Have you ever heard of ‘gamification’ before? It’s a term used to describe elements of a task or job made more ‘gamelike’ to increase engagement. Many companies use gamification to boost productivity in the workplace, while people use apps in everyday life to gamify chores and never-ending to-do lists.
Essentially, it’s a clever way of making real-life feel more like a game – therefore tapping into our need to claim achievements and get high scores! It also works for millions of people across work and entertainment.
But what are some of the biggest video game elements mimicked in gamification strategies right now? Below, we look at a few examples.
Achievements and Leveling Up
Since the dawn of the Xbox Live era, achievements have been a staple of many gamers’ to-do lists. There’s nothing quite like hunting down tricky achievements to show off that you’re one of the world’s best players!
This system transfers easily into gamification. It all plays into our need for rewards – even a simple digital trophy is reward enough for taking the time to complete a particularly fiendish challenge. The same goes for earning XP and leveling up – it’s rewarding to progress in a game and to show off your level based on your effort and skill.
One of the best ways that this system is used outside of video games is in iGaming – that is, online slots and casino games.
At some online casinos, you can level up based on the games you play and your biggest scores. This is only one instance of what to expect. It’s worth taking a look at Oddschecker’s collection of online casinos for more insight – click here and read the list.
Storytelling
Even old-school arcade games have stories – it’s not a fad that’s tied into the last few gaming generations! After all, there was always a storyline to Donkey Kong – and even classics such as Space Invaders and Asteroids.
Ultimately, gamers love stories, and they love to play the roles of heroes and villains. Progressing through a story means that they’re stacking up achievements and getting rewarded for completing tricky challenges.
In some cases, story-based gamification can help people to train and upskill at work. For example, a firm might allow its staff to progress through training by creating avatars and moving on to new ‘chapters’ each time they complete a learning module or pass a test.
Scoreboards and Competitions
Everyone wants to feel accomplished! In fact, there are plenty of studies out there on the psychology of high scoring and the dopamine that we get from digital achievements. It’s a way to establish your worth as a gamer (though this might not always be healthy!).
In gamification, scoreboards and high scoring, in general, can help to keep competition healthy between different people on a team or in competing departments. For example, in a sales team, staff might strive to get the most conversions in a week, with a public scoreboard helping to inspire progress and competition.
It’s not completely different from trying to get high scores on your favorite arcade games – it’s all about earning those bragging rights!
Gamification is a fascinating topic that you’ll find all over the web, in the workplace and beyond. It has fast become an integral part of slot game design, self-help apps and training motivation.
Yet it’s a phenomenon that has not finished evolving just yet – who’s to say what other features and mechanics from games could work their way into real life in the years to come?