Making Software Feel Like a Game
What Video Games Get Right About Adoption (and Software Doesn’t)
Imagine if learning new software felt as easy - and honestly, as fun - as picking up a new video game. Onboarding wouldn’t feel like a chore or a frustrating grind. It would just feel like… progress.
Video Games Have Mastered Adoption Because They Had To
If a game doesn’t hook players in the first few minutes, they quit. Game designers know this, so they obsess over making that first experience seamless, engaging, and rewarding. Software should take the same approach.
Gradual Onboarding and Skill Building
Games don’t dump all their mechanics on Day 1. They ease you in slowly with new challenges, letting you master the basics before ramping up the complexity.
They respect the limits of human working-memory and keep you players in a state of flow.
Software can do the same. Onboarding that adapts in real-time, unlocking features with generative UI based on what you’re trying to do and what you’ve already mastered.
No overwhelm, just steady progress that builds confidence and turns users into power users one level at a time.
Personalization That Actually Feels Personal
Great games adapt to your skill level and play style. They give you challenges that feel “just right,” never too easy, never too hard.
This requires an understanding of knowledge and how different users might learn quicker than others.
Software can do the same by tailoring onboarding and feature recommendations to different user roles, experience levels, or goals.
They stay on track with guidance that knows where intent breaks down and get surfaced the features they need, when they need them - just like games adjust to your style as you play.
Motivation through Gamification
People keep coming back to games because they’re fun and rewarding, with a clear sense of progress. Points, XP, badges, leaderboards, and streaks all tap into our innate desire for achievement and recognition.
Celebrate milestones, introduce friendly competitions, and reward users for discovering new features. Suddenly, learning your product feels less like work and more like play.
Real-Time Help, Just Like In-Game Hints
Games offer instant feedback and support so you always know how you’re doing and what to try next. Software should too.
We need something in real-time that provides in-app help, live chat, and real-time nudges to keep users moving forward and prevent frustration from stalling progress.
Imagine contextual nudges that step in when users hesitate, like a helpful NPC, or the ability to replay and analyze workflows to spot inefficiencies and improve, just as players watch replays to master a game.
Autoplay is Building the Foundations to Support This:
Autoplay is building the framework to understand user knowledge and intent, so it can trigger the right guidance to help users discover more value in the product.
Autoplay understands what users are trying to do and helps them reach their goals by surfacing (only) the features they need at the right time.
It knows when users are hesitating and adjusts onboarding in real time based on how they’re reacting to new information.
And it maps the “golden path” across workflows so users stay in flow, discover the right features, and keep moving forward.