Today’s lesson: What is Gamification all about?

Introduction

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We can see it all around us, how games are becoming more and more popular and how the gaming industry is increasing in size rapidly. There are even some promising blockchain projects that are looking to disrupt the gaming industry, like is the case with Chimaera.

Competitiveness, socialization and of course having fun, are some of the most important elements typical of any games, whether they are board games, or video games.

All of them end up causing in the players feelings of involvement and engagement that considerably improve the performance of said players in different tasks that surround the game, and all of that is also present in an increasingly popular tendency that is called “gamification”.

What is then, Gamification?

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Gamification uses game mechanics in a non-game context to reward you for completing tasks. It's like the games you probably played in your head as a kid where you'd task yourself with cleaning your room in under five minutes, or doing the dishes as quickly as possible just to keep yourself from getting bored. Basically, you complete a task, you get a reward. This might be a little digital badge in an app or a coupon for a store. | Source

The concept of "gamification" is about the idea of achieving good results mostly in work dynamics, implementing mechanics and techniques that are typical of games but in a real life context rather than in a simulated one like in the games. It is important to note that, with gamification, the game is not about the purpose, but rather it is the means through which is possible to increase levels of concentration and involvement in the tasks in which this process is applied.

For example, gamification can be used in the workplace to increase the levels of involvement of workers in the achievement of organizational goals, or in the case with education it can be used with the aim of achieving a more entertaining educational process that allows the students to stay more time focused on their academic tasks.

In addition to the uses in those areas, gamification could potentially have also a positive impact in the management of health complications that are handled by the person himself, such as the case with diabetes. The fact is, gamification help us getting involved in activities that would otherwise be considered boring or tedious.

Gamification involves creating a narrative around the learning activity that describes why the task is relevant to the learner. According to University of Reading researchers, attention spans are affected by the subject’s emotional connection with the activity. | Source

Gamification’s factors

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There are a large number of factors in order to have a proper gamification, and new approaches and new procedures are constantly emerging, since it is a relatively young development area.

Among all the elements to gamify content, the ones that stick out for their popularity and for their positive results are rewards mechanics, progression bars, rankings or achievements and social functions such as the inclusion of avatars in forums and chats.

Rewards

In the case of the principles of rewards, thanks to them it is possible to encourage and compensate users when they perform actions that are of interest or when their results in different tasks are satisfactory.

This mechanic has great utility because in educational contexts for example, they act as intensifiers of attitudes more prone to share knowledge, so that some users, to get more prizes, spend more time than they would normally use in the creation of content for the group, this way, every of the participants is benefited.

Achievements and rankings

Adding elements such as accomplishments and rankings through gamification can be of great help order to create a competitive dynamic that creates high levels of motivation in order to satisfy the different objectives there might be by increasing the performance in a considerable way, with results that could even be more powerful than offering simple prizes. A lot of people will always like to compete and being recognized for their efforts.

Social functions

Finally, the social functions of gamification can work as an enhance to improve the impact of the 2 previous factors, especially in places where having constant social interaction is a natural happening.

These social functions such as chats or forums allow people to interact based on personal needs, some use them to publish their personal achievements, causing others to be challenged and persevere in their efforts, and others can use them to exchange impressions, experiences or to ask for help in case there is any doubt.

A player's abilities or knowledge of the game are constantly assessed; if the player does not perform well-enough in the game, she fails. This is because games are essentially a demonstration of a player's skills. | Source

Types of players

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Any person that has play some games will know that there are different player types depending on the qualities of their personality and the same happens with gamification. It is very important to know the different existing types as it can be of great help at the time of gamify some type of content, course or task, to make it more compatible and attractive towards the users.

Because if the mechanism applied in the gamification process aren’t compatible with the users that are going to be interacting with those mechanisms, the increase in performance might be lower than what could be expected. Getting the people engaged is fundamental for gamification to work properly.

According to Amy Jo Kim there are 4 types of players:

Competitors ^Source

This player, as it name implies is driven by needs to compete with others, performing a lot of social behavior and self-improvement. Sometimes, this kind of motivation may not be entirely efficient because it can cause situations of conflict or too stressful with anyone involved. Competing is not always easy.

They find external ranking systems and zero-sum game mechanics appealing because those structures mirror their internal dialogue and POV. | Source

Collarborators ^Source

Collaboration and collective activities are effective ways to socialize. These players enjoy the feeling of "winning together" and are a great external support for users who need help. They are always taking care of others and are the less selfish and more altruistic of all.

They love to “win together” and measure success as collective impact. Collaborators enjoy participating in groups and teams, forming partnerships, and playing coop games. They value teamwork, shared learning, and relationship-building via shared tasks. | Source

Expressers ^Source

This type of player is strongly devoted to sharing his own original ideas, thoughts and style with the goal of developing their skills and abilities by giving total liberty to their creativity.

They love tools and systems that let them personalize their experience, make their mark, and express their uniqueness. They’ll use any available tools to make things that others admire and emulate. | Source

Explorers ^Source

The exploration of information, individuals, tools and places can be a good and rewarding activity. People who enjoy exploring are driven by information, and new knowledge, always looking for new things to learn, and new discoveries to delight themselves with.

Explorers are motivated by gaining knowledge, exploring boundaries, finding loopholes, and knowing the rules that govern a space. Explorers love to poke at systems and discover their ins-and-outs. They enjoy accumulating and showing off knowledge. Explorers value accurate info, clever design, and relationship-building via knowledge exchange. | source

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Although it might seem simple, this model is quite complex, since these four types of players create four axes through which the type of each player can be described in greater detail using what the author calls "Social Actions", which capture different motivational patterns located between the types mentioned above.

Conclusion

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Gamification is a very ingenious activity, where people can make mistakes because there are a lot of things still to be created. Learning while having fun and creating playful experiences that are increasingly interesting for the user is a dynamic in which in the great scheme of things, have no losers.

Because of everything mentioned, gamification has been increasing in popularity. It offers great possibilities in terms of education and the world of work and, in addition, it has great potential to eventually have a strong positive impact in the field of healthcare and general well being.

However, there is still a long way to go and time will be the only judge in charge of deciding whether the use of these techniques and methodologies are the key to the education of the new digital generations of people.

Based on the type of players according to Amy Jo Kim mentioned on this article, which type of player would you be and why?. In my case, I believe I would be an explorer.

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