Högskolan i Skövde

Gamification is the application of game design elements in non-gaming contexts to reach some purposes. It has been proposed as a solution in several domains, such as teaching, corporate training and healthy living. This paper presents the design and evaluation of the skill tree method which is a part of a gamified approach to motivate and support NEET-youth (Not in Education, Employment or Training) to leave their isolation and take steps towards better inclusion in society. The overall approach is based on two principles: 1) it targets adolescents with an interest in games 2); it utilizes their interest in games as the starting point for the intervention. Part of the intervention is based on a skill tree which maps in-game skills to out-of-game skills and visualizes the output so that the participant can become better aware of how their interest can drive personal development towards societal participation. The paper presents an evaluation of the skill tree method from the project staff perspective. The findings are positive but some need for improvements in the method as well as the tool were identified.