“Gamification is the process of using game mechanics and game thinking to engage users and to solve problems.”
Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham, “Gamification by Design”, 2011
But what exactly is meant by Gamification? What are its key features? How is it possible to exploit its paradigms by translating them into concrete examples with clear and precise objectives?
Gamification refers to the application of principles and elements of the game in contexts other than gaming, for example in a learning environment, with the aim of influencing behavior, increasing motivation and encouraging user participation. The term, as you can guess, derives from the English word “Game”.
The use of Gamification
The fields where Gamification can be applied are many. The most significant ones where there is more innovation are:
• Education
• Workplace/Company Training
• Marketing
Gamification in Education allows to innovate both teaching and learning methods, making study paths more stimulating, interactive and engaging, with the result of improving students’ performance at school or university on one hand and, on the other hand, offering teachers new evaluation tools related to game metrics.
For Companies, the so-called “Workplace Gamification” is used to create work environments, processes and tasks that stimulate and inspire employees and workers or “gamified” e-learning systems for their training.
Finally, in the Marketing field, the integration of gamification logics in the creation of advertising campaigns and in “lead generation” allows to achieve a deeper involvement in the product for potential buyers and to increase the conversion rate.
Why does Gamification work?
Gamification has the ability to keep the user’s attention high and constantly challenge him. In the educational field, in addition to having motivational effectiveness, the game mechanisms stimulate participation even in the absence of specific rewards, just for the pleasure of playing, challenging oneself or others and having an engaging learning experience.
Thanks to Gamification, individuals are transformed from passive observers to active participants in their own learning process. In fact, when the participants in a game face a challenge and are unable to overcome it, their self-esteem, contrary to what would normally happen, is not undermined, on the contrary they try again. This mechanism therefore obliges all those involved, whether they are students, company employees and workers, to think transversely to find a solution and we know that this allows to acquire new knowledge, develop new skills and, in some cases, modify the behaviors.
Although the Gamification phenomenon was born in the B2C world, as a marketing activity aimed mainly at consumers, especially through loyalty programs, its use in the Educational and Training fields brings great benefits to students and companies.
Our company AR Market operates with this aim, combining Gamification with the immersive technologies of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual (VR) to create highly interactive, engaging and emotional experiences and educational products. Some examples:
• interactive books for children and teens enriched with digital and gaming content;
• educational Apps, such as “Logopedia Game” to help children practice language through play, and the “The Ugly Duckling” App which transforms a classic into a digital fairy tale with AR and 3D games;
• 360 ° Spaces to transform courses and corporate training but also events, conferences, museum and tourist visits, into engaging and highly realistic virtual experiences, usable on client websites or dedicated spaces and accessible through desktops, mobile devices or VR headsets and cardboards.
AR MARKET TEAM IS AVAILABLE FOR ADVICE AND TO CREATE DIGITAL EXPERIENCES ENRICHED BY GAMIFICATION ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS.CONTACT US
