Gamification (lots of information here) is the idea that elements from games, that make them fun, can be applied to everyday-life situations as a way of increasing enjoyment and engagement. An example of this would include credit card rewards programs: as you make purchases with the credit card you receive points. These points build up and can then be "traded in" for merchandise or cash.

Recently, Missionary Solutions (here) released their LDS Armor of God iOS app (here). I know, jump from gamification to an iOS app, but don't worry, I'm going to tie this whole thing together. At it's core this app is about setting reminders for you to complete certain tasks, like Read the Scriptures, that, once set, pop up at the designated time on your iOS device. Once it pops up you go and select whether or not you completed the task. For example, you might want to set a reminder to go to the temple. You'd select that from the list and then set the time of day, along with how often it will remind you.


But where's the fun in that!? Say your prayers. Here's where the idea of gamification comes in. Depending on the number of reminders that you set and how well you do at completing those task, your armor is affected. For example, below you can see that the current armor is Reflective Leather (with 2 reminders set). Set yourself more reminders and your type of armor will be increased, all the way up to Steel (with 6 or more reminders set).


The image also displays your Armor Integrity. This is a reflection of how well you've done at completing the tasks when you are reminded. Don't worry, if you are struggling you can always go in and "repent." This resets your Armor Integrity. At the bottom they have included an option that lets you keep track of where you are reading in the scriptures. I'm not sure that this is very necessary, I mean, I have my iPad, so I'm reading the scriptures and my place is always marked, but I guess if you like reading from the "hard copy" then this could be helpful.

All in all, I like the idea and I think this app has a lot of potential. I would love to see the option for me to be able to type in what I want to call my reminder. Currently you can only choose from the options that are included. It would be great if there was a cancel button in some of the options, just in case you tap it and then decide against it. I could not find a way of deleting a reminder once I set it.

I think it would also be cool if there was a display of the armor (currently it shows up in the background, like in the images above) and the way it looked reflected the integrity of the armor. So, as you complete your tasks it looks shiny/impenetrable, but as you miss completing your tasks then maybe cracks or other such things show up in your armor.

Do you have any ideas that could more "gamify" this app!?
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