2021's Wonder Weapon: Gamification

📅 2021.03.06 - 👤 Borbély Viktor

Candy Land is a good example of gamification. source: Candy Land – Google Play Store

The events of the past year have naturalized a new attitude and new habits for many of us. We got new hobbies condemned to indoor life. Research has shown that the time we spend pressing our mobile phones has greatly increased. Of course, games swept the board, alongside video call apps. In my article, I take the former under scrutiny to see what game creators achieved this with. I’m not revealing any big secret if I say: gamification.

In an earlier article I processed this, although starting from the other side. In that article I wrote that

”Application of game elements, basically in a non-game environment.”

The research work

I purposefully searched among games on the Play Store to gather experience in the so-called idle/casual click type games on how they apply gamification elements. I stumbled upon the game called * *Candy Land**. About 250 results came up for the “candy” keyword, but I was attracted by its cute appearance. Okay, I had to start somewhere among the many sweet games. I installed it. Strictly considering professional aspects 🙂

The app’s 45 MB download size was a pleasant surprise. In light of what I got in return when I started it.

Graphics and music

We start with catchy music. There’s a big button in the middle, we can’t even mistake what the next step should be. Let’s stop here for a moment. On the screen I immediately get answers to my 3 questions:

This is a filter for how appealing the whole thing is to me. Of course I moved on, since I wanted to play.

Immediately a map studded with elements came before me. The usual details are well identifiable if we examine them:

where am I? Avatar at the bottom of the screen
there are continents as I scroll up on the map. I can hardly wait to start. What could be there? ( sense of anticipation, restriction)
At the top of the screen appears the “heart” showing my life force. The + sign indicates some refillability.
The yellow “coins” show my Candy Land currency. You can buy life force, progress, etc. from this. Tapping on it immediately brings up the Coin Shop where we can buy such.

The map is important in the Candy Land game The map is the central element

Gameplay

Candy Land’s gameplay really understands gamification solutions.

I wasn’t left alone, I got all the help if I got stuck. Now I have a goal: Collect the points! There couldn’t be a clearer goal before my eyes. Let’s start!

Need a goal Our extras during the game

Supplies are scarce, you have to economize with them. This is indicated by Moves. If it runs out, the round is over. Top right shows the points to be collected. This must be achieved. I noticed that I started thinking logically about how I could collect them as soon as possible. The simple “drag my finger and done” strategy was not sufficient.

Candy Land's playing field The clearly visible playing field

In the above image there are a few elements that I gradually received. It didn’t dump all the possibilities on me at once. First it taught me a small step, then made it harder. If this went well, it threw in a new element.

This is also an important characteristic of gamification. Have quick win, feel that I’m getting a reward. These small pats on the back deepen trust. Speaking of success. At the beginning I got help by the candies flashing that if I pressed them, I surely got 3 in a row. This disappears later, but by then all the combinations are in my fingers.

At the bottom of the screen appear the extras that I could deploy (after unlocking them). This creates the illusion of free choice. These are tricky elements that are not real choices (pseudo-choices), so from the game’s perspective they don’t give outstanding advantage, but psychologically I feel it depended on me anyway.

Successfully completing the level, we assess for a breather how clever we were. How many points we got (has no significance during the game), we got our badges, we can go to the next level.

Nice work at the end of the level Nice work!

Purchasable candies

Progress can be purchased We can purchase our progress

An important element of these types of games is that we can speed up our progress. Either we play a lot or we buy coins. We can obtain these if we watch a video. If there are many of them, we can spend them now.

Try again Or we continue collecting

I’ll immediately add that this has a value that can be expressed in HUF. An important part of the game is obtaining these. If we’ve gotten far enough, we certainly don’t want to leave the further levels. This is a solution based on the lost profit principle. It applies this excellently too.

It’s visible how many coins we get in exchange for watching a video.

An important part is the purchasable accessories The shop

Well, I didn’t spin out the game over the weekend, as it has many levels, but at every level I get new elements. It constantly keeps me in the process by the rounds being snappy and fast. There’s feedback. By purchasing or exchanging items, it creates the feeling that I’m progressing.

Candy Land – Free puzzle game

If you’d like to play a good game with KingIT Solutions’ game, you can find it on the Play Store.

I’m now crushing it!