Online Course About Gamification

Gamification is the process of applying game design and mechanics to non-game contexts for the purpose of engaging and motivating individuals. With the increasing demand for gamification in various industries, online gamification courses have become a popular choice for individuals seeking to learn about the field. These courses offer a range of topics, including game design principles, player psychology, and engagement strategies, among others. In this article, we will explore some of the best gamification courses available online, highlighting their features and benefits to help you make an informed decision on which course to take.

Here’s a look at the Best Gamification Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

Online Course About Gamification

1. Designing Gamification Level 1 (Basic) + Certification by Gabe Zichermann (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

Designing Gamification Level 1 (Basic) + Certification is an online course that instructs participants on gamification and game design for customer and employee engagement and loyalty. The course is accredited to deliver Engagement Expert Certification at the introductory level. Once finished, participants can request their certification and display it on their online profile, resume or website. The course is taught by Gabe Zichermann, an expert on gamification and engagement science, who has authored three books, chaired GSummit, and served as Editor in Chief. The course offers a practical, non-academic approach to gamification and engagement science. Participants from Marketing, HR, Operations, Product Development, or Strategy can use the principles learned from this course to transform their relationships with customers and employees. Participants will learn about gamification, its foundations, how it will transform their industry, canonical types of gamification, an introduction to key engagement science, and relevant examples across industries and design types. This course also includes specially curated guest lectures from the blockbuster archive. The course is divided into six sections, including Why You Need Gamification – An Introduction, The Science of Engagement, Gamification in Action: Key Examples and Models, How Gamification Differs, Genres of Gamification, and Earning Your Certification. Upon completion of this course, participants will have a better understanding of gamification and its practical applications.

2. Gamification: Motivation Psychology & The Art of Engagement by Rob Sutcliffe (Udemy)

The Gamification: Motivation Psychology & The Art of Engagement course, instructed by Rob Sutcliffe, aims to teach the psychology behind human behavior in order to motivate and engage individuals. The curriculum is designed to be taught over several weeks, with each video presenting interesting concepts and studies for students to discuss with the instructor and fellow classmates. Personal engagement challenges are encouraged to be brought to the course, which allows for the development of an engagement plan.

The course is applicable to individuals in various fields such as application design, teaching, management, or parenting. By the end of the course, students will have built an engagement plan that can be easily reproduced in the future to motivate change within any community.

The course is divided into several sections, which include an introduction to motivation and engagement, the science of motivation, status and other extrinsic rewards, mastery, meaning, autonomy, community, building the engagement plan, an example and reference, and a conclusion.

3. Gamification & Behavioral Design: The Octalysis Framework by Yu-kai Chou (Udemy)

The Gamification & Behavioral Design: The Octalysis Framework course is being offered by instructor Yu-kai Chou. The course teaches the 8 Core Drives that motivate individuals beyond the typical Points, Badges, and Leaderboards in Gamification and Behavioral Design. Chou is a world-renowned expert in this area, having worked with Stanford, Google, LEGO, BCG, and TEDx.

After completing the course, students will have a better understanding of how the brain works and how to trigger motivations. They will be able to apply the knowledge to many areas of their lives, such as fundraising, sales, team motivation, parenting, teaching, relationships, and more. For example, students will learn how to differentiate between White Hat Motivation and Black Hat Motivation and when to use one over the other depending on the scenario.

The course focuses on changing Desired Actions through Gameful and Behavioral Design. It is divided into three sections: Foundations of the Octalysis Framework, the 8 Core Drives of Human Behavior, and Applying Octalysis Gamification.

4. Gamification: How to Level Up Your Life and Business by Doru Catana (Udemy)

The Gamification: How to Level Up Your Life and Business course, taught by Doru Catana, is a comprehensive study of gamification principles, mechanics, and psychology. The course is designed to help individuals who are feeling bored, unproductive, or stuck in their daily routines. The course covers everything from how to make progress and achieve goals to the core psychological triggers that motivate individuals to keep playing games.

The course teaches how to implement game mechanics like badges, leaderboards, and quests to achieve personal or professional goals. The instructor, who has over 5,000 hours of gaming experience and has consulted with Fortune 500 organizations, shares personal experience and knowledge in the course.

The course covers both psychological theories about gaming and practical applications of game mechanics. It explains how choice works, cognitive biases, and advanced topics like the Skinner box. The course is designed to help individuals take action and get results with game mechanics.

The course is not a boring 10-hour presentation or a one-size-fits-all approach. It is a mix of theory, examples, and practical to-dos. The course is designed to help individuals achieve their goals by increasing their motivation, productivity, and engagement.

The course is suitable for individuals who want to get a promotion, improve productivity, allocate more time to hobbies, make work fun again, grow a business, increase customer loyalty, boost repeat purchases, make progress on a project, improve relationships, or live a more fulfilling life.

The course is divided into five sections, including an introduction, the psychology behind games, game design and mechanics, examples and usage, and taking action. The course is designed to help individuals move forward and win by applying gamification elements to their lives or businesses.

5. Designing Gamification Level2 (Intermediate) + Certification by Gabe Zichermann (Udemy)

The Designing Gamification Level 2 (Intermediate) + Certification course is taught by Gabe Zichermann, a top expert in game concepts. The course teaches the design fundamentals of gamification and engagement, including game mechanics, dynamics, player types, and key systems thinking. This is the only online course accredited by the Engagement Alliance to deliver an Engagement Expert Certification. Completion of Level 1 (Basic) Gamification is a prerequisite for certification.

Participants will gain an understanding of the 3 Fs, player types, mastery, rewards, the SAPS model, virality, engagement loops, and over 20 different game mechanics and dynamics. Additionally, this course includes expert lectures from the Gamification Co archive.

Course content is broken down into sections, including Introduction, Foundation, Mastery, Reward Systems, Virality and Onboarding, Gamification Mechanics, Startups & Gamification, Conclusion & Next Steps, and Certification. Upon completion of the course and practicum, participants may request their certification and display the official graphic on their online profile, resume, or website.

This course is suitable for professionals in Marketing, HR, Operations, Product Development, or Strategy who wish to use the principles of Gamification and Engagement Science to transform their relationships with customers and employees. Gabe Zichermann, the course instructor, is the world’s foremost expert on gamification and engagement science and has authored three books, chairs GSummit, and is Editor in Chief of GamificationCo.

6. Gamification – engage customers in your business! by Infolia Business Academy (Udemy)

Gamification is a marketing trend that can help businesses engage with audiences and win new customers. The Gamification course offered by Infolia Business Academy provides tips and real-world examples of successful gamification strategies to help businesses tailor their approach to their customers. The course includes three bonuses: a free book on gamification, a certificate of completion, and a great gamification idea.

The course covers a wealth of expert knowledge and case studies that demonstrate the importance of gamification in current marketing. Businesses of all types, from online retail stores to advertising agencies, can benefit from the hands-on experience of the course instructors. The course provides valuable insights into understanding customers and their choices to design effective gamification strategies that win their affection.

Emotions play a crucial role in driving customers to engage with a loyalty program or brand identity. Good gamification creates a cerebral level of fun that encourages customers to achieve goals and rewards them later. Understanding customer motivations can help businesses offer engaging gamification strategies that encourage customers to fight for a better status and appreciation within the company.

The Gamification course content includes five steps to help businesses design an effective gamification strategy. With the inclusion of the three bonuses, the course provides a comprehensive guide to using gamification to engage customers and win new audiences.

7. Social Media Contests For Massive Traffic To Your Product by Jason Miles, Kyle Hamar (Udemy)

The Social Media Contests for Massive Traffic to Your Product course is instructed by Jason Miles and Kyle Hamar. This course teaches social media contest strategies for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social sites. The foundational idea of the marketing strategy is that people love a good contest, which activates one’s mind in a hope-filled way. This course provides an introduction to running social contests in support of online selling efforts.

Contests are an effective marketing strategy that is fun, not a hard sell, simple, and entertaining. They make people happy and are not smarmy, slick, or used-car-salesman-esque. Contests are more effective than wasting money on Facebook advertising, which can be costly and challenging for new marketers. This course encourages finding ultra-inexpensive acquisition strategies such as running contests.

The course includes specific Blueprints for various types of contests and plans to add more content in the coming months and years. Currently, the course provides a detailed overview of five types of contests: The Weekly Prospector Social Contest Blueprint, The Product Launch Social Contest Blueprint, The Pre-Selling Via Voting Social Contest Blueprint, The Big Ticket Social Contest Blueprint, and The Video Based Contest Blueprint. A companion booklet with a full overview of the Social Contest Blueprint strategy and a single-page planning template is also provided.

The course is broken down into several sections, including an Introduction, The Weekly Prospector Contest Blueprint, The Pre-Selling Via Voting Contest Blueprint, The Product Launch Contest Blueprint with Patrick Meyer, The Big Ticket Contest Blueprint, and The Video Based Contest Blueprint.

8. Gamification for Learning, Performance & Change by Jesse Harris, SPHR, Laura Pickel (Udemy)

The Gamification for Learning, Performance & Change course, taught by Jesse Harris and Laura Pickel, aims to teach participants how to create engaging activities for training and learning. It will cover how to analyze popular games for elements that make them successful and how to incorporate those elements into learning challenges. The course is highly interactive, with participants able to play, design, and test over 10 unique game mechanics. The course also provides an opportunity for participants to apply their learning to up to 5 distinct learning challenges. The course is designed to be fun and engaging, with success stories and failures shared from some of the world’s most recognized brands.

The course content is divided into sections, beginning with a welcome and a serious look at fun and games. The course will then cover design thinking for instructional design, followed by specific game mechanics, such as points and scoring, badging, randomization, competition and cooperation, and roleplay and simulation. The course also includes a lighting round covering over 25 more game mechanics. The course concludes with reflection and ending the game.

Overall, the Gamification for Learning, Performance & Change course offers participants an opportunity to learn how to create engaging activities that improve retention and boost performance. The course is designed to be highly interactive and engaging, with a focus on real-world application. Participants will gain an insider’s view into how to incorporate game mechanics into their learning challenges and will have the opportunity to apply their learning to up to five distinct challenges. The course content covers a range of game mechanics and concludes with reflection and ending the game.

9. eLearning Gamification with Storyline- Micro Games #1-4 by Johnny Hamilton (Udemy)

The eLearning Gamification with Storyline- Micro Games #1-4 course, taught by Johnny Hamilton, aims to equip learners with the knowledge and practical skills to incorporate gamification in their eLearning projects. The course focuses on deconstructing, reverse-engineering, and modifying the Storyline files to develop eLearning micro games. The course covers various topics, including deconstructing and building the ‘Beat the Clock’ eLearning micro game, analyzing its elements, and exploring three additional games. Learners will also gain insights into gamification principles, how they work, how to design for different player types, and modify the game to their own content and design. The course emphasizes the importance of game design and how it requires different designs and workflows than typical content. By combining the knowledge of why and when to use games and gamification with the understanding of the tools available, learners will be able to make their eLearning projects more engaging and impactful. The course is divided into six sections- Introduction, Play Game #1, Deconstruct Game #1, Build Game #1, Explore Games #2-4 and Gamification Considerations, Analyze How You Can Adapt the Games, and Conclusion. In less than an hour, learners will be able to modify and build four eLearning micro games, with step-by-step instructions.

10. Gamification in Teaching & Learning by Junghye Fran Choi, Sangkyun Kim (Udemy)

The course titled Gamification in Teaching & Learning is instructed by Junghye Fran Choi and Sangkyun Kim. The course aims to help participants create educational games for their students’ enjoyable, effective, memorable, and sustainable learning experiences. The course also provides gamified self-directed learning experiences such as quests, points, badges, and unlocking the magic code based on Level-up Gamified Teaching and Learning Game. The gamified learning experience allows participants to understand their students’ gamified learning experience in the classroom.

The course is structured into 11 modules, with each module focusing on a specific aspect of gamification. Module 1 is the course introduction, followed by module 2, which provides an introduction to gamification. Modules 3-9 are dedicated to the 4F 8Steps in Edu. Game Design, with each module focusing on a specific aspect of the process. Module 10 is dedicated to the 4F_8th Step Finalize: Playtest. The final module, Module 11, serves as a wrap-up for the course and provides a summary of the 4F 8Steps in Edu. Game Design.

Overall, the course aims to help participants design their students’ gamified learning experiences by providing them with the necessary knowledge and tools to create educational games that are enjoyable, effective, memorable, and sustainable. The course is designed to be self-directed and encourages participants to engage in gamified learning experiences such as quests, points, badges, and unlocking the magic code. The course is suitable for educators who are interested in incorporating gamification in their teaching and learning practices.