GAMIFYING SUSTAINABILITY – MYKO 2.0
Myko 2.0 gives users their own planet on which they plant and grow trees representing 8 categories:
Energy, Food, Waste, Water, Transport, Health, Consumption, Climate Impacts
The next iteration of the app, Myko 2.0, sought to promote engagement through gamification. The re-design of the user interface was accomplished in conjunction with an app development team specialized in video game design which converted the score and habit-based platform into a virtual sustainability “tree” for users to navigate through.
The seed of each tree corresponds to a simple action that almost anyone can take, such as taking a shower in under 8 minutes — which most people do. It then proposes more challenging habits that users can try to adopt, such as showering in under 5 minutes, which most people do not do. By tracking daily individual and collective progress, they watch their trees grow. For example, by showering under 5 minutes, users can add a branch to your water tree. A score is provided for each of the hundreds of choices encountered on the app.
According to the data gathered through Myko’s analytic dashboard, by the end of the 2015 fall semester Myko 2.0 had accumulated a user base of 1,500 individuals.