How Gamification Transformed the “Magic Mine” User Experience

Introduction

The core of Magic Mine is the ore, essentially a points platform of 58. In its early stage, large rewards quickly attracted many users, but as the mobile‑internet market entered a saturation phase, growth slowed and simple subsidies lost their appeal. To improve retention, the team explored gamification design.

Building the Game World

Gamification does not turn Magic Mine into a game; it applies game design elements to product design, providing scenario‑based feedback. Examples such as Ant Forest, Gold Farm, and Golden Pig show how incentives and emotional drivers influence user motivation. The design must match product positioning and user traits—age, gender, region, knowledge structure. For 58’s lifestyle platform, users are diverse, but the active Magic Mine audience is under 30 and predominantly male. Keywords identified were magical, ore, young, and diverse, guiding the visual and narrative direction.

The main scene reinforces the ore concept with strong visual cues and interactive effects. New users receive a small ore reward after a guided click, instantly perceiving value. Tasks, games, and content posts are displayed together to shorten the user journey.

Multi‑Dimensional User Experience Scenes

Magic Mine users fall into three groups: “wool party” promoters, trend followers (the largest segment), and “net‑earning veterans” (older, high‑engagement users). Single‑track gameplay causes young users to leave after completing tasks, while complex rules fail to retain veterans.

Three improvement points were identified: easy implementation, sufficient incentive, and continuous tasks to boost participation and satisfaction. Accordingly, three game venues were created: Daily Check‑In, Auction, and Magic Mine, each visualized as an entertainment area on the magical planet.

Daily Check‑In

A low‑threshold habit‑forming feature that rewards users for consistent sign‑ins. Early‑morning rewards encourage opening the app at sunrise, using alarm and exercise motifs. The design adds a three‑day streak to further promote retention.

Auction

The auction venue heightens incentive by emphasizing bidding, using a layout that draws attention to the price‑setting module, thereby increasing user stickiness.

Magic Mine

A mining mini‑game where a miner animation automatically extracts ore after the user starts mining. The reward is split into multiple portions to create a ritualistic collection experience, and a “super ore” Easter egg adds excitement.

Conclusion

Gamification can make tasks less tedious by guiding users from easy to difficult challenges, fostering positive product habits. Designers can draw from many games, combine product psychology, and create high‑participation experiences that boost user engagement.