Using gamification to harness positive emotions

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Positive emotions are those that make us feel happy, enthusiastic, determined, satisfied, interested, and energised. We feel positive emotions when we do something enjoyable, when we have a sense of accomplishment, and when we have fun. These emotions have been repeatedly shown to increase productivity, creativity, motivation and performance on many levels in humans. This is why gamification can be so effective when it comes to audience engagement and improving performance.

Why do we like to play? The effectiveness of gamification

When we experience positive emotions, our brain releases dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins.

• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate attention and motivation
• Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and sleep
• Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes social bonding
• Endorphins are natural painkillers that give us a feeling of euphoria

When we play games, our brains release all these hormones. Effective gamification, targeted to specific objectives, aims to make us feel excited and satisfied by continually rewarding our efforts with various mechanisms, which, when appropriately utilised, encourage us to release these hormones and powerful neurotransmitters.

The brain then associates this experience with pleasure and the brain’s reward centre automatically releases dopamine when we receive a reward for a specific action. Players can then develop a strong desire to seek those same feelings again and again, including through the following aspects:

Competition

The players in a gamified project are, generally speaking, numerous. It wouldn’t make sense to design a game specifically for a single individual. As such, competition naturally arises between multiple players in a game. The main objective is to create healthy and positive competition between players in order to make them progress, and encourage them to surpass themselves by competing against others to win the most points, badges, or exclusive rewards. With people competing, the likeness of innovation is increased, as some players might not be able to outwork their competition, but might be able to work smarter, looking for more efficient solutions to reach both their own, and the organisation’s goals.

Note that competitive games tend to release the most dopamine, as they are full of excitement and fast-paced action, so the competitive aspect is one of the most important elements that has a determining influence on audience engagement.

Challenges

People don’t just like challenges, they kind of need them to be healthy. Beyond the possibility of engaging and motivating individuals through gamified challenges, you have the possibility of making them want to stand out from each other (challenge often leads to competition, and vice-versa).

When players play games, they like to test their skills and knowledge, and usually feel they have achieved their goal once the challenge has been met. When setting up a gamification experience, it is important to take into account the required level of challenge to satisfy players. It cannot be so challenging as to be impossible, but it cannot be so easy as to be boring. There is a sweet spot to hit when applying the level of difficulty.

Rewards

Gamification rewards players when they achieve their goals. In education and digital learning for example, the game aims to provide students with immediate feedback, and when learning objectives are achieved, learners are encouraged to receive virtual or tangible rewards. This encourages them to associate learning with pleasant feelings and positive emotions, which in turn encourages them to remain motivated and engaged.

The social aspect

Socialising is an excellent way to improve our mental health, and as humans are inherently social, individuals need to communicate and feel like they’re part of a group. Games can be a good way to break the ice, especially in face-to-face interactions, as they encourage collaboration and create a collective goal rather than an individual one. In training or corporate team building for example, gamification aims at efficiency, but can also be designed to bring your employees together. This facilitates team building and developing group cohesion through shared, playful experiences.

Drimify, the gamification solutions platform

Our gamification platform makes it easy for anyone to gamify their communications in a way that aligns with their core values and reflects who they are. This is because all the pre-made game engines on the Drimify platform are fully customisable, from questionnaire-style games to more casual games to longer, more intensive learning formats: your branding, your copy, your graphic design, and tailored to your business objectives.

Through targeting and harnessing positive emotions, gamified experiences can challenge people to improve and be their best, foster internal, healthy competition, and break down boundaries, allowing people to connect with each other through shared experiences.

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