I think the correct approach is to explore the zone of proximal development using a playful setting.
Using a playful/intuitive narrative is indeed important, in ways that are sometimes less than obvious. It’s also something that happens already, and indeed seems to be rather emphasized in more recent textbooks (e.g. in math) - quite possibly in an excessive way! When I mentioned “gamification” I mostly meant the other gimmicks you talk about, but it seems that even having too much “narrative” can be bad. This is one reason why these methods don’t work very well in a school-based context.
Using a playful/intuitive narrative is indeed important, in ways that are sometimes less than obvious. It’s also something that happens already, and indeed seems to be rather emphasized in more recent textbooks (e.g. in math) - quite possibly in an excessive way! When I mentioned “gamification” I mostly meant the other gimmicks you talk about, but it seems that even having too much “narrative” can be bad. This is one reason why these methods don’t work very well in a school-based context.