The Effects of Gasification Mechanics on User Engagement

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of different gamification mechanics on the user engagement in mobile applications using objective and subjective data. In this study, we evaluated user engagement in “BESHNO” audiobook application as a case study by comparison between results of objective and subjective data. The research method of this study is descriptive-correlational, causal-comparative and experimental. The sample size of this study is 390 users of the "BESHNO" audio book application (130 users per each gamification mechanic). The results of this study showed that based on the objective and subjective data analysis, using different gamification mechanics has a different effect on the amount and dimensions of user engagement. There is also a significant difference between the findings of objective and subjective data analysis regarding the level of user engagement. However, there is a similar pattern in objective and subjective data analysis when using different gamification mechanics. In addition, the results of this study showed that the "Badge" gamification mechanic is the most effective and the "Reward" gamification mechanic is the least effective mechanics on user engagement.

Keywords

• gamification
• user engagement
• gamification mechanics
• objective data
• subjective data