Gamification: How Effective is it Really?

Gamification has taken a blur between life and games, relegating many concepts that pertain to life and well, having it in the format of a game. From educational games and others that teach social aspects and cultures, to simulators in which gamers do 'real-life' tasks in a game world, from farming to cleaning a house to making your own life a game, they teach many ideas that can easily be utilized in the real world. And they certainly can prove to be useful. But is gamification really the way to go? Does it on a whole actually cause significant change? While gamification is certainly a creative method, whether it is as effective as we hope is questionable.

There is first the issue of extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation. Doing an action because you know you will get something is extrinsic, while intrinsic motivation is simply because the person wants to do that action. Gamifying actions and/or concepts messes with that motivation on both sides. Educational games, for instance, attempt to intrinsically appeal to those who like games, but having overt educational themes has many people lose their intrinsic motivation to play these games. Associating the games with a concept they may like could merely conditions them to view both as bad, so that can they do not partake in either anymore, games or education. And even for those who do follow through, actions and concept that may have been intrinsically motivated (doing work, having manners) may become extrinsic since they are being rewarded for it, and now they do it for the reward, not because they want to.

Another issue is that games tend to be viewed, as discussed before, a "simulate space". And while some may bring their values into a game (and vice versa), that is not always the case. After all, just because a player may do the Genocide route in Undertale, for instance, does not suddenly mean a player is genocidal. Similarly, if playing a game where it teaches you not to discriminate, that does not necessarily the person may not remove their biases. So while gamification sounds nice in text, is it truly effective?