Gamification is the application of game design elements and game principles, in non-game related contexts. Gamification commonly employs game design elements to improve user engagement, organizational productivity, flow, learning, employee recruiting and evaluation, ease of use, usefulness of systems, physical exercise, traffic violations, voter apathy, and more.
A collection of research on gamification shows that most studies on gamification find that it has positive effects on individuals. However, there are individual and contextual differences. Gamification can also enhance an individual's ability to understand digital content and understand a certain area of study, such as music.
This emerging business practice consists of " the use of game elements and game design techniques in a non-game context ". That is, use the resources of the games to transfer these experiences to other areas, such as marketing, human resources, health, education, etc.
In these gamified realms, the goal or the end is not the game. The game is the means, it is never the end. That is the big difference compared to video games. With gamification, the game is used as motivation to achieve a purpose that goes beyond the experience of the game itself; be it the commitment of customers, the improvement of productivity within the company, the change of habits of social groups, etc.
The elements of the game are very varied and can fulfill very different functions. One of the main functions of these elements is the establishment of the reward principle.
But it is not enough to give them prizes, you also need hooks that motivate them to keep playing. There are other elements that come into play, such as progress bars or rankings. They create a competitive model that works as a motivation beyond the prize itself. Seeing how we are improving or how much we have to be in the TOP 10 makes us try harder to keep going, spending more time on the game (and on the brand). And for many users, there is no better reward than being the first.
The elements of social functions, however, make users interact with each other by sharing the experience of the game with elements such as avatars, comments or even chats. For some users, it is essential to be able to exchange views and experience the game as a closer personal and personal experience.
