Storytelling archetypes in gamification

As video games increasingly establish themselves as one of the most dominant forms of entertainment, humanity discovers their true potential. Education, health, and business are only a few of the numerous fields in which gamification techniques are efficiently implemented. Consequently, gamification techniques are powerful tools in the hands of businesses, as video games contain certain elements that make them fun and intriguing, and one of the most important is storytelling. Storytelling has evolved significantly since video games have become the new embodiment of stories. Notwithstanding the technological advances in the field of video games, certain archetypes can be observed, that seem to follow humankind and the process of storytelling throughout its history. In this paper we present and discuss the basic patterns and archetypes of storytelling and the types of heroes employed in gamification applications in business and education, by examining successful applications of storytelling in gamification. Our findings suggest that the most successful apps use the Hero’s Journey in the plot and the hero archetype of the character. These findings can benefit businesses and organizations in multiple ways in building more attractive and engaging applications of advergaming and gamification, or video games.