BLOG 2: WHAT IS GAMIFICATION? GAMIFICATION IS HUMAN FOCUSED DESIGN

What is Gamification? Simply put, gamification is when you add game elements to anything that is not already a game. This is quite broad of a definition, so to narrow down the framework a bit, we will be borrowing Yu-Kai Chou’s definition. He is the author of the Gamification Book: Actionable Gamification – Beyond Points, Badges and Leaderboards and inventor of the gamification framework Octalysis;  “Gamification is the craft of deriving all the fun and engaging elements found in games and applying them to real-world or productive activities. This process is what I call “Human-Focused Design,” as opposed to “Function-Focused Design.” It’s a design process that optimizes for human motivation in a system, as opposed to pure efficiency.” (Chou, 2019) Chou’s point about „Human-Focused Design“ iterates how games are designed around human traits. This also emphasizes why other disciplines like psychology and neurobiology often play a role in game design. It helps to think of gamification as the reverse engineering of game design.

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References:
Chou, Yu-kai. “Octalysis: Complete Gamification Framework – Yu-Kai Chou.” Yu-Kai Chou: Gamification & Behavioral Design, Yu-Kai Chou, 9 Oct. 2019, yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/octalysis-complete-gamification-framework/.