Yep, gamification is a double edged sword. It’s a journey getting to a point where you are able not to be influenced by the prompts you see on the screen and make your own choices and stick to them, otherwise you get stuck in a negative feedback loop which can be really discouraging and even harmful when it comes to learning. People have different levels of awareness and gamification at its core manipulates the punish and reward system in the brain and combined with being exposed to extreme personal views on what is the right way to learn Japanese or using WaniKani it can really push you in the wrong direction sometimes (I need to win, instead I want to learn, I need to be fast, instead I need to be mindful etc. etc.) I had to go through it myself.
I think the version they have now compared to the one I started with in 2017 is a real improvement, I do the lessons on wanikani using the Lesson Picker and the reviews on Tsurukame (that’s the Apple third party app for wanikani) and it’s easier to concentrate on the learning itself because I have enough control on how and when without irrelevant penalties interference. Would be interesting to find out how those recent changes will influence the overall users drop rate.
You know, I had a thought about it, that even with games, you usually have three options, easy(casual), normal and hard. Some gamers care for the story, some gamers care for the win some gamers are completionists, and all of them are paying costumers. It’s so simple. Put these buttons and make it optional, the purist will have their choice too.