“Is It Cake?” Is A Master Class In Gamification
Netflix’s new baking competition follows a balanced recipe of challenge and ease.
When a friend recommended “Is It Cake?”, I promised to check it out, with no concrete plans to prioritize it. I enjoy baking competitions here and there (“Chopped” and “Nailed It” are my favorites), but the premise of “Is It Cake?” seemed more like a gimic than a show.
A few weeks later, I opened Netflix, and “Is It Cake?” was prominently displayed in the Top 10 category. I decided to give it a go, mostly because I had finished all my shows, and I wasn’t in the mood to scroll through titles. Halfway through the first episode, I was hooked. While the show is gimmicky (it was inspired by a meme), it’s also genius. What stands out is how a simple concept — finding a cake among objects that are not cake — was spun into a compelling game.
The creators started with a deceptively easy goal — surely people know a cake when they see one, right? Wrong! (Check out the “Is It Cake“ trailer to see what I mean.). Through strategic design decisions, the creators cultivate an environment where it’s genuinely challenging to find the cake. In fact, after watching season one, I can report that the cakes are significantly more likely to go undetected.
What happens on “Is It Cake?”
The show includes three segments, and I’ll explore the mechanics of the main event, aptly named “Is It Cake?”. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a rundown of this segment:
Bakers choose one object to recreate in cake form, such as a tennis shoe.
Bakers select four props (such as real tennis shoes) that their cake will hide amongst.
Behind the scenes, the cake and the four props are placed on pedestals.
Three judges try to identify the cake among the lookalike props.
Host and resident goofball Mikey Day tests the judges’ answer by slicing into the cake or prop with a giant knife.
Photo by Gustavo Fring via Pexels.
Why is it so challenging to spot the cakes?
The game has been engineered to decrease the likelihood that the cakes will be discovered. The judges usually fail to distinguish the cake from the props, but they occasionally succeed. Ensuring that the judges can succeed, even if it’s rare, is integral to the game structure. If they failed every time, the game would be dull and predictable. Thus, the designers created obstacles that make it challenging, but not impossible, to spot the cakes.
To strike this balance of challenge and ease, the designers fine-tuned various elements of the game:
The bakers are incredibly talented. As the bakers are introduced, photographs of their past cake creations are displayed. While their experience levels vary, it’s clear that they have cultivated the niche skillsets required to produce cakes that pass as real objects. The bakers’ expertise ensures that they are capable of fooling the judges.
The bakers choose the object they recreate as cake. The bakers choose from a handful of objects that fit a theme (like garage sale items, fast food, and fashion). While it’s not a total free-for-all, bakers can choose the item they feel most confident about recreating. The bakers sometimes regret their decision, as the object may be more vexing than they imagined. However, it’s better that they have a choice! This way, they are not forced to make something that’s way beyond reach.
The bakers have 8 hours to work their magic. This eight-hour limit provides enough time for the bakers to craft a spectacular masterpiece with jaw-dropping details. Apart from a few scrapes, the bakers did not struggle to produce stunning results in this window. After all, it takes time to design a cake that passes for a seashell, plate of tacos, or toy elephant!
The judges are not in the room as the bakers bake. This may be an obvious detail to point out, but in most baking competitions the judges watch and comment on the entire baking process. For this game, it’s essential that the judges do not see what the bakers are doing. It would make the game a cakewalk, as they’d glimpse details that would give away which object was the cake.
The judges* are new for each episode. This mitigates the possibility that the judges become too skilled at spotting the cakes. Plus, it’s entertaining to see the shock on the judges’ faces when they realize how skilled the bakers are at hoodwinking them.
The cake + lookalike props are situated at a healthy distance from the judges. It’s hard to gauge, but I’d guess the judges are at least 15 feet away from the cake wall, where the cake and props sit on pedestals. This distance prevents people from seeing minute details, making it difficult to detect “cakey” qualities.
There’s a 20-second time limit for the judges to find the cake. This 20-second scramble is my favorite part of the show. The judges scan the cake wall and chaotically toss out their opinions about which objects look “off.” With such a short window, the judges can’t analyze every detail, which dials up the challenge of locating the cake.
The judges must agree on their guesses. There are three judges, and the guess must be entered on the pin pad in front of the judge standing in the middle. If each judge got to guess, the statistical likelihood of finding the cake would increase. Because they’re only afforded one guess, the middle judge must make a call, despite the conflicting answers and their own level of confidence.
*Gripe: Most judges are not experts in food, baking, or cakes. I’m guessing that this was a strategic choice, as the judges are less likely to be privy to the techniques available to cake-makers. However, if two bakers’ cakes remain undetected, the tie is broken by the judges. They compare the look AND taste of the cakes, which they’re not fully qualified to do. With $5,000 on the line, the judges should be qualified to evaluate the finer details that will set one excellent cake apart from another.
Photo by David Holifield via Unsplash.
UXD Takeaways
Consider these takeaways from “Is It Cake” the next time your design project involves gamification:
Start with a simple goal. Maybe the goal is so easy that it doesn’t seem like a game at all. It can be more efficient to start with simplicity and slowly build complexity.
Add friction. What can you do to ensure that the game isn’t too easy?
Get user feedback. See how users respond to the design. Do they find it too easy or too challenging? What structures are contributing to their experience?
Experiment to find a balance between challenge and ease. Conduct various rounds of play-testing to determine the optimal amount of challenge. It should be possible to win the game, but it won’t be all that fun if it's too easy.
Watch a baking competition for inspiration! The structures used for baking competitions (or any game show) may apply to your design. When you watch the show, analyze the elements that make the game compelling. Also, look out for factors that could be fine-tuned to make the game better!
Photograph by @freestocks via Unsplash.