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Gamification : Kontest @ FrenchWeb

On Tuesday, February 28th, we were in the premises of French Web to attend a workshop about gamification. Led by Nicolas Gaume, founder of Mimesis Republic and Fabien Baunay from Brandtainers, this workshop brings us some keys practices about the subject.

The gamification or “ludification” in French, what is it? It is about the transfer of the mechanisms of games in other domains. It is part of a digital strategy as apps or Facebook Fan pages for example.

The idea? Taking advantage of the predisposition of humans to play. Rather women than men moreover, who represent a important part of players. Their average age is 38, more than what we thougt.

Some keys practices :

  • Fun and subject are not connected :

Growing tomatoes isn’t fun?
Say it to the Farmville players, by Zynga, who are more 250 millions a month in the world to water their virtual vegetables! More social, more immersive, these games are successful, in particular thanks to the virtuosity. In other words, the capacity to master an environement, here a farm, without having the necessary talent of it in reality.

  • Success with 3 steps

Acquisition, commitment, retention. Everything is said, almost. But how do we do? Nicolas Gaume gives us elements to answer: the first connection is decisive, the handling must be easy, the interface pleasant. Players has to live a real experience, to have an interest to come back and to invite their friends. Especially, they have to feel the level is reachable and get rewards for every passed stages.

  • The 3C

What is this ? The 3 « C » are the structure you need to give to the player’s experience :character, control, camera. Translate the way players are going to be represented in the game, the gameplay or playability and finally the interface, what it is displayed during his play. Concerning games on Facebook, the parameter character is strongest since we play with our real identity. Also, to play with our friends allows us to confront our scores, our situations, maintain a virtual link with them and to get social recognition.

Integrating playful logics in brands strategies can, when these some basic rules are respected, turn out to be a very interesting element.