The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 64 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
From game design elements to gamefulness: defining "gamification"
Abstract
Recent years have seen a rapid proliferation of mass-market consumer software that takes inspiration from video games. Usually summarized as "gamification", this trend connects to a sizeable body of existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction and game studies, such as serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, or playful design. However, it is not clear how "gamification" relates to these, whether it denotes a novel phenomenon, and how to define it. Thus, in this paper we investigate "gamification" and the historical origins of the term in relation to precursors and similar concepts. It is suggested that "gamified" applications provide insight into novel, gameful phenomena complementary to playful phenomena. Based on our research, we propose a definition of "gamification" as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.
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In the citing paper
“A gamification strategy is implemented in education to improve learning motivation and participation through the application of game elements and game mechanisms [10].”
From Design and Implementation of Gamified Augmented Reality Learning System to Enhance Biodiversity Education (2026) · cites this paper as [10]
In the citing paper
“Gamification - defined as the application of game design elements in non-game contexts - has emerged as a promising approach for increasing engagement, motivation, and user participation (Deterding et al., 2011; Hamari et al., 2014).”
From An Experimental Analysis of Gamification’s Impact on Customer Engagement and Retention in Subscription-Based Business Models (2026) · cites this paper as Deterding et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“Gamification in mobile app technology has emerged as a popular strategy, both in commercial culture and the field of academia as a means of influencing behaviors [15,16,20,21].”
From Just a Fad? Gamification in Health and Fitness Apps (2014) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Coding of the 10 effective game elements was taken from the work of Reeves and Read, which outlined the ten effective elements of games, and quoted in the work of Deterding et al [15,28].”
From Just a Fad? Gamification in Health and Fitness Apps (2014) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“The six gamification components were determined by reviewing the current body of literature and finding common themes and components of gamification used or discussed in the literature for impacting health behavior [15,17,18].”
From Just a Fad? Gamification in Health and Fitness Apps (2014) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Additionally, the push towards gamification assumes that the use of rewards, levels, leaderboards, and external incentives are enough to sustain (health) behavior responses without using other components of games like problem solving, storytelling, and fantasy [15,18,36].”
From Just a Fad? Gamification in Health and Fitness Apps (2014) · cites this paper as [15]
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“What combinations of game elements are studied? According to (Deterding et al., 2011) gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L.
- Affiliations
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Ontario Tech University (CA)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments
- Publisher
- ACM
- Published
- 2011-09-28
- Pages
- 9-15
- OpenAlex
- W2023718959
- Cited by
- 8,402
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 974 · 2025: 1073 · 2024: 825 · 2023: 742 · 2022: 630 · 2021: 713 · 2020: 587 · 2019: 551 · 2018: 537 · 2017: 481 · 2016: 414 · 2015: 388 · 2014: 295 · 2013: 153 · 2012: 33
- FWCI
- 399.83
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Academic Mindtrek Conference (Mindtrek) (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Keywords
- gamification, game elements, serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, playful design, history of the term
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