What is the gamification of Games2gether?

• What is gamification?

• How does G2G use gamification?

• Available Rewards

  • Badges

  • Avatars

  • Titles

• G2G Points

• Leaderboard

• Upvoting

Gamification uses the principles of game design in a non-game context. The goal is to use fun and motivating game mechanics to increase user engagement and participation.

In the context of a website, such as the G2G platform, this can mean the inclusion of rewards, badges, points, achievements, and leaderboards.

G2G uses rewards and ranking to motivate users to participate in the online community. Their engagement awards them fun badges, rare avatars, unique titles, and G2G points. With the leaderboard, a user can see how they stack up to other members. For a competitive user, that may be the push they need to report a bug or share an idea!

Rewards on G2G also create a beneficial feedback loop. For example, the more a user upvotes, the higher their G2G points. The higher their G2G points, the more influence their upvote has!

Rewards at G2G are displayed on a user’s profile and alongside their username when they post on the site.

Rewards are displayed when a user posts. In the above screenshot, the avatar is highlighted in yellow, the title is highlighted in green, and the badges are highlighted in blue.

G2G rewards user participation with badges. They are linked to specific activity, such as “participating in a vote” or “being registered for two months.” They can also be linked to offsite activity, such as earning an achievement on Steam.

Badges can be ranked to reward increased participation. For instance, a user may receive a “basic” badge for participating in one vote, but a “silver” badge for participating in three. Higher ranks also earn more G2G points.

Avatars are unlockable profile pictures. They are linked to a specific badge and rank. One avatar can be unlocked when a user first earns a badge; a second one can be unlocked when they hit a higher rank. Users can set an unlocked avatar as their profile picture from their profile page.

Titles are fun descriptors beneath a username. As with avatars, they are linked to a specific badge and rank of that badge. Users can combine two unlocked titles to create a more unique title for their profile. Users can select a title or two from their profile page.

G2G points are awarded the more a user participates on the site. As a user unlocks badges, they are awarded more G2G points. Points give a user influence on the site. A user’s G2G points are applied when a user votes or upvotes, meaning their participation has a greater weight than that of a new user who has spent very little time participating in the online community.

Competitive users can check out the leaderboard. The leaderboard ranks users based on their G2G points and total number of badges. The chance to rise in rank can motivate a user to upvote that idea or report that bug that has been bothering them.

Upvoting is both a motivating factor for community members and a method of receiving feedback for developers. Members are incentivized to encourage other users to upvote to improve the visibility of their own posts, and to upvote to increase their G2G points. 

When a user upvotes something, their total is added to the content’s total. So, users with higher engagement (and thus G2G points) contribute more to that post being seen. This also functions as a way for developers to determine where to put their focus. If an idea has a high number of G2G points, it is a good clue that this has been a pressing issue or would be a strong draw for users.

Members can upvote bug reports, questions, threads, and ideas.