Do You Need Gamification?

Gamification is about motivating people. To see if it fits your project, ask yourself if encouraging certain user actions will solve a business problem. For example, in an e-learning platform, you might want students to complete more courses. If students are motivated to finish courses to earn badges or certificates, this increases course completion rates. Completion can encourage students to engage more with your product and recommend it to others, directly benefiting their learning and boosting your platform’s success.

As an exercise, consider the behaviors you want to encourage in your users through gamification. If these behaviors align with your business goals, gamification might be a useful strategy for you.

Deciding if your product needs gamification depends on the motivation needed for users to complete a desired task. So, when is motivation important? There are two main situations where motivation is key:

• Tasks that involve creativity, unique skills, and teamwork. For example, in a design collaboration app, creating a new marketing campaign may require innovation and collaboration. Here, extrinsic rewards like points might not work. Instead, use gamification elements like design challenges, where teams compete to create the best concept, or incorporating role-playing scenarios where team members take on different personas to spark creativity and enhance teamwork.
• Dull, boring, and repetitive tasks. For instance, in a fitness tracking app, logging daily workouts can become monotonous. Adding game-like elements, like earning rewards for completing weekly workout goals or unlocking new achievements for consistency, can make these tasks more engaging and fun. Gamification can add meaning, interest, and challenge, making a big impact here.^[1]

Gamification should only be used if your product is able to offer users meaningful choices that matter to them. This keeps the experience engaging and relevant. Many apps miss this point. For example, think about a fitness app that only rewards users for running. This is not very engaging because it limits users to just one type of activity. Instead, the app should offer different types of workouts, like yoga, cycling, or strength training, and reward users for each.

Even in a fitness app focused solely on running, meaningful choices can be incorporated. For example, users could choose between different types of runs, like sprints, long-distance, or trail running, and earn rewards for each type. This variety keeps the experience fresh and motivating.

Overall, meaningful choices make users feel invested and encourage them to keep using the app and achieving their goals.

The next step in deciding if your product needs gamification is to see if the problem can be defined by clear rules and objectives. This means checking if the problem can be digitized and gamified. For example, a language learning app can be gamified because learning vocabulary and grammar has clear rules. Users can earn points for completing lessons, take quizzes, and track their progress.

However, fostering deep cultural understanding through language learning might be hard to gamify. Understanding culture involves nuanced social cues and personal experiences that don’t have clear rules or easy ways to measure progress. So, before adding gamification, ensure the problem can be clearly defined and tracked digitally. This way, the gamified elements will be effective and meaningful for users.

When adding gamification to your product, identify motivations that might conflict. For example, in an educational app, users might be motivated by understanding the material. However, introducing points and leaderboards could cause users to focus more on completing easy lessons for earning points as quickly as possible rather than truly learning. This might undermine their intrinsic motivation to understand the content.

To identify these conflicts, consider all existing motivations and how they might interact. Aim for a balance where gamification enhances the user experience without overshadowing other important goals. This ensures the gamified elements support and don't disrupt users’ overall motivations.

Always aim to create a meaningful and lasting gamification experience that benefits everyone. Focusing on cooperation and collaboration makes the experience more rewarding for users and builds a stronger community. For example, Reddit awards karma points for actions like upvoting, commenting, and posting quality content. These actions benefit the entire community, not just the individual. Reddit's success shows that thoughtful gamification can improve user engagement and enhance the overall value of the site.

To do this in your own products, understand your community and encourage behaviors that help others and align with a larger purpose. This way, users feel they're part of something bigger, and you create a deeper and more engaging experience for everyone.

The state of flow is when you're so absorbed in an activity that you lose track of time and perform at your best. It's enjoyable and fulfilling.^[2] Flow happens naturally when activities meet certain criteria.

Here’s how to keep users in a state of flow:

• Set clear goals: Provide users with clear objectives. For example, in a language learning app, let users set a goal to learn a certain number of new words a day.
• Balance of challenges and skills: For instance, offer different levels of vocabulary quizzes. Beginners get basic words, while advanced users tackle more complex vocabulary. This keeps everyone engaged.
• Immediate feedback: Give users quick, specific, and actionable feedback. For example, in the same language learning app, provide instant corrections and explanations for quiz answers. This helps users know if they're on the right track and keeps them motivated.