Gamification, game mechanics, game thinking and players’ profile and life cycle

Gamification has been identified as a major upcoming trend and is a concept that has been receiving a lot of attention recently (Xu et al., 2014). The term gamification first appeared in 2008 and was introduced by Brett Terill as the use of game mechanics to other web properties to increase engagement (Deterding et al., 2011; Huotari & Hamari, 2012) and has gained popularity since 2010 (Huotari & Hamari, 2012). As the term gamification is fairly recent, its definition and conceptualisation are still ongoing. Its conceptual underpinnings are often found within a marketing context (Dickey, 2005; Stapleton, 2004), although there is evidence to demonstrate that there is still confusion with similar terms such as games, achievements and rewards, and gamification. It is important, therefore, to examine the various definitional approaches to gamification and attempt to unpack its inherent complexities, in order to better understand the phenomenon. There is often confusion between the terms games and gamification (Post, 2014). While the primary purpose of games is to entertain, gamification seeks to motivate people to change behaviours, develop new skills or engage in innovation (Post, 2014). Videogames fundamentally present a continuous process of learning to users, as they are constantly evolving and progressing their knowledge and skills (Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011). Kim (2011) highlights the importance of learning in gamified systems, and argues that learning, fun and mastery for a game are fundamental. However, these important characteristics are not always applied to gamified systems as users do not always learn something new or different (neither a cognitive nor a perceptual skill)