How does 3RD SENSE use gamification in business software?

Updated

3RD SENSE applies game design methods to software that isn't a game, with the stated aim of turning "otherwise boring" business software into something engaging, rewarding and fun. The company describes itself as working across three areas — games, gamification and the metaverse — after more than 20 years building software for brands. Gamification is the middle of those three: the same design craft used in its games, pointed at tools whose main job is something other than play.

What gamification means in 3RD SENSE's model

The company's own description is the clearest definition available: "Applying game design methodologies to all kinds of non-game software has meant that business software that would otherwise be boring is now engaging, rewarding and fun."

That framing matters for anyone evaluating the approach. The gamified product is still business software — it has a real task behind it. Game mechanics are the layer that changes how people feel about doing that task. 3RD SENSE connects this to a commercial argument: "When people really love the software they use, they use it more, which makes it more valuable."

So the logic runs in three steps:

  1. Take a non-game task (a trip, a lesson, a practice test).
  2. Apply game design to the experience of doing it.
  3. Expect higher engagement, which the company treats as the source of value.

Examples from the company's portfolio

The site lists several apps that show the pattern in different settings. These are the company's own project descriptions, not independent reviews.

Project Task being gamified Stated goal
Powour Getting around on trips Motivate people to be more active on their trips
The Thinking Brain Game Helping kids deal with anxiety (with Help Line) Teach children how to handle anxiety
Excel Test Zone Online practice tests Positioned as Australia's number one online practice test site
McDonald's game app Visiting McDonald's Bring millennials back "in droves"
Bring Back The Beat Music listening for Cochlear Implant recipients Help recipients enjoy music again
South Africa – Think Again! Destination marketing Put the destination front of mind

Two of these are worth reading closely because they show how far the method stretches. Powour gamifies everyday movement rather than a workplace tool, and Bring Back The Beat applies it to a rehabilitation-adjacent experience — a reminder that "business software" in the company's usage covers consumer and public-interest apps too. The McDonald's example is the most commercial: the game exists to drive visits, so engagement is the whole point rather than a side benefit.

Where gamification fits in the delivery process

3RD SENSE describes a three-stage process, and gamification decisions sit inside it rather than being bolted on at the end:

  • Design — a "Collaborative Experience Design Process" that the company calls strategic and objective-driven, focused on return on investment. This is where the behaviour you want to encourage should be defined.
  • Develop — agile delivery with client involvement, with claims of on-time and on-budget delivery.
  • Deploy — marketing, PR, community support and engagement, with enterprise-level security, reliability and scalability.

For a buyer, the practical takeaway is that the engagement goal should be agreed during design. A gamified layer is only useful if you can say what behaviour it should change — trips taken, tests completed, visits made — before build starts.

How to judge whether this approach suits your project

Gamification is a good fit when the underlying task is repetitive, optional, or competing for attention against more enjoyable alternatives. It is a weaker fit when users have no choice but to complete the task and speed matters more than enjoyment.

Questions worth asking before committing:

  • What behaviour changes? The portfolio examples all name one: more active trips, kids learning to manage anxiety, more practice tests, more visits. If you can't name yours, the design stage has nothing to aim at.
  • Who is the audience? The examples span children, millennials, implant recipients and travellers. Mechanics that work for one group rarely transfer unchanged.
  • What does success look like? The company ties its design process to return on investment, so agree the metric up front — usage frequency, completion rates, or visits.
  • Is the fun load-bearing or decorative? In the McDonald's app, the game is the product. In a business tool, it has to support the task without getting in the way.

The site does not publish pricing, package details or client outcome data, so cost and measured results can't be assessed from it. For those, the company directs enquiries through its contact page.

The bottom line

3RD SENSE's gamification offer is straightforward: take a non-game product, apply the game design skills it has built over two decades, and aim for software people use more because they enjoy it. The portfolio shows the method applied to health, education, marketing and consumer behaviour. Whether it fits your project depends less on the mechanics than on whether you have a specific behaviour to change and a way to measure it.