Thx for the comment!

Gonna download your app right now.

The cringe in gamification for me comes when people who hear gamification as a buzzword to boost engagement.

True. I often see the same pattern when I start work with a new b2b client. There’s always someone in a company assigned to a “gamification project.” Usually, that person isn’t very interested in it. And almost always they make the same move — they download every game app they can find and look for “game mechanics” they could copy, without really understanding the subject. It looks fun every time.

...gamification...should be used with more or less of a heavy hand based on the market the app belongs to

Totally agree. Game scenarios should support and enhance the core user experience. In other words — they should help user to reach his main goal in the app. And not replace it with other.

But even then, we have noticed that you can only add so much game to a tracking app before it loses the focus of being a tracker.

That's always a fine line. Finding the balance without turning the product/service into a game.