  Citation: Torres-Toukoumidis, A.; León, D.V.; De-Santis, A.; López-López, P.C. Gamification in Ecology-Oriented Mobile Applications—Typologies and Purposes. Societies 2022, 12, 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/ soc12020042 Academic Editors: Rodica Milena Zaharia, Tudor Edu and Razvan Zaharia Received: 30 January 2022 Accepted: 28 February 2022 Published: 8 March 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). societies Article Gamification in Ecology-Oriented Mobile Applications—Typologies and Purposes Angel Torres-Toukoumidis 1, * , Diego Vintimilla León 2 , Andrea De-Santis 3 and Paulo Carlos López-López 4 1 Social Science Knowledge and Human Behavior, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Cuenca 010105, Ecuador 2 Gamelab Research Group, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Cuenca 010105, Ecuador; dvintamilla@est.ups.edu.ec 3 Communication Sciences Faculty, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain; andrea.desantis@e-campus.uab.cat 4 Facultade de Ciencias Políticas e Sociais, Campus Vida, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Avenida do Doutor Ángel Jorge Echeverri, s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; paulocarlos.lopez@usc.es * Correspondence: atorrest@ups.edu.ec Abstract: Mobile applications viewed as digital social change tools are focused on sustainable devel- opment, particularly in topics that address ecology and the environment. In this research, the aim is to systematize a review of the 10 most downloaded mobile applications in this context, but deepening on those that use game elements in their interface, organizing them according to components, mechanics and playful dynamics. Findings demonstrate the role of levels and achievements as more repeated dynamics, and challenges and feedback as more relevant elements in gameplay, and finally, emotions and narratives as components of the gamified experience. The incorporation of these elements in mobile games shows that digital gamification in the environmental context is organized from an alternative perspective, where argumentation, the succession of events, the progressive incorporation of difficulty and the interaction with the computerized system modify the traditional view that sees gamification as a superficial system of points. Keywords: gamification; ecology; sustainable development; mobile apps; smartphones; environmental protection 1. Introduction Continuous digitalization of communication has led to the development of mobile applications, at such a level that in 2020 more than 3 million applications are available in the Google Play Store, 2 million in the Apple App Store and almost one million in the Windows Store, with 218 billion downloads annually worldwide [1]. The escalation of its use produced by the acceptance and interest on the part of users who own mobile devices, especially on the part of new generations [2], has advocated that different sectors such as entertainment [3], health [4] and education [5] are attracted by this expanding market. Mobile applications have set up a scenario supported by the new media system and the emerging development of the technology industry [6] in which smartphones and their components: intelligent screens, cloud storage and portability [7] facilitate access to infor- mation and communication, interaction and participation among users, and approximation to knowledge [8]. Therefore, technological industry oriented to mobile applications has diversified to such an extent that both leisure and learning present special interest in the adaptation of their content to these platforms [9], generating multiple benefits in society, highlighting the teaching of foreign language [10], creating health patterns [11], generat- ing fidelity to products and services [12], improving the nutrition of young people [13], promoting tourism [14], among others. Societies 2022, 12, 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12020042 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/societies