In our previous post, we have explained the gamification concept. The post can be read here. However, let’s quickly reintroduce what is gamification. In short, gamification is the application of elements of game playing to different areas of activity. This is usually seen as an online marketing technique to engage with a service or a product. However, it is essential to remember that gamification is not the game itself but the use of game elements in non-gaming functions and circumstances. Especially in the last decade, gamification has become a hot topic both in education and in business. With this blog, we aim to delve into the gamification concept.
Why using gamification?
The fact that traditional motivational elements, such as curiosity and adding personal challenge, are no longer valid in today’s world is emphasized in business and personal development books. This is also proven by scientific research. Gamification of any element creates an internal trigger by changing the perception of the feature, making it more attractive. The point that definitely should be highlighted about gamification as a concept is that the majority of people play games just because they want to play. Thus, people play games of their own free will, and especially the younger generation spends time on games equal to their weekly working hours. Therefore, to grab the attention of your customers or your students, it is crucial to gamify the elements of the topic concerned.
The concept of gamification became popular as the growing game industry showed that games have a powerful effect on human motivation. Before this concept officially emerged, some workplaces already used practices with game mechanics: for example, choosing the best employee of the month to keep the employees engaged and motivated. Therefore, adding game elements to introduce competition is a great use of gamification in business. Moreover, this concept is highly useful for educational purposes and research shows that it has a positive impact on learners’ motivation and engagement.
Which gamification elements can you add to your apps & learning environment?
Gamification is a popular keyword, especially in the education sector. Moreover, learning apps as learning environments are very popular. You might then be wondering what types of game elements you should include in your apps and learning environment. We would like to answer this question with the following list of elements:
- Level, points, scores
- Progress bars
- Rewards and badges
- Storylines
- Countdowns and schedule
- Personalization
- Leaderboards
- In-app tools
- Micro-interactions
All the elements listed above are aiming to increase competitiveness and keep the users motivated and engaged with the product. Therefore, if gamification is included, the possibility of users’ keep coming back and using the app is more likely than ever. Moreover, gamification and game elements can be included in everything that can be thought of. The researches also show that gamified training in workplaces keeps the employees engaged and reduces boredom during training. It is very important to realise what is popular and preferred by the users, especially these days. Therefore, including the best-known game elements in the apps and learning environment would give you a great advantage.
Best practices for retaining users with game elements
As it was mentioned previously, the main reason for gamification is to keep the users retained, engaged, and motivated. There are some specific gamified solutions and practices that increase user engagement.
Let’s get into the details! Here’s a list of 4 practical examples:
- Tutorial: Tutorials teach the user how the game works, making it easier to engage with. However, it is important to not make the tutorial too long, complicated, or too simple. By tracking whether a user skips certain parts of the tutorial, you can get an estimate for the right tutorial features.
- Reward: Adding daily rewards will keep the user coming back to the app every day to collect them. Moreover, giving rewards after an achievement also motivates and encourages the user to keep coming back to the app.
- Notifications: Using push notifications is again encouraging the user to keep using the app or the game.
- Providing the chance to have a community: for example, setting options such as “invite a friend” or “ask a friend to send a heart” creates a sense of companionship or competition. When the users feel like they have a virtual community on the app, it will help them use the app instead of dropping out.
These practices are all part of the traditional gamification approach. However, it is worth mentioning that trends and circumstances rapidly evolve and change. Nowadays, many apps look for different ways to increase retention because users usually avoid push notifications. Moreover, inviting friends through Facebook is also seen as a fading trend. Therefore, even though these practices are considered some of the best to retain users, it is important to keep a dynamic approach and check what solutions users themselves are gravitating towards.
The advantages of implementing gamified solutions
Gamification has become very popular in the last decade because it has a lot of advantages. Moreover, there are so many benefits of why gamification is worth using in learning apps or solutions. The statistics from the research also prove that when gamification is used learning is more effective. Here are the best advantages of implementing gamified elements, especially for e-learning solutions:
- Increases the engagement
- Improves the motivation of the users
- Helps and improves retaining knowledge
- Elevates cognitive development
- Helps education to become more accessible
You may have more questions about gamification, and you can contact MeKiwi to have your answers! As MeKiwi, we are providing services to build custom-made gamified solutions to your needs in the business and education fields. Do you want to make your product digitally engaging and motivating? Let us do it for you!
Do not hesitate to contact us for more information and the best digital gamified solutions.