====== Lens Of Goals ======
**Goals** are the result or achievement toward which players focus their efforts.

Good goals often follow the SMART pattern. That is:

  * **Specific** – answer who, what, where, when, and why.
  * **Measurable** – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
  * **Attainable** – match the skill level to the challenge.
  * **Realistic** – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.
  * **Timely** – show the progress the player makes towards the goal.

----

===== Focusing Questions =====
  * What is the primary goal of the game?
  * Is the primary goal clear to players?  How does this goal stand out and impact the secondary goals?
  * Are there any secondary goals of the game?  If so, how do these affect the outcome of the game?
  * Are different goals non-conflicting?
  * How can players choose their own goals?  How will this impact the game?

===== Can be instantiated by =====
=== Lenses ===
  * [[lenses:lens_of_challenges|Lens of Challenges]]
  * [[lenses:lens_of_experimentation|Lens of Experimentation]]
  * [[lenses:lens_of_action|Lens Of Action]]

=== Patterns ===
  * [[patterns:reward|Reward]]


===== Examples =====

===== Considerations =====
> Goals that are deemed difficult to achieve and specific tend to increase performance more than goals that are not.

**Specific** - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. 
  * Who: Who is involved? One player, a party, a clan?
  * What: What is the player accomplishing?
  * Where: Is there is a location in the game world?
  * When: Is there a time frame for getting it done?
  * Why: Why are you giving this goal to the player?

**Measurable** – When you measure your progress, you stay on track and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

**Attainable** – When a player can identify important goals, they want to complete them. They will see opportunities to bring themselves closer to the reward.

**Realistic** – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which the player is both willing and able to work.

**Timely** – In the world of games, this normally translates to giving the players an indication of progress. Certainly a timer or time-limited goal fits in this as well.

===== Tool =====

===== Metrics =====

===== Validity =====
The lens is **industry standard**.

===== Categories =====
[[:Motivations:goal-setting| Goal-setting]]

===== References =====
  * Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, Volume 70, Issue 11(AMA FORUM), pp. 35–36.
  * Neil, H. F., & Drillings, M. (1994). Motivation: theory and research. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.
  * Schell, J. (2008). The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann.

===== Authors =====
[[about:contributors:danieljost|Daniel Jost]]