There are a host of different techniques that games use to keep us coming back for more, and many of those techniques have been adopted by other industries. These techniques can be broadly referred to as gamification, and they are a common everyday occurrence in many industries today. From fitness apps that push you to beat yesterday's personal best and casino platforms that reward daily visits to banking apps that let you level up over time, gamification is everywhere around us, and draws us to return over and over again.
The broad idea of gamification is that it takes mechanics from games, like gaining experience and increasing in level, and applies them to something else to increase the enjoyment that people get from it and increase the engagement that people have with it. It works on a psychological level, and it can be just as effective when employed by free online slots platforms as it is when it's used by a language learning app.
Let's take a closer look at what gamification is, some of the more common types of gamification, and why it works so well.
What Exactly Is Gamification?
Simply enough, gamification is taking a mechanic or concept that is used in a game and putting it into an environment that wouldn't normally contain such a mechanic or element. The idea is that users will engage more with systems that are gamified, drawing them to do certain things, improving customer retention and removing some of the boredom from otherwise repetitive tasks.
Systems that have been gamified will provide users with incentives for completing tasks or taking certain actions, giving them a sense of progression along with other rewards to try and make the act of engaging with the system more meaningful. A user might receive free daily spins for online slots, for example, encouraging them to come back and engage with the platform daily. But gamification can come in many different flavors.
Gaining Experience and Progressing
Progression systems have to be the most common type of gamification. Plenty of games use progression systems outside of the core gameplay loop. Some great examples can be found in card games like Magic: The Gathering Arena and Hearthstone; in these games, players get experience points (XP) by completing quests, playing matches and other actions. This XP allows them to unlock various cosmetic rewards, in-game currency and other content.
Progression systems work by allowing the player to feel like they are moving somewhere, that they are advancing in some way. Having a larger goal associated with the core gameplay loop helps to drive players back towards that core loop, essentially encouraging them to play more regularly or for longer. Progression systems are very common in all sorts of places, such as:
Language learning apps.
Education software.
Employee training services.
The motivation that arises from a sense of forward progression cannot be understated. Progression systems are an excellent driver of engagement.
Daily Login Rewards and Bonuses
The offering of daily rewards is also very popular and a good example of gamification. These games might not rely on players sticking around for hours, but if they are encouraged to log in every day to claim a small bonus or free reward, it makes it more likely that they will stick around and play for a while as well.
This type of gamification is also often associated with a streak, and missing a single day will reset the streak, potentially losing a record or reverting rewards to a lower tier. The idea behind this is that by encouraging daily engagement, the gamified activity will become a habit and part of the user's routine.
Offering Rewards For Users to Collect
One of the most popular types of gamification in the early 00s was the introduction of achievements. These digital badges and trophies commonly give users rewards for completing a certain action or reaching some sort of milestone. Often, the only reward is an acknowledgement that the user has done whatever the thing is. But the human desire to collect shiny things, even if they are only digital, is very strong.
The idea behind achievements is that they provide an additional goal outside of the main activity that is being undertaken. They encourage users to engage for longer than they would otherwise, and can provide people with a long-term goal beyond the normal function of whatever they are engaging with.
Modern gamification systems that use achievements and badges often provide users with a way to display them by customizing their profiles. This adds an extra level of incentive to push towards acquiring badges, so users can show off their achievements to other users.
Why Does Gamification Work?
Gamification is all about using psychology. It's well known that many people love to feel a sense of progress, to get rewarded or to have achievements recognized or shown off. When a digital service allows users to feel some or all of these elements as they use it, it might encourage them to use it for longer, or for that activity to feel more rewarding for them while they undertake it.
While it might seem a little sinister, gamification systems do rely on users buying into their narrative. Users can easily ignore these systems and engage with the product or service on their own terms. The idea is that users who do buy in will find that they enjoy or are encouraged to return more often.
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