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make daily tasks fun. The aim is to boost users’ motivation, commitment, effort and autonomy in executing tasks by rewarding them with points, levels, achievements, prizes and/or badges.176
The power of gamification lies precisely in its ability to attract individuals’ attention, to involve them more fully in a particular activity and to influence their conduct, as the American special- ist Bohyun Kim also states.177
Gamification is a trend in education that advo- cates using game mechanics in non-ludic aspects and contexts. Nowadays it goes beyond the educational and training fields and is present
in other social environments and even in the workplace.
What is the difference between gaming and gamification?
The answer given by experts is that gaming involves creating an imaginary, non-real world whereas gamification entails adding a layer of gaming to reality. The purpose of introducing play in non-ludic areas is to use it as a tool for learning, to which participants are well disposed, with elements of surprise that boost their motivation and mechanisms that encourage everyone involved to take an active attitude. The basic aim is to facilitate the acquisition of skills and competence.
Indeed, gamification is gaining ground today more than gaming did formerly and it is extend- ing into all fields, both educational and in the business world, even becoming omnipresent. Three significant factors account for this expan- sion, according to Kim:178 the rapid adoption of smartphones, the huge growth in mobile tech- nology and increased social media usage.
In Kim’s opinion, the real difference between past attempts to use games for specific purposes outside the field of entertainment and today’s gamification mobile apps lies precisely in this
degree of penetration gamification enjoys in society. An illustrative example is our mobiles, small devices which we carry round all day and which store all kinds of information and personal, work and financial data along with gamification mobile apps.
It is becoming increasingly common for libraries to incorporate gamification in very different forms ranging from actions designed to give these organisations greater visibility to activities for promoting the reading or media and informa- tion literacy programmes they run.
We will allow ourselves to be guided by the ex- pert gaze of Ana Ordás,179 who draws our atten- tion to a few prominent gamification practices in libraries, which, as this specialist states, allow players to enjoy a fun and significant experience that encourages them to act out a part and boosts their involvement.
The experience at New York Public Library (NYPL) Find the Future: The Game,180 designed to celebrate the centennial of this iconic library, is now a classic. The event’s website provides an account of this interactive experience created by game designer Jane McGonigal with Natron Baxter and Playmatics.
The aim of the initiative was truly ambitious, McGonigal explains: “The game is designed to empower young people to find their own futures by bringing them face-to-face with the writings and objects of people who made an extraordi- nary difference.”
Figure 21. Photogram of the trailer for Find the Future: The Game. Source: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=8HjjMv4LvbM
STRATEGIES/APPROACHES FOR GIVING IMPETUS TO READING
Readers in the digital age