Gamification in 2021: Future of Immersive Technologies

In 2021, we can expect Gamification to step into a new level of accessibility, functionality and lifestyle integration as it would seem Gamification has grown up.

Article Content:

1. Gamification design shifts to intrinsic motivation

2. eLearning will go deeper in its teaching and wider in its reach

3. A big gamification push within the employee onboarding process

4. Shift to gamified LMS

5. Gamification will continue to blend with other learning technologies

There is a lot of new ground that Gamification intends to tread in 2021, so much so that this list below is the first component of a two-part article, let's read on and see what else is in-store for gamification in 2021.

Gamification design shifts to intrinsic motivation

Already in early 2021, we’re seeing Gamification initiatives have their design elements be more structured around principles of intrinsic motivation rather than relying on external factors.

Experts feel that the use of extrinsic motivational factors in gamification is not fit for long-term gamification and it can only bring immediate results (nothing wrong with that if that’s what you need). Gamification designers need to consciously in-build the intrinsic motivational factors their players need, into their gamification initiatives for which they need to thoroughly analyse the player type. 

Learners will initially get hooked to learning due to external factors like badges, leaderboards etc but will come back wanting more of it only when they enjoy the process of learning. Hence, the experts believe that the future of gamification will see an inevitable shift to more intrinsic motivation.

eLearning will go deeper in its teaching and wider in its reach

Experts predict that gamification will make deeper inroads within important industries, which have customary processes like education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services and so on. In such industries, the gamification of learning was implemented mainly in areas of compliance and important operations but with sustained results, gamification will find application in other areas of learning as well like sales training, onboarding and soft skills.

A big gamification push within the employee onboarding process

Employee onboarding is no longer an overseen aspect of converting new employees into insiders, as studies and findings report that new employees are 69% more likely to stick around for more than 3 years if you provide them with a well-formed onboarding process.

Productivity and project management tools have seen the biggest increase in gamification so far and there is more to come. The HR Tech market is exploring the benefits of gamification in employee engagement with a lot of effort and activity also in the recruitment space, where gamification is removing bias and providing the opportunity for 24/7 feedback.

A gamified onboarding program is a fun and exciting way for new recruits to get to know the company and learn how to best perform in their job. The content is delivered in bite-sized chunks throughout the different onboarding stages. Team games can also be utilised to facilitate interaction and establish connections between employees.

Shift to gamified LMS

While your organisation may have a Learning Management System (LMS), does it support gamification?

Modern LMS options that are currently available on the market are including the strongest gamified learning elements like points, badges, and leaderboards in order to create and sustain customer engagement. Thus the future will see the updating of LMS systems to have more game dynamics and elements that enable organisations to perform tasks like;

• Leverage the power of competition with the game elements like leaderboards, badges, achievements, points etc.

• Detailed tracking of the user’s learning objective, process and progress, which can then be rewarded and cultivated.

Gamification will continue to blend with other learning technologies  

While eLearning gamification is also used as a standalone learning strategy, there is a visible trend of combining or blending game-based learning with other learning experiences. For example, according to a recent study conducted on a group of target learners, it was discovered that micro-learning creates 50% more engagement. When micro-learning is combined with eLearning gamification, the benefits of learner engagement is expected to multiply several times.

eLearning gamification can blend with other learning strategies as well to make the learning more engaging and immersive to motivate students. Imagine playing an online firefighting gamified VR module where you can learn the Do’s and Don’ts of firefighting within the safety of a virtual environment build.

Final Thoughts

We are still really only at the beginning of the gamification journey and understanding where this approach can take us. We may see the increasing use of terms such as ‘immersive technologies’ to explain the type of engagement we’re discussing; but at its heart, we know it’s gamification.