Every episode of the Professor Game podcast, hosted by Rob Alvarez of The Octalysis Group. Honest breakdowns of gamification, behavioral design, and the Octalysis Framework, applied to real products, retention, and engagement. New episodes weekly, plus interviews with leading experts.
Why is EVERYONE Failing At Gamification? (WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?) | Episode 439
Master the science of motivation and see how top experts do it right. Get the free 9-day “Core Drives in the Wild” email sequence here: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Rob Alvarez dissects three high-profile gamification failures (Disney’s hotel laundry leaderboards, Zynga’s FarmVille, and Yahoo Answers) […]
Joris Beerda tested Human-Focused Design vs Design Thinking (Which actually works?) | Episode 438
Wondering if Octalysis fits your challenge? Quick intro chat → professorgame.com/chat Episode Summary Joris Beerda, CEO and co-founder of The Octalysis Group, walks through the five-step Octalysis design process and argues that IDEO-style human-centered design produces intuitive but not repeatedly engaging products. He distinguishes […]
How To Boost Long-Term Retention! Without Relying on Novelty | Episode 437
Don’t experiment on your own revenue with broken game mechanics. Get our guide “Core Drives in the Wild” to learn how to apply real behavioral science to your product: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Rob Alvarez attacks the “chocolate-covered broccoli” approach to gamification, arguing that points, […]
Using AI to Build Better Learning Games | Episode 436
Have a product challenge around retention? Quick intro chat → professorgame.com/chat Episode Summary Leif Sørensen, founder of Actee, argues that most learning games fail because clients treat them as “magic powder” that can absorb a dozen frameworks at once, and because designers say yes […]
Why Your Team Hates Your AI Strategy (And How to Fix It) | Episode 435
If you’re implementing AI and want to realize that promised ROI, let’s see if Octalysis fits → professorgame.com/chat Episode Summary Rob Alvarez argues that AI implementation in 2026 is a behavioral problem and not a technical one, and that most AI rollouts fail because […]