Which was goddam frustrating at the time.
We send emails, buy stuff, or book tickets and take these very seriously.
Still, why are these activities different?
What makes some of them fun and some not?
And how can we make them even more fun?
But what is fun?
And true, it might be a usable and efficient experience, but that doesnt make it less boring.
And this is what gamification actually is.
Gamification = The process of adding elements from games to non-game products or services.
RulesAgree on the rules of the game.
Limitations actually help us become more creative and allow us to appreciate the fun.
Every small thing you ask of them will be followed by a conversion, so keep it simple.
FeedbackGive feedback to users, specifically progress feedback.
It comes in different visual forms like progress bars, levels, encouragement messages, animations etc.
RewardsOffer rewards to users.
Research showed that intrinsic motivation is a lot more powerful than extrinsic motivation.
Not when theyre forced or tricked into it.
Freedom to failFailing without consequences keeps users more engaged than when theyre getting punished because they can retry.
Denying them that, hinders their involvement.
How does this look in real life?
Fitbit
GoalReach 10.000 steps each day.
RewardsFitbit offers badges and trophies for special achievements and uses steps as currency to build leaderboards and rank users.
RuleWaze asks its users to report incidents.
Due to the complexity of the rule, most likely the percentage of participants is not overwhelming either.
RewardsWaze rewards users with points that allow them to advance through 5 levels.
It also offers achievements and shows them their overall rank on the platform.
MotivationIts the nice feeling you get after helping other people.
Duolingo
GoalLearn a new language.
Its powerful, because it can help people from a professional and personal standpoint, but also very challenging.
And Duolingo knows that and tries to attract those interested by making learning fun and interactive.
RuleTake lessons and practice, thats pretty much it.
Its simple and there are no time constrains.
Every action inside the platform is seen as an opportunity to add interactivity to the system.
Reason why, in psychology, its called thepeak-end rule.
Long term, both are equally bad.
People also have a tendency to remember incomplete processes better than complete ones according to theZeigarnik effect.
So, having something ongoing to come back to gives users an extra reason to return.
Has 5 key components
Gamification is usually associated with BPL (Badges, Points and Leaderboards).
And sure, rewards are important but theyre just a cog thats part of a machine.
On a priority scale, products first need to be functional and usable.
Gamification will not fix product, technical or usability issues.
We work, when its not.
