Our never-ending pursuit of happiness is one thing that unites us all. What “happy” means to one person may not mean the same thing to another. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to happiness, and the path to a more fulfilling and joyful life is unique to each individual on the planet.
So, how do video games relate to happiness? Well, the truth is that what goes into making video games — the strategies and techniques that entice gamers – can be adapted to real-world situations and have a significant impact on your lifestyle and happiness levels.
Welcome to the world of lifestyle gamification.
Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards, by Yu-kai Chou, is a gamification specialist and author.
“Many children who disregard school and always get in trouble aren’t like that because they’re stupid or dislike studying — they just don’t understand the point of learning the subjects that are given in class,” Chou claims. This argument may be applied outside of the classroom and is ageless.
Video games are about much more than spectacular graphics and excellent voice acting. When making video games, all people’s psychological characteristics are taken into account.
Chou masterfully explains his theory of Octalysis, an in-depth framework that highlights the numerous motivators humans have that may be changed by gamification, by touching on the eight primary motivations of gamification.
By applying gamification techniques and tweaking the approach taken to achieve certain goals and aspirations, people can find the focus that has slipped from their grasp.
The power of gamification and your diet
Gamification has the potential to alter your eating habits. It can impact the way you feel and, as a result, the way you live.
There’s a reason why games are so addictive. Players in games like Angry Birds and Temple Run feel compelled to progress to the next level or beat their previous high score. This puts them in danger of sleeping later than expected or putting off doing homework until the last minute.
Using comparable gamification approaches to keep track of your food can be motivating enough to keep you on track. If you’re trying to lose weight or eat more healthily, sticking to a strict routine can be difficult. The Paleo App is an excellent example of how gaming techniques can be used to teach people how to change their habits for the better.
How does the Paleo App engage its users through gamification? It’s a good start to being able to track your development. This is where modern technology may help. Walking around with a notepad to track your intake of all food and drinks would have been unusual and perhaps depressing in the past.
Because everyone is continuously engrossed in their phones, people in close proximity may never realize that someone is recording their lunch — an idea that may be embarrassing to those just starting out on their weight-loss journey.
Paleo also allows people to be rewarded with little achievements. This breaks down huge goals into smaller, more doable steps that are less intimidating and far more feasible – especially for individuals who are just getting started and are more prone to getting distracted.
The work life
SAP is a multibillion-dollar software company based in Germany. They employ over 70,000 people and service customers in practically every country on the earth. They were having trouble engaging their community, despite their tremendous success.
SAP’s community manager, Laure Cetin, decided to try out some gamification strategies on the SAP Community Network (SCN) to see if she could increase participation and engagement.
“We wanted to encourage members to log in regularly, provide feedback, contribute quality content on a regular basis, and be recognised as topic experts and influencers,” Cetin said.
“We used gamification, particularly the concept of missions (a series of actions required to receive a badge and points) to encourage members to log in regularly, provide feedback, contribute quality content on a regular basis, and be recognised as topic experts and influencers.”
In just one month after implementing some of these methods, community feedback had increased by roughly 100%, while overall activity on the company’s social network had increased by an incredible 400%. Cetin’s instincts were correct, and SCN was born.
Gamify your exercise routine.
Many people, like those who struggle to eat a balanced diet, have trouble staying on track when it comes to exercising.
According to a Nielsen survey, the most popular New Year’s resolution in 2015 was to be fit and healthy. People binge during the holiday season because they know that a clean slate, a fresh new start where they will eat less and exercise more, is just around the corner.
Sure, the gym will be full for the entire month of January, but as the days pass, it will empty out rapidly.
People struggle to stay motivated when they don’t see immediate benefits. However, there are now a plethora of apps available that reward users for their efforts in becoming in shape.
The Telegraph published an article about Zombies, Run, a popular fitness game.
When runners put themselves in the shoes of humans fleeing from zombies, they feel more connected to their workout and are more willing to run more often.
Rather than running on a treadmill while listening to music, you’re thrown into a wild, Hollywood-style film that will get you in shape. You must run like a madman when the zombies approach – interval training at its finest!
“A lot of people find exercise to be monotonous and repetitious, even with music,” Adrian Hon, the founder of Zombies, Run, told The Telegraph. [Our app] can make jogging more enjoyable by immersing you in a fictitious universe where your running matters – so you’ll still be inspired to wake up and run on a wet Sunday morning.”
The ability to learn new things
Learning something sophisticated like a new language used to be a difficult task. While learning a new language requires a significant amount of time, dedication, and perseverance, the process may be made much more enjoyable for users when combined with gamification tactics.
Duolingo is an excellent example of gamified language learning, with over 100 million individuals using it to learn new languages.
Duolingo not only makes learning a new language enjoyable, but it also aids with the translation of the Web.
The gamification of language learning works better with Duolingo, according to Yu-kai Chou, because “when students learn a language, they gain skill points when courses are finished or online content is translated.”
When a certain amount of translations are performed, the lessons related with that ability are completed in order. Because “made up” phrases are inherently less engaging than site information,
Final thoughts
Gamification can be used to solve a variety of demands, including personal needs and corporate issues. One thing is known about gamification: it is complicated. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution that can be applied indiscriminately or that will produce immediate results.
It’s advisable to complete as much study as possible before applying the tactics and approaches to your own life or business, and then contact an expert who can help you get the most out of gamification.
Gamification isn’t going away anytime soon, thanks to ever-improving technology and the tremendous rise of the Internet of Things. Learning as much as you can about this new subject as soon as possible can help you live a happier, more fulfilled life.