Abstract

Public digital platforms are increasingly embedding gamification mechanics to increase civic engagement, often without adequate consideration of their efficacy or suitability. This paper critically explored how commercial-style gamification could influence user participation in a civic context through an in-depth study of Metaverse Seoul, a public metaverse platform launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Based on qualitative feedback from 43 users of Seoul Digital Innovation Governance Group, findings indicated that participants desired more commercial gamification features to promote daily engagement. However, this revealed a mismatch between user expectations shaped by commercial platforms and civic-oriented principles of public service delivery. This study highlights the need to align gamification strategies with intrinsic civic motivations and to establish appropriate success metrics for public platforms. It emphasizes the importance of understanding citizen motivations and expectations when designing technology-mediated civic participation platforms. This research concludes that commercial gamification approaches are incompatible with civic missions. Thus, reconceptualization is needed for public contexts.