Gamification Thinking: The Secrets Behind Successful Applications

In the Web3 and blockchain space, a common approach is to incentivize user behavior through Tokens. However, this simple incentivization often overlooks the complexity of human nature. Society itself has a set of incentive systems, such as vanity and sense of belonging, while Tokens or NFTs are merely a form of short-term external motivation. More importantly, it is about how to meet users' intrinsic needs and transform short-term usage into long-term habits.

a16z gaming partner Jon Lai discusses in the article the mechanisms behind gamified applications and how to design game-like applications that can retain users for the long term.

The Evolution of Gamification

Over the past decade, the traditional concept of "gamification" has gradually declined. Many early developers used gamification elements, such as points and badges, in ways that did not align with user interests. Although these projects temporarily increased user engagement, most failed to retain users in the long term.

The main reason for failure lies in the neglect of the core principles behind excellent game design—user retention. Successful games like "World of Warcraft" and "Candy Crush" have been able to attract users for over 10 years because their game mechanics align with users' intrinsic motivations. By establishing feedback loops, teaching and rewarding users, these games provide users with a long-term growth path.

Today, many successful applications have integrated game design principles into their core product design. These game-like experiences provide users with enjoyment and foster long-term usage habits. This category encompasses popular applications in various fields such as productivity, social networking, finance, mental health, and education.

Three Core Principles of Game Design

1. 动机(Motivation)

Game designers generally agree on self-determination theory, which categorizes behavioral motivation into extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources, such as monetary rewards or commands from others. Intrinsic motivation arises from inherent psychological needs, such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Most games focus on intrinsic motivation, viewing it as the most effective and long-lasting driving force behind behavior. Take "Mega Man X" as an example; the game sets a clear intrinsic goal right from the start: to become as powerful as Zero and defeat Vile. These goals directly enhance the user's sense of competence and autonomy, without the need for external incentives such as points or badges.

Many gamified applications fail because they see the accumulation of badges or points as the goal itself. Without the support of intrinsic needs, these mechanisms will ultimately become superficial external drives, quickly leading users to feel bored.

2. Mastery of (

Mastery is an essential component of any activity, closely related to the intrinsic need for ability. People want to improve their skills during the process of engaging in activities, whether learning a new sport or playing a game. They expect the mastery process to be fair, with progress based on skill and choice, rather than luck.

Game designers are committed to finding the right balance of difficulty, not too hard and not too easy. A well-designed game can create a flow state, allowing users to become fully immersed while time flies by.

This principle also applies to non-game products. For example, painting a landscape or playing a complex piece on the guitar can often produce a flow experience.

Combining intrinsic motivation with a balanced mastery path is crucial for maintaining learning effectiveness. As long as the rules are fair and the goals seem achievable, users will typically persevere. A common mistake made by gamified applications is to merely celebrate the use of systems for tracking mastery, such as levels, experience, and badges ), without providing real challenges or mastery pathways.

( 3. Feedback)

Feedback is key for users to learn the rules of a game/product. The best games teach through clear cause-and-effect loops. For example, Super Mario teaches users through the death feedback loop. An enemy Goomba appears at the start of the game; if it touches Mario, it results in death and a restart. This short, harmless loop encourages users to try until they discover they can jump over or stomp on the Goomba.

The iterative loop also provides positive feedback for correct actions. "Candy Crush" celebrates players matching 3 candies of the same color with spectacular explosion effects. The game also incorporates randomness, surprising users with unexpected outcomes.

Excellent designers typically assume that users will not read the manual, but will learn by doing, designing products with iterative feedback loops along the way. These loops guide users toward mastery, ultimately achieving their goals.

![a16z Partner: The Most Successful Applications are Packaged Games]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-eac9bdca6ca95aa9e697c8b9dae44c45.webp(

Successful Cases of Gamified Applications

) social network

Popular social applications like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok directly satisfy users' intrinsic motivations. Users express their self-(autonomy) while creating content and establish connections with others through ###relatedness(. There is also an optional mastery path where users can strive to attract followers and receive feedback in the form of likes.

Clubhouse creates enjoyable moments by allowing users to enter live rooms, reproducing the feeling of "bumping into" friends. Top speakers can enable other users to host or enhance their public speaking skills.

Although these social applications do not use points or badges, they have strong long-term user retention, reflecting the characteristics of a game-like experience.

![a16z Partner: The most successful applications are packaged games])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-8337ce88861c957552c172e6bec43789.webp(

) productivity tools

The new generation of productivity software resembles games rather than tools. Repl.it( is a browser-based IDE) and Figma### is a collaborative design tool( that introduces a multiplayer mode, allowing developers to collaborate, comment, and learn from each other in real-time. This "human element" makes the software more interesting than before.

The email application Superhuman is another gamified example. It sets a goal for users to achieve inbox zero, providing fine control and rules to help users complete their tasks. When the goal is achieved, the application displays beautiful nature images and records the number of days the user has reached "zero" inbox, reinforcing the mastery path.

![a16z Partner: The Most Successful Applications are Packaged Games])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-c679df0b3cbfc86f801486b70e4d689a.webp(

) Mental Health

Forest is a gamified application that enhances productivity and mental health, with over 6 million paid users. Users begin attention training by planting virtual trees. The trees grow while working, and if the user leaves the app early, the trees wither. This visual feedback discourages users from getting distracted. Successfully maintaining focus will cultivate a personal forest, showcasing the user's focus achievements. Forest aims to build long-term habits around "focus" and "mindfulness."

finance

Chime's automatic savings account gamifies saving money. It sets clear savings goals for users and designs processes to help achieve them. The Chime debit card rounds up transactions and automatically transfers the difference into the savings account. The savings amount for each transaction varies and is highlighted in color on the app's home page, providing users with delightful surprises. This positive feedback loop reinforces savings goals and cultivates good habits.

fitness

Zombies, Run! and Strava are gamified fitness apps that make running and cycling more fun. Zombies allows users to complete missions during a zombie outbreak, winning by running at a specific speed or distance. The app tracks every run and celebrates milestones.

Strava employs a similar goal-setting and feedback loop, while adding social elements. It maintains a leaderboard for users' running or cycling activities, allowing users to see their progress in real-time. This competitive mechanism is effective because competition itself is a natural activity.

( Education

Duolingo is a popular gamified language learning app. It sets language learning goals for users, suggesting that they study for 15 minutes a day to achieve proficiency. Courses are divided into short and easy-to-handle levels, similar in length to mobile games. The courses are well-designed to help users reach a flow state. Each lesson mixes new and old vocabulary, adjusting the difficulty based on user performance. Duolingo also tracks the number of consecutive days users study, achieving self-discipline while maintaining autonomy.

![a16z Partner: The Most Successful Applications Are Packaged Games])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-18e0386662cc9ff5b29d492e26ed866f.webp###

Conclusion

The core principles of game design have been integrated into many successful modern applications. Early gamified applications focused on short-term engagement, while game-based applications are closely aligned with user needs to achieve long-term retention. Motivation, mastery, and feedback have always been at the heart of the ### MMF ( framework for user retention. When people have fun and realize they are achieving their goals, they develop long-term usage habits. In this way, game-based applications help users achieve lifelong goals, from saving to regular exercise and improving work efficiency.