Gamification seems to have reached the peak of inflated expectations. The incorporation of gaming concepts into products that seemingly have nothing to do with gaming is a result of the gamification hype.
 

Gamification, according to Wikipedia, is:
"The use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and processes (also known as "funware"), in order to encourage people to adopt them. Gamification works by making technology more engaging, by encouraging users to engage in desired behaviors, by showing a path to mastery and autonomy, and by taking advantage of humans' psychological predisposition to engage in gaming."

In other words, make the product you’re building engaging, so people have a compelling experience while influence them to behave a certain way/execute a specific action.
 

Theoretically, it sounds good. My issue with game techniques in UI design is that some gamified products are just poorly executed. You can't add the "gamification make-up" on a product, just because you saw something fun in a game.
 

Gamification has different levels of execution and it can be applied as a superficial afterthought, or as a useful or even fundamental part of the core experience. DesignMap have started to put together a framework, to better understand the use of gaming concepts:
 

1. Cosmetic: adding game-like visual elements or copy (usually visual design or copy driven)
2. Accessory: wedging in easy-to-add-on game elements, such as badges or adjacent products (usually marketing driven)
3. Integrated: more subtle, deeply integrated elements like % complete (usually interaction design driven)
4. Basis: making the entire offering a game (usually product driven)
 

Gamification is not a new trend, and my point is not to write another article about the usage of game dynamics in UI design. What I'm interested in is the potential impact of gamification for UX designers, as our skills are becoming more strategical rather than tactical. As gaming concepts become part of product strategy, new opportunities are created for UX designers and who better than us to decide that a product is going to be structured as a game rather than, for instance, a user generated platform? This a strategic product decision, not a tactical one. When we start thinking about incorporating gaming concepts into our products to increase engagement, we’re making fundamental decisions about the product strategy conversation.
 

Companies are now getting on board with the engaging power of gamification and this changes the opportunities in front of us. We just have to remember all we've learned about real needs from real people and acknowledge that not every single product is suited for gaming mechanics:
 

1. Don't start a core product strategy with badges, you need to allow users to discover the utility in the product.
2. These are not simply features we add into digital products, instead, they invite us to think about our products in a fundamentally new way.
3. Use game mechanics as extrinsic motivators, like progress bars to complete tasks, but never forget to focus on the intrinsic value and the long term engagement.