Manila, a muggy Tuesday afternoon. 19-year-old Jamie originally planned to go to the internet café to play games, but saw in a mobile push notification: 'Today's guild task: Teach three new players to complete the Splinterlands basic tutorial. Rewards: 50 guild points + 'Mentor' badge + $0.1 worth of tokens.'
He hesitated for three seconds, then turned and walked towards the community center—where YGG had set up a free teaching point. 'After all, playing games is also to earn some money,' he thought as he walked, 'the task reward is roughly equivalent to my two hours of gold farming income, and I can also get a badge.'
What he didn't know was that this seemingly simple decision was part of a carefully calculated 'behavior design experiment.' The design of this experiment was done by YGG's behavioral psychology team in Tokyo, game design experts in Berlin, and data analysts in São Paulo.
The truth about YGG's task system is: it's not just 'issue tasks, give rewards', but a vast human behavior engineering system—using the joy of games to solve organizational problems.
From 'gold farming' to 'co-creation': Three evolutions of the task system
1.0 Era: Mechanical tasks (2021)
Early tasks were simple and crude:
· 'Win 10 Axie battles'
· 'Breed 3 Axies'
· 'Build a structure in The Sandbox'
Reward: Pure tokens
Problems quickly arose:
· Utilitarianism: Players only do the highest reward tasks
· Lack of stickiness: Logging off after finishing tasks
· Community fragmentation: Everyone acts like isolated gold farmers
'We are actually cultivating 'game sharecroppers,' reminisces an early designer at YGG, 'they work for rewards and feel no sense of belonging to the community. This is not what we want.'
2.0 Era: Social tasks (2022)
Introducing social dimensions:
· 'Team up to complete a dungeon'
· 'Answer 5 new questions in the forum'
· 'Invite a friend to join the guild'
Reward: Tokens + social points
Significant improvement:
· Increased community interaction
· Beginner retention rate improved
But new issues:
· Social pressure: Introverted players feel uncomfortable
· Quality varies: Flooding tasks to complete them
· Formation of small circles: Players only interact with fixed teammates
3.0 Era: Characterized task system (2023-present)
This is the magic of YGG now. The system no longer sees players as 'labor', but as 'characters' with unique skills, preferences, and potential.
The 'player role matrix' that changes everything
A team of behavioral scientists in Tokyo developed a four-quadrant model:
X-axis: Social inclination
· Left end: Lone wolf players (prefer to complete tasks alone)
· Right end: Social players (prefer teamwork)
Y-axis: Motivation types
· Upper end: Achievement-driven (pursuing rankings, rare items)
· Lower end: Exploration driven (curiosity for new content, stories)
Each player is positioned in a specific quadrant based on early behaviors, receiving different task flows:
Quadrant A: Lone wolf + achievement driven
· Task type: 'Break into the top 100 of the ladder', 'Collect a complete set of rare cards'
· Reward: Ranking badge, exclusive NFT skin
· Community role: Competitive benchmark
Quadrant B: Social + achievement driven
· Task type: 'Lead a team to win a tournament', 'Organize a training camp'
· Reward: Leadership points, team dividends
· Community role: Team leader
Quadrant C: Lone wolf + exploration driven
· Task type: 'Discover hidden areas on new maps', 'Test new mechanisms and write reports'
· Reward: Explorer tokens, naming rights (e.g., 'Jamie’s discovered cave')
· Community role: Pioneer
Quadrant D: Social + exploration driven
· Task type: 'Hold community events', 'Create game guide videos'
· Reward: Community influence score, creation fund
· Community role: Community glue
'We no longer issue the same tasks to everyone,' explains Sofia, product manager of the task system, 'but create the 'most suitable way for each player to contribute.' An introverted player skilled in data analysis might create enormous value for the community by 'discovering economic loopholes in the game'—that's much better than being forced to participate in social activities.'
Seven 'invisible levers' of task design
YGG's task design room has a whiteboard with seven key parameters written on it:
1. Difficulty curve
· Too easy: Boredom, lack of achievement
· Too hard: Frustration, giving up
· Solution: Dynamic difficulty, adjusting based on player historical performance
2. Reward structure
· Instant rewards (earned immediately upon task completion)
· Progress rewards (earned by completing a series of tasks)
· Random reward (surprise element, activates dopamine)
· Social rewards (recognition from others, status symbol)
3. Rhythm of time
· Daily tasks (habit formation)
· Weekly tasks (mid-term goals)
· Seasonal tasks (long-term investment)
· Time-limited tasks (scarcity)
4. Narrative packaging
· Dry 'Win 10 matches'
· vs
· 'The evil wizard has kidnapped the villagers! You need 10 victories to earn the courage badge to rescue them.'
· The same behavior, different meanings
5. Choice freedom
· Forced tasks trigger resistance
· Provide 3-5 options to give players a sense of autonomy
6. Progress visualization
· Progress bars, badge walls, achievement trees
· Make effort 'visible'
7. Social proof
· 'Your friend Jamie just completed this task'
· 'A total of 1247 people have received this badge globally'
'The most ingenious tasks,' shares Berlin game designer Mark, 'are those that allow players to create value for the community while accomplishing their own goals.'
He gave an example:
Task name: 'Enhance your combat skills'
Player perspective: Complete a series of training challenges to earn powerful equipment
Community value: Data generated by players in training is used to optimize AI training models, helping beginners learn better
Badge economics: When identity symbols turn into social capital
YGG's badge system may be its most successful innovation. It is not merely 'proof of achievement', but a programmable social identity.
Common badge: Earned for completing specific tasks
Rare badge: Earned in special events or competitions
Dynamic badges: Change according to ongoing performance (e.g., 'active for 30 consecutive days' will glow)
Combination badge: Collect a set of related badges to unlock a super badge
But the real magic lies in the fact that badges have functionality.
For example:
· 'Data detective' badge: Holders can access more detailed game data analysis tools
· 'Cross-cultural ambassador' badge: Earn weight bonuses in multinational team matches
· 'Bug hunter' badge: Qualification for early testing of new features
· 'Guild legacy' badge: Both old and new members receive additional rewards when an old member recommends a new member
'We are creating a contribution-based identity economy,' says economic designer Ahmed, 'In traditional society, your identity comes from your profession, education, and wealth. In the YGG community, your identity comes from what value you create for the community. And badges are the visual proof of this value.'
The most interesting phenomenon is the social signal of 'badge combinations'. A player who simultaneously holds:
· 'Axie breeding expert'
· 'Splinterlands tactical analyst'
· 'Community conflict mediator'
Other players will immediately know: this is a versatile member who understands technology, strategy, and excels at collaboration. In team play, project collaboration, and even real-world job recommendations, such a combination of identities is more persuasive than any resume.
Data feedback loop: How the task system self-evolves
Every Tuesday at midnight, YGG's task system undergoes an 'evolution iteration'. What drives evolution is not the designer's intuition, but the feedback loop from data.
The metrics tracked by the system include:
Participation data
· Task acceptance rate
· Task completion rate
· Average completion time
· Abandonment point analysis (where did they give up? Why?)
Emotional data
· Sentiment analysis of task-related discussions
· Frequency of mentions of 'tasks too hard/easy' in the forum
· Motivation reflected in player-generated content
Network effect data
· What new social connections have tasks fostered?
· Which players became key nodes in the community through tasks?
· How do tasks affect information flow patterns?
Economic data
· Impact of task rewards on the in-game economy
· Income distribution obtained by players through tasks
· Correlation between task participation and long-term retention
'Last month we discovered an interesting phenomenon,' data analyst Chen Tao presented a chart, 'the participation rate for the 'create video tutorial' task suddenly dropped by 50%. Further analysis revealed that it wasn't due to insufficient rewards, but because it became too popular—the market for tutorials was saturated, and new tutorials struggled to gain views.'
The solution is not to increase rewards, but to change task design:
· From 'creating any tutorial' to 'creating tutorials for specific weak points'
· Increase 'beginner feedback' sessions: Tutorials must help at least three beginners pass the test
· Introducing 'quality ratings': Reward coefficients determined by audience ratings
After adjustments, task participation rates recovered, and the average quality of tutorials increased by 70%.
The 'gradual exposure' that turns scholars into mentors
One of YGG's most successful task sequences is the 'mentor growth path' for scholarship scholars:
Stage one (Month 1): Learners
· Task: Complete all basic training modules
· Reward: Basic income + skill badge
· Goal: Master basic skills
Stage two (2-3 months): Practitioner
· Task: Manage 3-5 new scholars under supervision
· Reward: Management allowance + 'assistant mentor' badge
· Goal: Initial experience guiding others
Stage three (4-6 months): Mentor
· Task: Independently lead a small team (10-15 people)
· Reward: Team share + official mentor status
· Goal: Cultivate leadership
Stage four (7 months+): Community leader
· Task: Participate in designing training content, interview new scholars
· Reward: Decision-making power + community governance tokens
· Goal: Become a community builder
'The key is gradual exposure,' explains education design expert Lina. 'If new scholars are told to “teach others” from the start, they panic. But if they are first carefully taught, then gradually try small-scale guidance with support, they naturally grow into mentors—this process is almost instinctive.'
Jamie from the Philippines is currently in stage three. In his 12-person team, two are the 'students' he initially taught. They now hold strategy meetings weekly, sharing discoveries from different games.
'The strangest thing is,' Jamie says with a smile, 'I hated doing group projects in high school because someone was always uncooperative. But now I actively organize teams and enjoy it. Maybe it’s because here, everyone’s contribution is seen, measured, and rewarded.'
Future: When task systems meet AI
The next phase YGG is testing is AI personalized task generation.
The system will analyze in real-time:
· Player's current skill level
· Immediate community needs
· Player emotional state (analyzed through text communication)
· Personal learning style
Then generate fully personalized tasks:
For example, when a player hits a bottleneck in Splinterlands:
· Traditional tasks: 'Win more matches'
· AI-generated tasks: 'Your data shows frequent mistakes in mid-term decisions. Please watch these three classic matchups (edited according to your learning style), analyze the decision points, and complete 5 mid-term decision exercises in the simulator. After completion, your 'strategic thinking' badge will upgrade.'
'This is no longer a 'one task fits all,' says Victor, head of AI products, 'but rather, ‘designing the task that can best help you grow as a unique individual at this moment.’ This is true personalized education.'
Experiment of gamified society
Back at the community center in Manila, Jamie completed his teaching task, watching the excited expressions of three novices as they successfully won their first match. His phone vibrated:
· 'Task completed! You have earned the 'mentor' badge.'
· 'Your student Maria rated: 'The explanation was very clear, I understood the card pairing logic for the first time.' +10 teaching score.
· 'Based on your performance, the system recommends a new task: “Design a 15-minute introductory lesson plan for absolute beginners.” Reward: Teaching designer qualification + creation fund.'
He clicked 'Accept', and the system immediately pushed the lesson plan template, success cases, and a list of senior designers available for consultation.
What Jamie doesn’t know is that this task was generated by AI based on the following data:
1. His previous high teaching score
2. The community lacks quality lesson plans for absolute beginners
3. His creation style analysis shows suitability for structured design
4. He has time capacity this week (predicted based on activity level)
He only knows: this task 'feels like it was designed for him.'
And this is precisely the highest goal of YGG's task system: to allow everyone to become a builder of the community while pursuing personal growth and benefits, making contribution feel as natural and enjoyable as playing a game; to unite a globally dispersed organization into an organic entity capable of self-growth and self-evolution through meticulously designed gamified mechanisms.
When you see an interesting task in the YGG community, perhaps think about: behind this simple prompt, how many principles of behavioral science, data analysis, design wisdom, and community vision are combined?
And what you are doing is not just 'completing tasks'. You are participating in a large experiment of human organizational forms: when work becomes as engaging as a game, what miracles can people create?
YGG is seeking answers, one task at a time, one badge at a time, one player's growth trajectory at a time.
Your next task may be generating. Will it be tailored for you?
