Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Let’s begin with a quote by Jane McGonigal, American Designer and author.

She said, “Games give us unnecessary obstacles that we volunteer to tackle.”

We are inclined to do this, maybe because it is fun.

But it makes us think.

Despite being efficient and usable, we are creating very serious user interfaces. Maybe we’ve to dial down a bit. Maybe.

Well, That is when we started looking into games; to absorb the fun elements. In other words, we started sneaking in gameplay elements into our user interfaces to liven it up.

Gamification

Gamification is the insertion of gameplay elements in non-gaming settings to enhance user engagement with a product or service.

It is a loop consisting of 4 elements, and it goes by

• Goals,
• Rules,
• Feedback or Rewards, and
• Motivation.

Motivation is a critical factor that drives you to get that user engagement.

So, let’s look at a simple loop.

We have a goal, we have a reward for that, and we make an investment and go again, and there is some motivation to go again at that next task.

In this loop, we have action to kill or fight the monster, and we get a reward from it by killing the beast, and we level up and make the investment to build a better character and go again for the next shot. And, the investment is critical.

The Problem

But the problem is that this simple loop can get tedious and lackluster in the long run because as we move along, these tasks and goals can obtain more significant or more challenging, and we might put more investment into that and can tire users a bit.

The Dual Loop Framework

This is when a dual loop framework comes in. It helps because we explode this simple loop into inner and outer circles, wherein the inner loops we have minor tasks or minor actions to do, and we’ll get little rewards for that.

In the outer loop, there are significant actions and significant rewards for it. It is not disappointing because you are encouraged to go on the front foot in either case and do the task.

Google Maps

Now let’s take a look at one company that has invested in dual-loop frameworks.

Even Waze can be considered. The other being Google Maps. Both are map oriented products.

For a better perspective, let’s look into what Google Maps is doing. Here, the inner loop is a basic rating system, perhaps where you rate service, and the more significant task can be that you can write a review about a service or maybe take a photograph.

All these things add up to reward you with points and the accumulation of those points, in fact, give you more important things like a freebie that Google cares to give away.

Who knows. Apart from all this, Google’s driving factor is looking forward to the critical elements of motivation is building a better Google Map community.