Gamificiation in Video Games and Business

Using strategic thinking and incentives to win the game of life.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Explained on the most basic level, Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game environments. The term non-game environment is often used to describe any human to human, or human to computer interactions that would not befit the definition of a recreational puzzle, a board or video game, or sports.

The term “Gamification” is said to have been coined in 2003 by Nick Pelling, a British computer programmer, and inventor who used the term when speaking of incentives offered in non-game environments including education, business, shopping in a supermarket, and dating.

Gamification is much more expansive than a way of thinking in a narrative context in which a gamified application can be embedded and contextualizes activities and characters in the game, and gives them meaning beyond the mere quest for points and achievements. A story can be communicated by a game’s complex storylines typical of contemporary role-playing video games (e.g., The Elder Scrolls Series), or simply by title (e.g., WarCraft). Narrative contexts can be oriented towards real, non-game contexts, or act as analogies of real-world settings. The latter can enrich boring, barely stimulating contexts, and…