Understanding the Effects of Gamification and Juiciness on Players

Gamification is widely applied to increase user engagement and motivation, but empirical studies on effectiveness are inconclusive, and often limited to the integration of tangible elements such as leaderboards or badges. In this paper, we report findings from a study with 36 participants that uses the lens of Self-Determination Theory to compare traditional gamification elements, and the concept of juiciness (the provision of abundant audiovisual feedback) in the VR simulation Predator!. Results show that gamification and juiciness improve user experience, but that only juiciness fulfills all basic psychological needs that facilitate intrinsic motivation when applied in nongaming settings. User preferences favour the combination of both approaches, however, neither improved performance, and there is evidence of juicy elements influencing user behaviour. We discuss implications of these findings for the integration of gamification, reflect on the role of both approaches in the context of feedback, and outline challenges and opportunities for further research.