Session Information
| Title | Persuasive Play from 10,000 Feet |
| Presenter(s) | Lindsay Grace |
| Time | Friday, October 17, 10:30a-11:30a |
| Location | Lake Ontario |
| Format | Speaker |
| Description | Attendees will be provided with a topographical view of varied digital games designed to educate players, change their opinions or inspire extrinsic action. The presentation is dense with statistics and game examples from an international collection of games. This presentation reports on the comprehensive analysis of 150 games designed to motivate players to extrinsic consumer and social action. The report outlines formal attributes about the game implementation, designs, aesthetics, audio, and developer profiles. It represents the most comprehensive analysis of games designed to call people to action. The presentation reveals for example, that only 81% of the games analyzed display brand or sponsor logos during gameplay and that despite campaigns to employ social networking 90% of the games were designed for only 1-player. Surprises include that only 4% of the games required registration to play and that 31% of the games contain content likely to be deemed offensive. This report offers a thorough topography of aesthetic choices (e.g. color mood and visualization style), audio decisions (e.g. timbre and rhythm), game mechanics (e.g. collect or destroy), implementation details (e.g. game engine used) and a variety of other common considerations. It is useful to developers and marketers seeking a formal understanding of the state of international social impact games and advergames. The games reviewed by our research staff reflect an international collection of games. We have been studying these games for over two years. What we have found is that despite very committed efforts to sell through gameplay, few games are effectively packaging their experience to support their goals. Whether it is selling environmental consciousness, politics, or the notion that your body spray attracts women - there are distinct traits that discern successful game designs from a sea of forgettable experiences. From our research we reveal that some advertising and marketing standards persist, while others fail pitifully. We reveal that only 56% of the games studied attempt humor and that 74% actively seek to promote player action after the game experience. More than criticizing cheaply branded game clones, our report provides lessons learned to distinguish a developer's advergame. The presentation offers concrete examples ranging from Burger King's Sneak King to Molle Industria's McDonalds game, from Land Rover's video adventure, Being Henry to MIT's Akrasia. The presenters will provide a fast paced, statistics informed, tour de force of the advergaming sector. The presentation style blends the classic GDC Rant with Pecha Kucha pacing, providing an intensely engaging view into this academic research. We describe success and failure with vivid examples and reliable data. |