How is Gamification Different from a Game?

Here are some ideas I’ve had lately about trying to separate games and gamification as concepts.

A game is a self-contained unit. There is a defined “game-space” in which the players agree to engage in game activities. There is a clear beginning, middle and end to a game. There is a defined winning state of the game. The players know when they or someone else has completed the game. A game typically has multiple game elements. Games contain challenges, a mechanism for multiple attempts, some type of reward system, a clear goal that players work to achieve and an ultimate end.

In gamification, while elements of games are used such as points, badges, freedom to fail and challenge, the intent is not to create a self-contained unit—not to create a game. The intent is to use elements from games to encourage the learner to engage with the content and to progress toward a goal.

In gamification, it is possible to use just one element to engage a person such as a badge. A person logs into a computer application ten times and receives a badge. Receiving a badge is an element of a game but the badge, in this case, isn’t related to other game activities such as moving to a new level, solving a puzzle or matching two or more items. Another way to look at it is through word association.

• Gamification is to Game as:
o Part is to Whole
o Piece is to Puzzle
o Slice is to Pie
o Steering Wheel is to Car

Gamification uses parts of games but is not a game in-and-of itself.