What we’re currently terming gamification is in fact the process of taking the thing that is least essential to games and representing it as the core of the experience.
There's also the issue of play. Games offer play. Achievements and points are merely reward structures.
Games give their players meaningful choices that meaningfully impact on the world of the game.
They are the least important bit of a game, the bit that has the least to do with all of the rich cognitive, emotional and social drivers which gamifiers are intending to connect with.
but neither points nor badges in any way constitute a game
A world of badges and points only offers upwards escalation, and without the pain of loss and failure, these mean far less.
Gamification is an inadvertent con. It tricks people into believing that there’s a simple way to imbue their thing (bank, gym, job, government, genital health outreach program, etc) with the psychological, emotional and social power of a great game.
Gamification, as it stands, should actually be called poinstificatio
What we're currently terming gamification is in fact the process of taking the thing that is least essential to games and representing it as the core of the experience.
Another point here is the importance of "play" - games are designed to offer play in some form or another. Achievement structures are not play but an end object.