At the heart of any gamified system is the activity. Who the user is and his/her motivations are important, but at the end of the day it all boils down to the activities that the system allows the user to take. In this chapter we discuss the activity. We look at the elements, progression loops, and engagement scenarios that our players can and will participate in.
The activity in a gamified system is merely a recipe of game Mechanics. These are the principles, rules, and constructs that govern a player's actions in a gaming scenario. They outline the player's movements through a system of rewards, feedback, and incentives. It is the game Mechanics that make the system enjoyable.
We must be clear, however, that game elements are not games, just as a soccer ball is not a game of soccer. It is, however, an element and a key mechanic of the game. Its very nature dictates what players can and cannot do in the game. If we were to replace a soccer ball with, for example, a baseball...