Gamification has its origin many years ago. Games have been around throughout all of human history because they link to some very basic aspects of the way our minds work. What is it that makes someone want to do something? What are different kinds of motivation? And what are different techniques that can be used to help people achieve their goals? It is about psychology.

 Gamification is

•          the use of game elements

It is not a game as a whole experience, it is a set of tools that you can work with in some situations. The key elements of a game, as points to keep score, levels, missions/quests, rewards, avatars etc. can be extrapolated and reused in other games or for other purposes. The point of gamification is to look at what are the elements at different levels of the game and use them for services in a non-playing context. There are some regular design patterns that are common across games as well as gamified services.

•          and game design techniques

Games are not just elements. We have to take into account the conceptual approach, the modality of the game and also the visual experience of the game that can be also extrapolated and used outside of games. The game design techniques are about a way of thinking and a way to approach a challenge.

•          in non-game contexts.

You play a game for more reasons that just having fun in the game. For example, you could play a game because it helps you learn or teach something.  Then that’s a non-game context because the game has an intended purpose outside of the game.