Gamification in UX Design
Have you ever experienced the excitement when you use an app, especially when it gives fun feelings as you’re playing a game? Most likely, that is because of the use of gamification in its user experience (UX).
Gamification is a technique to add gameplay elements into a non-gaming context. It intends to take the fun, exciting features in-game into a non-game setting — which is usually considered boring. It has become a trend in UX design as it is a potential method to boost user engagement. However, it’s a bit tricky to apply. It would help if you had a particular methodology before you can immerse it confidently on your app.
On top of explaining what gamification is to you, this article would also advise applying it effectively, especially when you’re a UX designer.
A New Trend in UX
Today, the gamification method is popularly used in UX design as it is deemed to help solve many problems while, as aforementioned, boosting engagement. The main reason why it becomes so popular is that human loves gratification, especially the instant one, which quite the same sensation as you’re playing a game. Additionally, games are incredibly good at creating a two-way narrative that could bridge product and user naturally. The magic part is that there are no clear reasons why the user should bother in the first place, but we’d still do it anyway.
Gamification helps boost the user’s motivation to achieve goals by incentivizing them while setting aside the app’s lousy impression. It could work in many ways, from the simple form such as a countdown to the encouragement to finish a task by showing the completion bar percentage. Its main principle is interactivity and satisfying the user’s curiosity. It can also include social elements such as forums or leaderboards to accommodate the user better to increase engagement.
Gamification in the UX of your App
Applying gamification on your app is a bit tricky step. Good gamification does not start only with game elements; it must have a core driver. The app creator must tailor the game to balance between the “fun factor” and the app’s primary goal. Eventually, the game — including the kind of rewards — needs to customize accordingly.
The Principals of Gamification
Voluntary
You can’t force the user to apply the exact behavior as you want. It must be voluntary acts. Hence, you need to put certain elements that they feel to be in control of their experience. In other words, you must be able to ‘manipulate’ them by enabling them to have fun while doing a real-world task.
Relatedness
You need to make the user think that your digital product knows them well. Thus, in gamification strategy, you need to customize the content based on their persona, which you have created in the first place.
Competence
It would be best if you kept users engaged by setting a fun challenge that fits them properly. Making the user confused and overwhelmed would only leave your gamification as an engagement strategy in vain.
The Key Components
Gamification is not merely about the points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL). The components of gamification in UX might, at least, include:
Goals
We love games because it offered us a feeling of accomplishment when we have succeeded in the missions up to the primary goal. It will be a perfect combination if the game’s objectives are enclosed with the app’s goals.
Rules
There will be no game without rules or challenges that gives us thrilling sensations. It is important to note that the rules applied must be set according to the user’s persona.
Feedback
Feedback allows two-way communication between the user and the app. It is nice to see how we’re progressing in the game and what we need to improve. It can appear in the form of a progress bar, encouragement message, per-level greetings, etc.
Rewards
After putting effort and time into complying with the rule-of-game, the user deserves appreciation. Rewards can appear in the form of badges, points, or anything valuable.
Motivations
There are two types of motivations: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivations come in the form of curiosity to a sense of achievement. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation comes in the form of the real material we want to achieve. In terms of gamification in a mobile app that prioritize engagement, intrinsic motivation suits the principal’s best.
The Best Practices
The least components of gamification, which we can find everywhere, are the use of points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL). It is indeed close to our life. One of the nearest yet simplest examples is Google Maps. This app always encourages you to review a place by applying “local guide” badges and a user leveling system. The same applies to the Waze app, which prompts users to submit a report of any traffic situation. Both of the apps want to give appreciation for their user’s contributions. It goes as a mutualism because, on the other side, user as a human feels delighted when they can help others as social beings.
Gamification is also popular in educational apps. The primary example of the app in the education field is Duolingo, an app for language learning. Duolingo applied a range of gamification principles starting from points, badges, leaderboards, progress feedback, reward, and motivation.
Additionally, gamification is also a standard feature in fitness-related apps. For instance, it notifies us and gives us a special appreciation if we exceeded the goals, such as 1,000 feet walk a day or after finishing a targeted distance running.
Friendly Reminder
UX Readiness
Before ever considering gamification, you need to make sure that your UX is usable. UX is primarily about understanding and learning from real users. Apart from creating a user persona, the designer must have the necessary knowledge of human psychology. Hence, instead of going with assumptions, designers use a proven methodology to accommodate the user better. The gamification system you have created would only turn vain if your UX is yet friendly and usable.
To Apply or Not
The gamification is the cherry on top, not the cake. It is always the functionality of the product that comes first before the feature. Gamification is best applied when it plays an integral part in the product from the start. In other words, it would only be effective if the nature of the products allows such a method.
Mind the User Tendency
The gamification system uses must not overshadow the experience of using the app. The designer must avoid being too heavy on the game elements rather than the app functionality as it would distract the user from the app’s genuine value.
Conclusion
Indeed, it is a challenging job for the designer to create an inside-game, a story to tell, in a way it could engage the users based on a fundamental value and goals the app has established. Quoting Yu-kai Chou, “the gamification pioneer,” gamification might lead us to a world when there is no longer a divide between what you want and have to do. Furthermore, according to Chou’s projection, gamification would let us ‘play along’ while getting the task/job needed for living done.
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Contributor : Rachmadita Kusumastiti
