Instructional Design by Don Becker

Gamification, the application of game-design elements in non-game contexts, has been gaining traction in various sectors. However, the real power lies in purposeful gamification, where the focus is not just on making tasks fun, but also on achieving meaningful outcomes. Not everything can (or should) be gamified. Once you align the content with the appropriate gamification strategy, you are ready to design with purpose.

Gamification with Purpose

The first step towards purposeful gamification is understanding the objectives. Whether it’s improving employee productivity, enhancing customer engagement, or promoting learning, clear goals pave the way for effective gamification strategies.

Next, we need to consider the target audience. Understanding their motivations, preferences, and challenges allows us to design game elements that resonate with them. For instance, competitive individuals might respond well to leaderboards, while those driven by achievement might prefer unlocking badges or levels.

The third aspect is meaningful rewards. While virtual rewards like points and badges can be motivating, they should be tied to real-world benefits to maintain long-term engagement. These could range from tangible rewards like discounts, to intangible ones like recognition or personal growth.

Lastly, it’s crucial to ensure fairness. The system should be designed such that every participant, regardless of their skill level, has a fair chance of succeeding. This promotes inclusivity and keeps the participants motivated.

Real World Example: Duolingo

Duolingo uses purposeful gamification to make the process of learning a new language engaging and effective. Here’s how they do it:

1. Objectives: Duolingo’s primary objective is to make language learning accessible and enjoyable. They aim to keep users motivated to learn and practice regularly.
2. Target Audience Understanding: Duolingo understands that learning a new language can be daunting. To combat this, they break down lessons into bite-sized skills, making the task seem less overwhelming.
3. Meaningful Rewards: Users earn experience points (XP) for completing lessons and practicing skills. They can also earn virtual currency, called “lingots”, which can be used to unlock bonus skills or purchase items in the virtual store. This gives users a sense of achievement and encourages them to continue learning.
4. Fairness: Duolingo uses a leveling system where users start at level 1 and can progress up to level 25. This ensures that users of all skill levels have a fair chance of progressing and achieving success.

In this way, Duolingo uses purposeful gamification to not only make language learning fun, but also to effectively achieve their goal of making language learning accessible to everyone.

Closing Thoughts

Purposeful gamification goes beyond just “making things fun”. It’s about leveraging the engaging elements of games to drive meaningful outcomes. As we continue to explore this exciting field, the potential for creating impactful experiences is immense.