A helpful, user-friendly app or website sounds good in practice. However, with most web portals and apps applying this tactic, it is important to give yourself an edge. This comes in the form of gamification.
With the right UX design, developers can take a more interactive approach to interface design. This, in turn, improves the user experience for both online gaming and iGaming platforms.
By boosting user engagement, the platforms can ensure user retention. This provides a consistent increase in platform traffic, whether app or web portal.
Defining Gamification in terms of UX Design
By introducing the features we usually find in video games, UX designers can create a responsive and interactive experience. The application of gaming elements such as leaderboards, rewards, tokens, and point systems to non-gaming avenues is termed as gamification.
Historically, video games are popular since they know how to grasp and retain the attention of the users. When this concept is applied to interface design, web portals and apps have an easier time gaining and retaining clients.
Gamification in Practice
Let’s check out a small example. When you visit an e-commerce site, it is usually to browse, buy a product, and check out. A simple way to draw traffic is by offering lower prices. However, there can be a much better way that does not lower profitability.
Giving the e-commerce site a dashboard and a points system encourages people to shop more. Further, rewards on purchases that come in the form of discounts on other products can be a good incentive. To add, customers can also be awarded points for product reviews.
This is how, by introducing the concepts we usually find in games, developers can design a more interactive site.
Why Gamification Matters
By applying game mechanics to real-world scenarios, gamification provides the below benefits:
- Increases client engagement and retention.
- Helps users retain information better.
- Motivates users to interact more with the interface.
- Supports cognitive development with the help of visuals.
- Helps identify which sectors are performing better and ones that are lagging.
How Gamification Enhances User Engagement in Online Games
Gamification is just one aspect of UX design for a web portal or app. However, in online games, it is the main concept on which the entire platform works.
This can be understood better by approaching each type of gaming separately:
Online Games: Increasing Player Motivation
Let’s take an example of the popular game Candy Crush Saga. All that happens is that people keep playing by cracking one level after the other. At one point, users are sure to lose interest.
However, this rarely happens since players are too competitive to give up their progress levels. Further, everyone wants to be a part of the leaderboard. Thus, this simple gamification has led the platform to gain millions of users.
Thus, gamification in online games acts as a sure means to
- Boost user engagement
- Gain new clients with a rewards system
- Drive social interaction between players
- Get insights into game metrics
Role of Gamification in iGaming Platforms
Keeping up the hype is a key way iGaming platforms drive user engagement. To drive this, gamification helps in the following ways:
- Player levels: These indicate the proficiency level of each player.
- Tokens: These can be used to access future games.
- Events: These act as special games to boost the player profiles.
- Rewards: These act as incentives for players to spend more time playing.
- Daily Challenges: They help improve skills and gain more tokens.
- Leaderboard: Players get to know their positions vis-a-vis others.
Each of these factors acts as a means to foster the competitive spirit, which in turn boosts player engagement. By encouraging continuous play and the social aspect of competing with peers, more users visit the iGaming portals for their chances at a win.
Key Gamification Features in UX Design
The best features of gamification to take up using UX Design are:
Progression Systems
Levels, ranks, and player points form the basis of progression systems by keeping players invested in the game. By leveling up, players have proof that their skills have improved. Further, they can play against those of an advanced skill level and win bigger rewards. Plus, with more points and tokens, players can reach a VIP status in iGaming.
Rewards and Incentives
Tokens, bonuses, and player points act as motivators that encourage players to take up more games. Players can use these to access in-app purchases, future games, gaming add-ons, and more. Further, many platforms place players that have more tokens higher on the leaderboard. Thus, more players compete to receive these rewards for both better player profile as well as better gameplay.
Challenges and Achievements
Daily quests act as a means for players to gain some additional tokens. Further, missions help boost player levels. To add, winning bonus games often leads to new gaming add-ons and access to better in-app purchases. Thus, these act as a support for progression systems.
Creating a Social and Competitive Environment Through Gamification
A step beyond better gameplay, gamification has a social aspect. This involves interacting with other players via collabs as well as sharing achievements.
Leaderboards and Competitions
Every win helps players achieve a better position on the leaderboard. This, in turn, encourages players to share their scores on social sites, an activity taken up by many competitive gamers.
Further, this helps build a competitive bond among peers and offers players a means to interact with like-minded people.
Shared Gaming Experiences and Collabs
In multiplayer games, players can take a collaborative approach and team up to reach higher levels. Plus, sharing the wins of one player acts as a motivator for others to take part in the said game.
User-Centric Gamification in UX Design
While a lot of aspects can be given an interactive version, maximum results are received when developers take a user-oriented approach. This involves:
Personalization and Customisation
Allowing custom player profiles makes players feel more invested. Further, this helps maintain a record of their achievements, rewards, in-app purchases, and more. For instance, in online Rummy apps, player profiles contain a record of the token which allows players access to future games.
User Feedback and Continuous Improvement
With surveys, quizzes, and feedback ratings, developers can learn more about areas that need work. Further, it helps them approach the app and web portals from the customer POV. Thus, an iterative design process can be created which results in regular improvement with updates.
The Future of Gamification in UX Design
With evolving technology, UX design and gamification are undergoing the below changes:
Machine Learning and AI for Gamified UX Experiences
Allowing developers to go for better customisation, both ML and AI make it easier to implement dynamic upgrades to existing and new platforms. Further, these create scope for real-time changes in the gaming portals, a system of checks, and predicts user traits.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Integration
AR/VR helps deploy better graphics for an immersive gaming experience. This allows players to experience the joys of being present at live games from the comfort of their homes.
Challenges in Implementing Gamification in UX Design
However, deploying gamification to apps and web portals can involve a few issues:
Over-Gamification
Too many interactive elements can leave players feeling overwhelmed. Further, this can also give rise to tedious gameplay.
Thus, platforms need to be fun and functional, so as to ensure that players do not feel confused and can navigate the system well.
Ensuring Responsible Gaming
Too many interactive features can give rise to addictive behaviour. Thus, platforms need to have a healthy balance. Further, they can deploy predictive prompts to encourage gaming best practices.
Wrapping Up: Gamification in Interfaces
From online learning to fitness apps, almost every platform is deploying gamification to some extent to boost their web traffic. This accounts for almost 70% of all major online platforms. Thus, gamification is an essential factor for all web portals and apps.
However, developers have to maintain a healthy mix of functionality with this to ensure that users do not find the platform tedious.
Further, when implemented in gaming apps and platforms, gamification is the best way to improve player engagement. Thus, developers need to deploy these features to create an interactive and engaging experience.
