The traditional method of teaching in a classroom setting has become obsolete with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. With students now learning from different environments, gamification has become a popular and effective strategy for creating engaging learning experiences. Studies that focus on the attitudes and characteristics of students in online learning have highlighted the issue of inadequate student engagement and motivation in the delivery of online education. This study identifies key components of game design that impact student behaviour in an online learning environment to bridge the existing literature gap in this area. This study presents the gamification design method adapted from the D6 gamification design framework that has been applied to gamify the course “Music and Movement”. The study was designed as a case study based on interviews with students. Students used the gamified learning environment for a duration of fifteen weeks. The research process consisted of the following phases: the design of the gamified environment, the use of the gamified environment and the determination of the students’ perceptions on the game mechanics after using the gamified environment. In the analysis of data obtained in the interviews, the game elements were evaluated depending on whether students viewed them in a positive or negative way. The findings revealed several aspects to consider when creating a meaningful gamified online course. It is hoped that the lessons learnt will empower other institutions embarking on gamification to build impactful gamified courses thereby contributing towards the SDG 4 goal.