A glossary, also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. This section contains a glossary of the current knowledge domain terms adapted and modified from several sources (Blashki & Isaias 2013; Captain Up Academy 2022; Marczewski 2014). Generally, this glossary contains explanations of concepts relevant to a certain field of gamification, and in this sense, the terms are related to the notion of ontology. The listed terms have been used in the present text in one form or another or are closely related to the domain knowledge. We suggest using this section to refer to terms used or as reference material. Readers interested in a glossary of elements of the Agon Framework, especially those with no self-explanatory names related to complex concepts, should consult Luca Piras’s (Piras 2016) website.

Activity Loop

The “loop” means a set of actions for which users are motivated to return.

Cognitive Process Support Elements

Gamification uses game elements guiding the player to support task resolution. It implies adapting the interaction to the user profile and communicating relevant and useful information (goal, mean, feedback, and outcome).

Engagement

Engagement is an essential element of the player experience. When users are engaged, they feel motivated to succeed and continue.

Extrinsic Motivation

Anything you do to obtain something, whether badges, points, money, or recognition, is extrinsic motivation. It refers to the motivation that comes from outside an individual.

Extrinsic Reward

Something external, such as monetary rewards for doing something.

Fiero

An Italian word used in gamification to describe a sense of great achievement or triumph over adversity – the sort that has your fist pumping in the air!

Flow

A concept described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It is a place between boredom and frustration where the player’s skills match the challenge level. They lose all sense of self, and time seems to go by much faster.

Game Aesthetics

The beauty of the game, including the graphics, images, and fonts.

Game Dynamics

These can be described in terms of our desires. Humans all have the desire to be recognized and achieve success. These are the game dynamics that take place when playing games. It also means emergent activities of the users as they interact with mechanics.

Game Elements/Components

The bits taken from games include progress bars, missions, points, badges and leaderboards.

Game Mechanics

Constructs of rules designed for interaction with the game state, providing gameplay.

Game Thinking

Game-related design methods and ideas (e.g. gamification, serious games) used to create solutions.

Gamification

Applying elements of game mechanics such as badges, rewards, and points to encourage engagement with a product or service in non-game contexts. Gamification is exciting because it promises to make the hard stuff in life fun. Gamification is also related to:

• The use of game elements and game thinking in non-game contexts.
• Making more game-like experiences.
• Pervasive user-centric design.

Intrinsic Motivation

Anything you do because it feels good is intrinsic motivation, even if you do not make any progress at all. For example, listening to a joke. It also means internal reasons to do something. Examples include:

• Relatedness: social connection to others.
• Autonomy: freedom/agency to act as you wish.
• Mastery: achieving something, such as learning a new skill.
• Purpose: three variations exist. A sense of direction (e.g. goals or storylines/narratives), feeling that you are involved in something with greater meaning, and altruism (e.g. selfless acts for the benefit of others).

Leaderboards

Leaderboards show where players are ranked in a gamified system. They are implemented to show which players have achieved the most.

Loyalty

Allegiance to something. Once users feel a sense of loyalty, they will keep returning. You have to make them feel special enough to do so. People loyal to a brand will go out of their way, ignoring value and convenience to own products from that brand.

Motivation Elements

Gamification first drives motivation through the triggering of emotions. It implies using game elements that answer users’ needs beyond usability (e.g. value, accomplishment, social). Second, it exploits game elements that are part of the persuasive technology tools to create engagement.

Naches

A Yiddish word that means “feeling of pride at the achievement of your children.” In gamification, it describes the feeling people get when people achieve something thanks to the help they have given them.

Player Journey

Taken from Amy Jo Kim, the player journey consists of On-Boarding (i.e., the first steps taken in a new system, e.g. an interactive tutorial), Habit Building (i.e., the phase where a user/player is using the system and improving), and Mastery (sometimes referred to as End Game, where the user/player has mastered the system and is probably looking for the next challenge).

Player

Also called the user is the target person who will be using the gamified system.

Points & Badges

These are among the most visible elements of gamification. They mark achievements, encourage users to continue, and motivate them.

Sensory-Motor Modalities.

Gamification uses extensive game multimodal coding (visual, audio, and haptic) for aesthetic purposes and to communicate an atmosphere, a theme, or needed information.

Serious Game

A real game that is built primarily for purposes other than pure entertainment.

References

1. Blashki, K., & Isaias, P. (2013). Emerging research and trends in interactivity and the human-computer interface. In Https://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-4666-4623-0. IGI Global. https://www.igi-global.com/book/emerging-research-trends-interactivity-human/www.igi-global.com/book/emerging-research-trends-interactivity-human/77385.
2. Captain Up Academy. (2022). The complete gamification glossary. Captain Up. http://gamificacion.socialmove.cl/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Complete-Gamification-Glossary.pdf.
3. Marczewski, A. (2014, September 19). The language of gamification – Short glossary [Updated]. Gamification & Life in General. https://www.gamified.uk/2014/09/19/language-gamification-short-glossary/amp.
4. Piras, L. (2016, June 24). Acceptance and gamification glossary. Luca Piras Website. https://pirasluca.wordpress.com/home/acceptance/glossary.