You might think a typical gamer is a young male who spends hours gaming in their room, not seeing the light of day.
This stereotype is not accurate, not even slightly. Around 60% of everyday Australians play video games daily, the average gamer is aged 34 years, and 46% of video game players are female (Digital Australia 2018 study).
These are everyday people, including the person sitting next to you on the train or bus.
Whether it’s getting to work, walking to or from class, or in the doctor’s waiting room, more people are playing video games everywhere and at all times. This is as a result of the increasing advances in technology and use of mobile apps.
What’s exciting about these advances in technology is that we are now seeing the benefits of gamification from an engagement perspective.
People are attracted to games as they are visually exciting and they capture your imagination. They allow you to move beyond the realm of realism.
Recently Articulous partnered with a developer to design a video game prototype that changed the way people thought. It also triggered responses to tough challenges and encouraged decision making with consequences for a high-profile client.
Using our experience in engagement and understanding of the audiences we were able to deliver a fully customised, fun, and unique experience. In the co-design process we also carefully crafted the design, logic, user experience, gameplay and look and feel.
In short, why consider gamification? It can:
- reach a larger and more geographically diverse audience;
- provide real time data and geotracking outputs;
- be captivating to all ages (although you need to select your target audience and develop the video game to this);
- generate interest in topics that might be too hard to traditionally engage on;
- share information that might otherwise be difficult to share; and
- encourage participation through sharing.
