by georg.kiraly -

Impulse #4: UX and Gamification of Duolingo, by Reyhan Tamang

Duolingo, as the leading language-learning app, presents a compelling case for the strategic implementation of gamification in UX-Design. Here are some key opportunities the author mentions, highlighted by the app’s success:

  1. Clever Copywriting for Positive User Experience:
    • Duolingo employs attention-grabbing and encouraging copywriting throughout the user journey. This creates a positive and engaging experience, particularly crucial in language learning where users may face challenges. Implementing well-crafted messages can motivate and sustain user interest.
  2. Steady Progression for User Motivation:
    • The app’s approach to incremental progress ensures that users start with simple concepts and gradually advance. Real-time progress tracking and a sense of accomplishment after each lesson contribute to user motivation. Incorporating this steady progression model in UX-Design can make complex tasks more manageable and rewarding.
  3. Powerful Use of Streaks as a Motivational Tool:
    • Duolingo effectively utilizes the psychological concept of loss aversion through streaks. Encouraging users to maintain a daily streak taps into the fear of losing progress, a potent motivator. UX designers can explore incorporating streaks or similar gamified elements to foster long-term user engagement.
  4. Community Building Through Friends Quest:
    • The introduction of a team-oriented feature in Duolingo reinforces the importance of community in language learning. Implementing collaborative elements in UX-Design, such as group challenges or shared achievements, can enhance the sense of community among users and provide additional motivation.
  5. Lessons for Designers:
    • Duolingo’s success with gamification offers valuable lessons for designers. Understanding psychological principles behind gamification, including the fear of loss and the joy of achievement, can guide designers in creating engaging digital experiences. Applying similar strategies, like incorporating levels and rewards, can enhance user engagement across various projects.

In conclusion, Duolingo stands as a testament to the effectiveness of gamification in creating an engaging and effective user experience. UX designers can draw inspiration from its success to incorporate gamified elements that not only make learning enjoyable but also keep users committed to their goals. By understanding the psychological principles behind gamification, designers can craft experiences that resonate with users and drive desired behaviors. Duolingo’s innovative approach offers a wealth of insights for designers seeking to create educational and entertaining digital experiences.

I found this text by Reyhan Tamang pretty inspiring because it could be really helpful for my thesis to focus on the advantages of gamification when designing an educational tool for teenagers and young voters.

Source: https://uxplanet.org/ux-and-gamification-in-duolingo-40d55ee09359

by Marc Steiner -

₆ Research Topic 180

As can be seen in all of my previous blog posts, I was first struggling a bit with finding a topic for my research and then started diving into Character Animation and the animation industry. Throughout the time since my last blog post I had that topic in the back of my mind and was still struggling when trying to think of ways I could take this topic further to make up a full masters thesis with my current and future knowledge. Whenever I thought about it I was quickly overwhelmed by the possibilities, until recently I was sitting at work and realized that I could just pivot to the topic I was working with at that moment: Virtual Reality.

Virtual Reality in what context?

During the past two years of me working at mindconsole1 I had the opportunity to come in contact with very different approaches to virtual reality and how it can be used in various contexts. The main area I found myself developing into was the gamification of real world tasks, mainly larger scale operations, ranging from a treecutting learning environment2 for the bfw3 all the way to a digital reconstruction of a part of berlin4 for the Berlin Fire Department5.

Figure 1: Treecutting environment in use6

During these projects I worked on the 3d construction of said environments, developing of functionalities and general project management. That is precisely why I decided that this type of work would be the perfect foundation for my master’s thesis.

Figure 2: The Berlin Ubahn station in the digital environment7

Further directions

Having this theoretical and practical knowledge as part of the thesis I would also like to branch out and take it further than that. What exactly that is going to look like will be decided in the future (and the next few blog posts), but overall I would like to analyse the topic in regards to the psychology aspect of such virtual training environments and possibly the way gamification can help shape important real life training digitally.

Sources

5. Berliner Feuerwehr. “Willkommen bei der Berliner Feuerwehr”. Berliner Feuerwehr, Accessed November 15, 2023. https://www.berliner-feuerwehr.de/.

3. bfw. “Home – FAST Traunkirchen.” FAST Traunkirchen, Accessed November 15, 2023.
https://fasttraunkirchen.at/.

2. Goebel, Tina. “Virtual-Reality-Training Macht Forstarbeit Sicherer.” science.ORF.at, October 7, 2023. https://science.orf.at/stories/3221561/.

1. mindconsole. “Work.” MINDCONSOLE, Accessed November 15, 2023. https://mindconsole.net/.

4. mindconsole. “BERLIN U5 STATIONS XVR ENVIRONMENT.” MINDCONSOLE, Accessed November 15, 2023. https://mindconsole.net/project/berlin-u5-stations-environment.

Images

6. Goebel, Tina. “Virtual-Reality-Training Macht Forstarbeit Sicherer.” science.ORF.at, October 7, 2023. https://science.orf.at/stories/3221561/.

7. mindconsole. “BERLIN U5 STATIONS XVR ENVIRONMENT.” MINDCONSOLE, Accessed November 15, 2023. https://mindconsole.net/project/berlin-u5-stations-environment.