Now I’m certainly not saying that PBL is bad or that it does not have a place but, if those elements have simply been ‘thrown’ into the mix because they are maybe the easier ones to use then that is a poor basis for their use.

In the same way that many games launched into the market simply fail because they are not engaging enough, then gamification applied to business process can suffer the same fate. When the designer decides to populate with features rather than understanding how he/she wants the user to feel, then they are on the horse backwards.

Great gamification starts by developing an understanding of the things that drive and motivate us and by knowing how individual game elements make us feel. Only by knowing what feelings or emotions we want our users (players) to experience can we determine the best set of game elements to use.

Let’s dispel the Myth that gamification is limited to PBL. The smart approach is to first fully understand the outcome that you are striving for and then to focus on creating a compelling experience that is underpinned by the right design (game) elements.