Gamification
As someone who studied psychology, I’m incredibly interested in the psychology aspects of design. This is actually partially what got me interested in UX to being with. One aspect of psychology is understanding human behavior, which got me interested in learning more about Gamification and Behavioral Design.
I recently started The Interactional Design Foundation’s Gamification course, which looks at Janacki Kumar and Mario Hergerone’s player-centered design, one of the many gamification frameworks.
So first off, what is gamification? Gamification consists of adding game-like elements to traditionally non-gaming contexts in order to motivate the user towards a behavior. (It’s important to note that this does not mean making the entire experience into a game) Game-like elements make the boring and serious tasks of non-gaming contexts become more engaging and inviting so designers use these to motivate and influence users.
Why does it work? Games have been around forever and its components of competition, rewards, and fun are ingrained into the human psyche. The whole point of a game is to provide fun. Games have been around for tens of thousands of years and have There are four key elements that make a game fun:
- Goals, the outcome the player is looking to reach. This also gives the player a sense of purpose
- Rules, which set constraints on what the player is able to do. Though they limit the player, they also encourage creative problem solving
- Feedback System, which indicates the player’s performance. This is also the reward system and comes in the forms of extrinsic, such as points and badges earned, as well as intrinsic, such as satisfaction from winning.
- Voluntary Participation, in which the player chooses to play and follow the rules. The player had chosen to engage in the activity as being forced to do something is not fun.
Points, Badges, Leaderboards
When someone thinks of gamification, they often think of being rewarded points and badges or leaderboards. There are several different techniques that can be used to implement gamification in design. Here are a few of them:
- Points: Points are used as a way to measure a user’s progress as well as their engagement and actions. Using points is also a way for stakeholders to measure the user’s engagement.
- Badges and Prizes: When enough points are collected or a user completes a challenge, they may be awarded a badge. Users feel more motivated to complete tasks when given that small pat on the back.
- Leaderboards: Leaderboards show users where their performance or progress ranks among others. Due to the natural competitiveness of many users, the need to win motivates them to increase their engagement.
- Progress Bars: Progress bars show the user how far a user is in completing a task. They influence the user by showing them their current progress what steps they need to take to reach their goal.
- Challenges: Users are motivated to prove that they can accomplish something difficult. By incorporating challenges users are more empowered to take action.
It's important to note, while these mechanics can be powerful in gamification, they are often criticized for not being used effectively. These techniques need to be used correctly and in the right context.
My next few posts will further explore gamification as well as look at a few of the different frameworks.
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