Choice is supposed to create a sense of autonomy and freedom. In turn, this autonomy facilitates motivation. But Schwartz questions whether choice can really motivate us because it actually increases cognitive load, expectations and too much choice actually frustrates us. So perhaps there is a 'ZOC' (Zone of Optimal Choices) to create optimal motivation.
Learn about the gamification of the university experience at RIT's School of Interactive Games & Media. I learned about this at a MIT talk on Civic Games, which was written up here: http://civic.mit.edu/blog/mstem/event-writeup-civic-games. They only really touched on motivation, autonomy, and rewards, but the transcript is also worth checking out for the names of people, books, and sites mentioned.
Coach John Wooden talks about motivating and engaging his students and players. In giving students autonomy and control over their learning, it is sometimes important to focus on small details too. This could be as simple as being punctual, but it goes a long way in building self-discipline.
Description: Based upon multiple studies with over 15,000 gamers, this presentation defines and reviews three specific motivational needs that are directly related to sustained engagement and value. The Player Experience of Need Satisfaction model (PENS) focuses specifically on experiences of competence, autonomy and relatedness satisfactions. Game examples and strategies for maximizing these satisfactions are discussed.
In 3 out of 5 of these games users work on quest-like activities - Wow is #5; Mafia Wars is #4 & Farmville is #1.
The other 2 resemble typical socialization when playing a game in person - "bragging rights" and playing a board game.
They all seem to touch on at least one of the 3 components from Ryan & Deci - relatedness, competence, and/or autonomy.