Game Mechanics are a means of rewarding users. They aren’t a great fir for everyone. Here are some of the characteristics we have found that are a natural fit for accelerated growth through game mechanics:
- You have a community or are social where users are aware of each other
- There are many ways a user can interact with your application or with each other
- Ideally your users visit repeatedly; generally once a week or more
If that sounds like your application then we’d love to explore how we can help you. You may still be asking yourself what we mean by “game mechanics”. Here are some of the basic building blocks we work with:
Points
Do something good, get a few points. Do something great – get a lot of points. Do something bad? Lose points. It’s a concept we are all familiar with. Provide users with immediate feedback by adjusting their points – but be careful – it’s a powerful tool and you can easily find your users doing exactly what you reward them for. When used properly points can provide context within a site so user’s can quickly identify members who have been around for a while and are experienced members of the community.
Achievements
Achievements are milestones or goals that, once accomplished, rewards users visibly, letting them and everyone else that they’ve “unlocked” that achievement. While points are great for smaller tasks, achievements are good for grander accomplishments and are seen as a source of pride for users. They usually appear in a list of “locked” and “unlocked” achievements. This provides an easy way for users to see what they can do to unlock more achievements and helps educate them about the possibilities your application offers.
