Gamification In Game Design

2.1 Gamification process

Gamification as a term describing using game elements in non-game applications to make them more enjoyable and engaging [1]. The gamification process involves the proper application of game mechanics, game features and game design with significant consideration given to the user experience and behavioral motivators [2].

The game design is the core element for a successful gamified process. Many criteria for computer game design could also be applied in this area, e.g, game flow theory[3]. Based on the literature review [4], there are a list of strategies referring to game design: achievements - players will really love and keep them engaged as long as new achievements are created; challenge - gameplay should provide

UX designers perform various tasks at various points in the process. Here are a few things usually are delivered. A/B Testing - compare the effectiveness and quality of experience of different user interfaces. A famous A/B testing is Google’s Website Optimizer; Content inventory - an organized list of pages on a website. There are plenty of methods of conducting a content inventory, a simple tool as Excel to create and manage a content inventory; etc.

In addition, there are already some practical suggestions to follow when applying gamification in UX design. For instance, 1) a tangible user interfaces - with the mobile market ever expanding, we need to make sure that the users have a good experience, whatever platform they use to visit our websites. Products need to be adapted to the platform they are being served on. Responsive web design is a good solution to it. 2) constructive and helpful feedback - Feedback is not only about responding to the visitor’s actions, but also about foreseeing their actions. 3) engage your users - e.g. earn badges for completing various tasks, etc. Conversely, there are also some situations that not encourage to use gamification in UX design, such as 1) websites should not have difficulty levels - Games always have to have difficulty levels; completing a game without at least failing a couple of times is no fun. On a website, however,

The underlying task can be suitable challenged, but still should be enjoyable. Second, a well-gamified platform encourages users to use it frequently, let users “focus” on it for longer periods of time. Behind the gamified system, it will collect considerable data related to the performance of users. These “Data” will tell the trend where each user would interested in and show where the system needs to be ‘tweaked’ or changed to increase performance.

Contrary, gamification systems can have their disadvantages [8]. “Too fun” could be a drawback. Users may become too focused on accumulating rewards, such as badges and leaderboard places, and insufficiently focused on the task at hand. Second, gamification can be complex, time consuming and very expensive to implement, especially if it involves incorporating an existing digital service i.e. “grafting” a gamification system onto some kind of existing IT service. In addition, training may be required for those people using the gamified service. Third, as with games in learning, individuals will react to a gamified system in various ways. Tailoring the challenge to match different educational levels and different ages is an example issue. These problems should be considered when designing an effective and gamified knowledge-based