession, (5) Social Influence & Relatedness, (6) Scarcity & Impatience, (7) Unpredictability & Curiosity, and (8) Loss & Avoidance. Together they form the Octalysis Framework, created by Yu-kai Chou to map the complete spectrum of human motivation.

Why do points, badges, and leaderboards fail in gamification?

Points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL) fail because they are surface-level game elements that only address Core Drive 2: Development & Accomplishment. Without activating other Core Drives like creativity, social influence, or curiosity, users quickly lose interest. Minecraft became a global hit with terrible graphics because it activates Core Drive 3 and Core Drive 4 at a world-class level.

How do I apply Core Drives to my product?

Start by asking “How do I want my users to feel?” rather than “What game elements should I add?” Identify which of the 8 Core Drives your target audience responds to, then select game mechanics and design elements that activate those specific drives. The Strategy Dashboard helps map which Core Drives to emphasize at each stage of the user journey.

What’s Next in the Series

In Episode 4, I walk through the Octalysis Framework itself. The octagonal diagram, how the Core Drives are organized, and how to use it to analyze products and experiences.

← Previous: Episode 2 (What is Gamification) | Next: Episode 4 (The Octalysis Framework) →

See the full video series here.

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