Playing video games was and remains one of the favorite pastimes of people of both genders all age groups. From the moment they first appeared, computer games managed to capture our imaginations, even though first games weren’t particularly complex or graphically impressive. It was the possibility of entering a whole new, different world for a little while and assuming a different role that made them so popular.
The online gaming industry started out copying things from brick & mortar arcades, simply transitioning popular arcade games into a virtual setting. For a long while, this worked as intended, but lately, people have started growing tired of the same old thing, asking for more.
That’s the point where online sports met gaming, starting the process that came to be known as gamification. In short, online game companies started to look for ways to make the gaming experience more online oriented, aiming to create that different experience where players are welcomed inside a new world where they get to be a hero for the day.
Immersive Game Worlds
Before online gamification, old arcades were pretty much alike. While some offered different games than the others, there wasn’t much to set them apart. Then, however, certain sites started to drift away from this usual pattern, creating an experience more similar to the one found in modern-day RPG games.
Many online games followed on this example in the years to come, almost making it a standard these days. It is no longer just about who has more games to offer, but also who is able to create a better, more game-like experience with special bonuses such as Casumo Casino.
Game Machines
Following the same logic, game developers started thinking about games that could involve players on a different level. Winning and losing is an essential feature of games, but you get that with every game machine out there. What would make a player come back to a particular game, then?
Rabcat, a smaller game developer, was one of the first to come up with an interesting solution in their Castle Builder. The game, which recently saw a sequel in Castle Builder II, offered more than just winning combos. With every win, a player would move a step closer to building a castle. Once you’re done building three castles, you move on to sets of smaller buildings, etc.
The game isn’t too complex in terms of graphics, but what Castle Builder does is give players a sense of achievement and sets goals for you to pursue. Unlike other games, where you can quit at any time without any regrets, Castle Builder invites you to keep playing as you get closer to completing yet another castle.
Gamification: The Way of the Future
Looking at the success of new online games and the increasing popularity of games that offer these immersive experiences, it is clear that the process of gamification will continue. This is the only way to keep the players’ attention and new technologies will make it even easier for online game developers to achieve the desired effect.
With VR and AR technologies developing at a rapid rate and necessary equipment becoming cheaper in the future, we can fully expect the online gaming industry to take full advantage of possibilities created by these technologies. In the years to come, we’ll probably see fully immersive and involved games that will look and feel much more like proper online games than traditional arcade games that have been around for decades.
Gamification does sound like pretty cool term to use!