Gamification in a nutshell

What is gamification?

Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts.

Where was it practically implemented?

Originally introduced in the Amsterdam International Airport, the urinal fly is a great example of a usable yet fun product. Its intent was to keep the bathroom floor clean when you aim for the fly, you are less likely to spill. You can urinate without trying to hit the fly, but for a lot of people trying to hit it is a better and more fun experience.

Why should I care?

• 90% of employees feel more productive when using gamification. (Source: Medium.org) 
• Using gamification may increase 6X newly registered business users. (Source: Forbes)
• Gamifying your website can boost browsing time by up to 30%. (Source: Optimonster)
• 72% of employees claim gamification inspires them to work harder. (Source: Medium.org) 
• By 2020, the education gamification market value is estimated to reach $1.5 billion. (Source: Statista) 

Key Ingredients Of Gamification

1. Motivation
2. Mastery
3. Triggers

Motivation:

Motivation is the “Why?”

Motivation is what makes a user care about what they do. It is the reason or reasons that one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.

Wherever there are people, there are people to be motivated, whether it be employees motivated to take part in additional training programs or salespeople motivated to grow revenues.

Mastery:

Mastery is the “How?”

Mastery is the set of rules and the knowledge or skill needed to accomplish a specific task. Game mechanics should be based on skill and persistence not just on random luck. The path to mastery is an important concept of successful Gamification. We want to feel as we are mastering a skill as we progress through a game.

As humans our brain wants to be challenged as we increase in level, the difficulty of the game should increase too.

Triggers:

Triggers are the “When?” and “Where?”

This is the actual implementation of opportunities for users to win and fulfill their motivation.

The actions you designate will act as triggers for a positive feedback mechanism. When we do something and our actions lead to positive outcomes we form a habit and repeat this action.

Often people are motivated and have the ability to carry out particular actions but something is stopping them. Users may be distracted, they may doubt their motivation to continue, or perhaps they don’t think they can achieve the end goal.

Good triggers are designed to solve all these problems. 

What are the elements that I can use?

1.     Challenges

These map to the learning objectives or learning goals.

2.     Levels

The map to the learning journey and as the learner goes through each level, it should show a step up in proficiency for them.

3.     Instant feedback

This helps learners know how they are facing against their learning goals and based on this, they can adopt the necessary measures to step up their performance.

4.     Scores

They are indicators of their performance and are closely aligned to offering pleasure as well as a sense of accomplishment.

5.     Badges

As the learners go through the learning path and clear certain levels, they are given badges. These show the completion of their significant achievements.

6.     Leaderboards

Dashboards are used to provide a pictorial view of the overall progress against competitors. The analytics keeps learners connected to the learning journey and aligned to meeting their main objective.

7.     Competition

This can be leveraged effectively as it helps learners assess where they stand against other peers or competing teams.

8.     Collaboration

This feature not only facilitates team-building but also enables learners to leverage the support of peers or guidance from experts to meet their goals.

Examples:

1. Nike+ Run Club

The app allows the user to set training objectives, measure activity that has been personalized to them, and connects with a community of like-minded people. Statistics like run time and distance covered can be shared on social networks. One of the main gamification features in the app is the ability to win trophies and badges by taking part in challenges.

1. Todoist

It is a productivity app that has incorporated gamification to meet the demands of the modern-day consumer. What the app does very well is keeping the user engaged by including level elements, the more points you collect, the more levels (Beginner to Enlightened) you unlock. Points are referred to as karma and are rewarded by completing tasks that you have set. Negative karma is given when a deadline is not met and a task is not complete. You can also let the world know how much good karma you have stacked up by sharing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

3.     Language learning apps like Memrise, Duolingo,...

What these apps have done exceptionally well is make learning fun via gamification techniques that tap into the reward, practical, and experience elements of learning.

4.     Habitica

The app uses the RPG games mechanics for example, players can create characters, unite into guilds, and defeat monsters. 

5.     Mango Health

This app reminds patients when it is time to take their medication and records each taken dose. What makes it different from other gamification apps is that Mango Health gives its users real-life rewards store discount coupons.