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We have all spent countless hours of our childhood playing a bunch of video games. All of which had a few common core elements. They all had an epic narrative, we controlled virtual characters that could be leveled up, and every game had clearly defined visual checkpoints that would motivate us to continue playing and eventually finish the game. Even though some games were 40+ hours long.
This is a testament to the addictive nature of computer games. These games, by using the many techniques that were listed above, are able to modify human behavior and thus motivate the player organically.
Gamification is quite simply put, the craft of translating all the factors that make video games super addictive and using them for apps or web platforms that are trying to solve real-world problems.
Some of the earliest examples of gamification in action were when credit card companies started employing a point system to earn frequent flyer miles. Many people were motivated to accumulate points and then swap them for prizes.
As an additional example of early gamification, companies may offer several degrees of membership status and ranking depending on money spent or reward points gained.
What Is Gamification And Why Is it So Popular Now?
Jane McGonigal’s powerful Ted talk on how games can create a substantial positive effect in the real world has moved all of us who have watched the full video.
Video games often turn into really powerful drivers of user motivation, and gamification is the craft of understanding the design elements of games that make them immersive and addictive and translating these elements into the design of apps or web platforms. Adding the inherent fun of games and at the same time driving user motivation for their in-app journeys.
According to Yu-kai Chou, the leading expert when it comes to gamification theory as well as the best design practices, “gamification is the craft of deriving fun and engaging elements found typically in games and thoughtfully applying them to real-world or productive activities”
Gamification has the potential to increase customers LTV, sales, improve learning, and to make a financial commitment. For the most part, people love the idea of earning something in exchange for completing an activity or meeting a goal.
As time goes on, it's realistic to assume that gamification will be used more frequently in various contexts. The core system of points and badges will never go out of style. A range of businesses will benefit from new gamification approaches made possible by emerging technologies, applications, and APIs.
The current popularity of gamification is due to its incredible ability to improve and increase user engagements. Adding a gamification layer on top of your app or web platform has proven to increase the energy and intensity levels of user participation. Over 50% of mobile app users have claimed that they would pay more attention to their behavior and actions if the app has game-like features.
Gamification can also be used by organizations to stimulate participation in other activities, such as fundraising or training sessions (or e-learning). When used internally, gamification is a powerful tool for getting employees to participate and be more engaged. Attending training, for example, can earn you points toward a free vacation day.
Concepts such as rewarding people for their efforts can be implemented in a wide range of fields, including business and education.
And then we have these insane stats and figures, to prove beyond any shred of doubt that gamification is here to stay and that it works.
The Psychology of Gamification
Designing a successfully gamified system means appealing to our innate desires for self-motivation, competition, reward, and social status through these elements. Furthermore, players appreciate freebies, especially in the form of prizes. In social media, they enjoy exchanging messages with others, accumulating up points, and seeing their names on lists of the most active users.
When it comes to video games, young professionals who have grown up playing them are especially fond of action-packed, rewarding games that give them a sense of accomplishment. To sell their products and build brand awareness and consumer loyalty, companies can use various Gamification techniques, technologies and methods.
Positive encounters affect user behavior in the long run. We all have feelings, desires, insecurities, and reasons for wanting to do or not wanting to do things. To urge a user to accomplish an assignment, gamified business structures are built around Human-Focused Design, which optimizes for these sentiments, motivations, and engagements. Gamified marketing and even health can all benefit from this approach.
For the most part, successful gamified initiatives are predicated on psychological concepts.
(The US army uses gamification to recruit their next generation of soldiers)
Why gamified systems give better engagement metrics when compared to non-gamified systems?
Gamification is a “Human-Focused” design technique, as opposed to the more traditional “Function-Focused” design approach. Function-Focused design is how the factories of the industrial revolution were designed. This design approach tries to maximize the utility of each function in a system, and it simply assumes that the humans in the system will fall in line with the curve of maximum efficiency.
But extensive research into how games can impact human behavior has shown us the many pitfalls of Function-Focused design. Developers have now understood that humans in a system cannot be taken for granted, in fact, it is our emotions and idiosyncrasies that are often the driver of user motivation.
The Human-Focused design takes the human factor into consideration and tries to optimize every element of the system to maximize the immersion. Gamification is the way we implement this Human-Focused design approach. Games and game-like activities create an immersive experience that is otherwise impossible.
This is the reason why more and more companies are trying to add game-like engagements to their app or web platforms to improve and increase their user engagements.
In Conclusion:
As gamification is essentially human-focused design, when we are trying to build a great gamified system, we must ensure that every aspect of our design is optimized for the human element.
And the easiest, as well as the most effective way to do this, is by understanding human psychology. This blog summarized the many reasons why gamification is popular and also gave you all the tools that you need to implement a successfully gamified system by understanding human psychology.
If you have a mobile app or a web platform and want to expand your user base in 2021, gamification should be your number one consideration. If you like what you see here, be sure to explore the rest of our site.
CustomerGlu is a gamification platform for customers. You may add these game-like engagements at any point in the development of your app or online platform because we've created a SaaS solution for you.
CustomerGlu offers a wide selection of gamified themes. With our simple drag-and-drop builder, you can create a completely unique gamification experience for your app or web platform.You can simply Book A Free Demo with us by clicking on the link here - https://www.customerglu.com/
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q. Is gamification still relevant?
A. Gamification is no longer a buzzword. Since the term was first coined in 2003, it has continued to grow in prominence. In fact, Most of the employees are shown to be more engaged when gamification solutions are applied to their workplace.
Q. Why is gamification successful?
A. Gamification gives your organization the power to engage and excite employees on a personal level. Your distributed workforce has the opportunity to win badges, progress through levels, and unlock rewards. All of this fuels their motivation and propels them to professional success.
Q. What is an example of gamification?
A. Some examples of game mechanics used in gamification are: Goals - Complete the task and get a reward, such as a badge or points. Status - Users increase their level or rank through completing activities. Leaderboards show who is 'winning' and inspire users to work harder to compete.
