Gamification

As Business Application becoming more complex and demanding increasing attention from its users, it is becoming difficult to keep engaging user with application. Just look at any ERP or any in-house developed application, screens are cluttered with mountains of information, navigation is like maze and workflow is like never ending clicks. To increase engagement level of users, applications various applications are exploiting few of the basis tenants of human psychology. Turn the work into play, in computer lingo, transform work into Game. This transformation requires new thinking while architecting, development and specially developing user interaction.

This concept is named as Gamification. Gamification is the application of game technology and game design outside “gamespace”.

Traditionally Gamification is successful in Training and Simulation sector but lately, serious business applications are also exploring Gamification. Essentially Gamification of any Business Application is based on a simple tenant: While playing a game, user internalizes the complex rules while reading rules user forces him self to learn willingly or unwillingly.

Few of the applications which have embraced Gamification are:

1. mint.com (http://www.mint.com/) --> a tax planning tool
2. FourSqaure (http://foursquare.com/)  -->  Social networking/local search
3. Siri (http://siri.com) --> Natural language search
4. swoopo (http://siri.com/blog/ ) --> Auction site
5. RedOctane --> Music
6. Harmonix --> Music
7. Lumos Labs --> Healthcare
8. Quartier Saint-Blaise (http://ligne2.com/stblaise/quartierStBlaise3d.html) --> Mapping solution
9. Visible Body (http://www.visiblebody.com/start) --> Medical Sciences

Few of the game frameworks are gaining acceptance in Gamification. One of such player is Unity (http://unity3d.com).