The importance of gamification to improve engagement and retention is also becoming an issue for all digital strategies. Game codes, and more precisely video game codes, are regularly applied by web and application interface designers. Indeed, these worlds have many points in common: graphic codes, user placement at the heart of the interface, ergonomics… but also and above all, interactivity. 67 million Google Maps users have turned to Waze, a mobile application with a similar service that has adopted the game’s graphic codes and an evolving avatar system.The game considerably influences the UX design and the search for a better user experience by bringing a playful dimension with objectives, a progression path, without forgetting fun.

 

SOCIAL INFLUENCE, A SCORE LIKE ANY OTHER?

 

Facebook, Twitter, all social networks use elements to gamify their members’ interactions. Take the example of “likes” on Facebook: they add up around a post or a photo, bring a playful dimension, and act directly on users’ motivation and commitment.Other sites like Medium have taken the concept a step further by offering “claps”, in other words the possibility of virtually applauding content, allowing each user to decide for each article read the number of likes he attributes and thus to score his appreciation.LinkedIn, the professional network par excellence, has also integrated gaming codes with progress bars and rankings of the most popular items, because yes, social influence scores, and the most addictive video games prove it every day. World of Warcraft, one of the video games that generate the most no-life, is above all a social game, where the most active players are part of a team, and they adopt social codes such as sharing, mentoring, envy, conformity, popularity, domination or collaboration…).

 

CONNECTED OBJECTS, NEW GAMIFICATION TERRITORY.

 

 

Beyond web and mobile interfaces, connected objects are also affected by this new strategy. One of the most telling examples is the Kolibree toothbrush that turns into a joystick for children to play a version of the game “Rabbids”, the ultimate goal being to optimize tooth brushing. The commitment of users remains a major challenge whatever the sector of activity, let us take the example of the SNCF, which has gamified the experience of their travellers, with ready-to-run routes. All domains and all interfaces are concerned by the opportunities of gamification and the field of possibilities is immense, especially in the banking, e-commerce and health sectors, very conducive to the imagination of bold concepts!