For many people, the thrill of self-expression and goal achievement comes to their mind at the thought of gaming. The video game industry is so successful because it taps into something inherently human - the desire to compete and succeed.
This is why game elements and mechanics are so effective in a gamified system: they can be used to motivate and engage users, encouraging them to take action.
This blog post will look at a few examples of game mechanics used successfully in gamification.
- Points
- Levels
- Badges
- Leaderboards
All of these gamification elements can be used to increase user engagement and user motivation in non-gaming contexts. For example, if you want your users to take immediate action, you can reward them for their response time.
If you want your users to move more, you can give them points for every kilometer they walk. Or, if you want people to save money, you can give them badges for achieving certain milestones.
The key is finding the right game mechanics for your particular goal and audience. Now let's take a closer look at each mechanic in these games.
Points
Points are a quantifiable measure of success. Points serve two main functions within gamification design. Points help players track progress and determine status. Points are awarded when you complete an activity, share, or post. A point is the granular unit of measurement in gamification and a fundamental game design element. Earning points creates a psychological desire in the user to know how many points they can earn.
Levels
Creating achievement levels helps participants develop a general sense of where they are in the line of progress. Levels are used to indicate that a user has reached a certain milestone. Tiers are often defined as point thresholds that allow users to automatically level up based on their participation, use tiers to indicate status, or control access to site content. can. Because of this, levels are the ultimate test. Those who successfully complete the levels have achieved quite a few goals and objectives that were previously considered impossible. Seeing where you can go next is just as important as seeing where you've been so far, and the levels represent that well.
Badges
Participants earn badges after earning a certain number of points. Badges are a form of virtual achievement by participants. They positively reinforce the targeted behavior. Unlike leaderboards, badges are not updated regularly. Badges are given to individuals to celebrate their personal achievements. Badges address human motivations for collecting and performing as drivers. Badges have a social dimension. We humans often crave external recognition for our achievements. Gamification strategies use this human behavior to drive initiatives that bring out the best in participants.
Leaderboards
Showing a user in comparison to others, either as an individual or as a team, is he one of the most effective ways to encourage users to give their all and put their all into a task. Time-based, high-score, team, and individual leaderboards allow users to compare their performance against that of others.
Leaderboards foster the social aspect of points and badges. A sense of competition built around leaderboards gives people the chance to prove themselves against others and can even be a way to earn rewards.
They can be used to promote competition and motivate people to improve their gameplay. Leaderboards pave way to create a community and a sense of belonging among the users. Players whose names appear on the leaderboard see themselves as part of something bigger and are more likely to come back and play again.