The gamification of every day life: Feeling down? Just level up

Over the past few months, China's cyber world has been expressing an unprecedented degree of optimism and dynamism. This can be understood as a way to counteract the two most significant challenges people are facing amidst the coronavirus outbreak: PESSIMISM and BOREDOM. With the majority of China living in home-based quarantine, people's need for positive energy (zheng nengliang) and online socialization has grown even stronger. 

One response to this comes from China's most influential video sharing portal and ACG culture hub, Bilibili, who launched a series of gamified campaigns. Their “home challenges” encourage netizens to “pick a quest” and create themed video content to complete it. Challenges include almost any conceivable home-based activity, ranging from culinary recipes, bodybuilding and intellectual challenges to vlog storytelling, and gaming. KOL video tutorials guide players throughout the process and once players have submitted their content, they can select ("@") another vlogger to carry on the challenge thread. 

The gamification of home activities turns mundane and solitary activities into interactive challenges that provide opportunities for self-development, in a way that's fun and social. Some of these "Home challenges" have borrowed concepts such as "leveling up" from the gaming world.

"Leveling up" refers to moments where a character experiences some sort of progression -  unlocking new abilities, access to new items or areas of the game - and is a benchmark of how far into the game a character is. While this may seem trivial, in a world where solitary confinement is the new normal,  leveling up is quite literally a game changer. It brings an added dimension of purpose and perhaps, more importantly, accomplishment to daily life. Brands should reflect upon creative ways to engage with consumers by tapping into the "leveling up" concept in fun and meaningful ways – giving consumers opportunities to "grow" and be able to track their growth – a tangible sign of hope and improvement.

By Yu-rong Chang, Senior Researcher/ethnographer at Metis International