Incorporating Gamification Elements in Mobile App Development

What is Gamification in Mobile Apps?

In simple words, Gamification is the process of incorporating game-like elements and dynamics into your app to boost user engagement and retention. Actually, gamification is a topic that all of us have been exposed to, since childhood.

Do you still recall the phrase “let’s make learning fun”? 

Yes, you guessed it right. For the purpose of keeping students’ attention, teachers used to incorporate games and challenges into their lectures. That is gamification in its most basic form, and learning apps make extensive use of it.

Key Statistics on Gamification in Mobile Apps

• According to FinancesOnline, the gamification market is projected to reach $30.7 billion by 2025.
• The corporate sector is going to emerge as the biggest user of game-based learning solutions with a whopping growth rate of 47.5%.
• Game-based learning and education sector is expected to generate a revenue of more than $24 million by 2024.
• Challenge-based gamification in education accounts for a 34.75% increase in student performance.

What are the Benefits of Gamification in Mobile Apps?

Well, when it comes to the advantages of gamification elements, they are numerous. Let’s understand this through research.

In its piece on video games, the Wall Street Journal cites a 1998 study by Matthias Koepp, who is currently a professor of neurology at the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology. Professor Koepp’s research revealed that adult players’ brains released more dopamine as they advanced through the game and encountered more hurdles.

As a result, we can infer that game components in apps that aren’t games also cause users’ brains to release dopamine. They want to interact with the gamified app for a longer period of time because all they are looking for is earning more achievements and enjoying the sense of achievement. To put it another way, gamification has the ability to influence a range of human emotions.

Apart from this, gamification elements are capable of

• Awakening Curiosity: Users are more likely to progress and get greater rewards when they are motivated by curiosity.
• Fostering Competition: Scoreboards that display user accomplishments motivate players to work harder and contrast their outcomes with those of other players.
• Creating a Sense of Control: Nobody enjoys being made to perform an action. Because of this, the main goal of gamification is to offer users control and allow them to choose which milestone they will finish next.

So whether it’s about reforming customer experience, retaining customers, reducing churn out rate, offering a personalized experience, or making it more entertaining, gamification is the real key.

Top 8 Gamification Elements

When it comes to game elements anything that can engage users for a longer time without making them bored will do the job. To help you out with the same, here are some best elements you can go with.

1.Rewards

One well-liked aspect of gamification is rewards. Your rewards may include anything tangible like cash. They may also take the form of virtual prizes, such as currency that users can use to buy in-app purchases or virtual products.

2.Levels

Who doesn’t seek progress? Although it might seem ludicrous, it is a fundamental aspect of human nature. Every level of your app must present challenges to users, keeping them entertained and engaged.

3.Competition

Nothing beats a little friendly rivalry. Challenges are a great way to gamify an app for users who love competition. Users are frequently motivated to work harder by the rivalry between them. 

4.Storyline

People enjoy tales, so including one in your app is another effective method to increase user interaction. A compelling plot piques users’ interest in the app by appealing to their emotions. You can make the plot as simple or complicated as your need.

5.Mini-games

If your app supports it, add mini-games to enhance user experience. Using flashcards is a good illustration. The users might be promoted to a new level or given the option to compete against themselves after correctly answering a predetermined number of flashcards.

6.Quizzes

Research on quizzes states that users find it a fun method to remember and utilize what they have learned. They don’t need to be incredibly lengthy but a three-question test will do the job.

7.Progress Bars

There is nothing more annoying than beginning a project without knowing how far you have already come or how far you still have to go.

Users must be able to see their progress in your app. They must know how much longer it will take them to finish, by looking at a progress chart. The progress graph must display both individual usage levels and overall app usage.

8.Badges

Although they may seem ridiculous, badges have the potential to inspire people. As users receive badges, they feel a sense of success. Badges also act as social evidence, showing other people how far a person has come.

Additionally, assuming that users can see badges on the app, the growing list of badge holders fosters a sense of community among users.

Best Gamification Strategies

1.Identify Your Business Objectives

As you are undoubtedly aware, not every app is the same. In other words, you can’t just utilize a universal gaming strategy for all of your apps because what could work for one app might not work for another. Therefore, your main objective must be to have a comprehensive understanding of your company objectives, which will then help you develop your app’s gamification components accordingly.

2.Thorough Research on the Target Audience

Before developing your strategy, you must have a clear understanding of your target audience in terms of their age range, hobbies, and other factors. Additionally, you must regularly assess their behavior.

3.Hit the Right Chord With an Impressive Story

Some games capture your attention right away, while others don’t. Why? Simply put, the distinction is due to the thoughtful story and script. Every game needs a narrative component. Engaging people in the story and keeping them on the edge of their seats are two surefire ways to make your story resonate.

4.Set Your Audience With Rewards

It turns out that people only take on jobs when they are reasonably confident that their efforts will be acknowledged or rewarded, or perhaps it provides them with a sense of accomplishment. All these advantages are provided to app users through an in-app gaming experience. Rewards, virtual products, leaderboards, badges, and progress displays can all be used to entice users.

User engagement can be easily boosted with straightforward game apps with incentives. Like a fitness tracker app that rewards users for surpassing a friend’s exercise numbers or a vacation app that awards badges to users for using it a few times. Both of these apps incorporate game features that entice users to use them repeatedly.

Even one-time deals, discounts, and other things are available. Such incentives increase user engagement and boost financial performance.

However, always strike a balance between user involvement and task difficulty. Users may lose interest in the app and become frustrated if the task is too difficult. People also become bored if the gamification process is too straightforward. Therefore, ensure that the gamification process is balanced and that users learn something new every time they show their presence.

5.Don’t Forget the Social Component

Your app might benefit from social features like community and in-game chat. It is good to occasionally add contests to your mobile app, such as who can play the most games or run the most in a given week.

Additionally, your game might incorporate sites like Facebook, Twitter, and other such social media platforms. Users benefit from being able to readily share their accomplishments, which raises their sense of well-being.

Partner With Apptunix to Build a Solid User Base

Gamification has all you need to engage and retain your users. It not only helps you achieve your business targets but also helps you keep your app on top of App Stores.

But keep in mind that gamification is not a makeover tool. The gamification strategy will go in vain if your app fails to offer the performance users are looking for. This is why you are in need of a top mobile app development company like Apptunix. Because we know how to use gamification in mobile apps cleverly to transform your app into your business’s biggest asset while keeping the performance intact.