FreeForm: Reality Invaders

REALITY INVADERS A brief overview on the gaming industry, the types of games we play, and how elements from game design are being used outside of the consoles in order to inﬂuence our behaviour in the real world...

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: FreeForm is a evening of discussion on technology, the non-traditional and cool stuff. As well as external experts, this time the contributors from 80 Charlotte Street were: Matthew Guy Creative, Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA. @sergethew Tom Callard Planner, Saatchi & Saatchi London. Saatchi & Saatchi @tomcallard 28th September 2010

INTRODUCTION TO VIDEO GAMES

GAMING HAS CHANGED. In the last 5 years gaming has emerged as a mainstream activity. While once it might have been niche, nerdy and stuck in the bedroom or basement, it is now mass entertainment, and inﬂuencing every part of modern life.

Profits as of 15th of January 2010: $750m $990m source: http://www.trustedreviews.com/video-games/news/2010/01/15/Modern-Warfare-2-As-Successful-As-Avatar/p1 EXPANDING INDUSTRY. The Industry itself has grown hugely. Looking at the The diversity of the audience for games has also changed. entertainment industry as a whole, games like Call of Duty: Back when the console war between the Wii, Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 and Guitar Hero are only surpassed in and Playstation 3 begun, no one expected the casual profit by the most successful of blockbuster films. gaming of the Wii to be the winner.

MOTION CONTROLLERS. The controlling device normally associated with the family- They could even be considered exercise! Whereas on Wii friendly Wii is now being implemented in different degrees you can practice your bowling, on Playstation Move across all consoles. Video games are beginning to expect to be able to beat someone's virtual face in with disassociate themselves with the coach potato image. your own ﬁsts.

IN POPULAR CULTURE. Films like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and the graphic Space invaders and SNES graphics are on T-shirts and novels it’s based upon use the language and conventions of jewellery. Anyone who has an iPhone is likely to have a few gaming, letting characters “level up” and use multiple lives. addictive little game apps, purchased for next to nothing.

WHATS A SOCIAL GAMER? One of the greatest developments in gaming has been the monthly unique users. However inexplicable it may seem (it introduction of social: giving people the opportunity to share certainly does to us), this means it is more popular than their gaming experiences with their friends and contacts. Twitter. Farmville has proved so popular it even has its Farmville is obviously the most famous, with 80 million own parodies such as Cow Clicker.

ADVERGAMING. We advertisers have been making games for years. Crispin Your healthy eating in real life thus actually changes the Porter + Bogusky recently created an app for their baby rules in the game. It is an interesting example of the diversity carrot brand which allows you to play the game by chewing of modern gaming, and also a valiant attempt to get healthy the carrot near your iPhone (via the microphone) to level up. eating to be fun.

EDUCATIONAL GAMING. Barclay’s 56 Sage Street teaches teenagers money game’, it does what educators have been trying to do for management under the guise of a The Sims / Sim City years. Make learning feel like play instead of work. Banking style game. In the ﬁrst 4 weeks it attracted over 55,000 is something I struggle with to this day, if only this was players. Produced for the fraction of the cost of a ‘real around when I was in school!

IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD? Gaming is also leaking into the real world. Mobile A cardboard track houses an RC car with a camera, and technology means we can play anywhere, and social this is driven around the track on a modiﬁed arcade gaming means we can play with anyone. The above is an machine. But this is just the beginning of games becoming example of a game where the action takes place in reality. part of our world….

VIDEO GAME MECHANICS IN THE REAL WORLD

WHY ARE WE ADDING GAME MECHANICS TO REAL THINGS? At it’s core the idea is something like this... That thing now has People are more Add game A thing a new layer of fun it likely to engage mechanics didn’t have before. with that thing IF THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR...

VW fun theory bottle bank VOLKSWAGEN FUN THEORY. So good it took the Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes this year. In one day this bottle bank was used by nearly 100 people, It wasn’t the whole campaign that embodied the use of with other nearby machines averaging just 2 uses. The game mechanics in the real world, but this execution in effect on human behaviour is clear to see. particular is a great example.

Here’s another example you’re probably all familiar with. NIKE+ Nike+ turns running into a social game.

YOUR RANK TOTAL PROGRESS CLEAR ACHIEVABLE GOALS EMOTIONAL FEEDBACK CLEAR QUANTITATIVE FEEDBACK CHALLENGE YOURSELF CHALLENGE OTHERS TUTORIAL

YOUR CHARACTERS LEVEL TOTAL XP XP NEEDED FOR NEXT LEVEL YOUR CHARACTER’S MOOD / ALIGNMENT ETC HOW MANY ORCS YOU’VE KILLED (???) 10 points if you get the OR IF IT WAS AN RPG... reference > QUESTS PLAYER VS PLAYER LEVELLING GUIDE

LBSN - ARE THEY GAMES? Short answer - Yes. But they’re not all that challenging and real world and badges for your proﬁle, think scout badges. mostly only the top competitors are rewarded. Foursquare, In Foursquare it’s usually only the ‘Mayor’ of a location Gowalla and their lesser known competitors are Location who can reap the rewards (e.g. a free coffee). Though Based Social Networks. You get points for check-ins in the checking-in to the same location daily can get dull quick.

VIDEO DEMO OF SCVNGR - http://vimeo.com/15175607 SCVNGR. (SCAVENGER) Unlike the previous slide this location based service is simply be to snap a photo at a location. Completing this ﬂexible enough to reward players at all levels of challenge could earn you a free coffee or half off your meal, involvement. Unlike Foursquare which is often a race to depending where the challenge was. Such rewards are get the most check-ins, a SCVNGR challenge might normally reserved for the top players on other platforms.

VIDEO DEMO OF CHROMAROMA - http://www.chromaroma.com CHROMAROMA. A game you play by checking in with your Oyster card. This explore the parts of London they’ve never been to before. I is Foursquare for the London Underground. The details of like this because it requires no extra effort from you to join in the game are vague at the time of writing. They mention it’ll - just keep travelling around London as you do everyday. be used to connect commuters and challenge people to Unlike Foursquare where check-ins can get tiresome.

MEDIA CHECKINS? As well as check-ins to locations, several platforms have badges, but these services are more about the social sprung up allowing you to check-in to media. What you’re element than gaming. A check-in to a live TV show will listening to, what you’re watching etc. GetGlue, Miso and instantly place you in an ad hoc community of other people Philo are all similar services. Similarly you earn points and watching the show, so you can converse with other fans.

PRODUCT CHECKINS??? On the topic of check-ins, Checkpoints and Shopkick after a few months. I can’t see myself searching round a rewards you for checking-in to products and shops. I think supermarket to scan a bunch of barcodes for points, but this is check-ins gone a bit mad. Personally I grew tired of this probably appeals to a different demographic. Much like getting my phone out of my pocket to check-in to places Call of Duty appeals to a different gamer than Farmville.

iBUTTERFLY. A very Japanese idea - “Gotta catch ‘em all!” This app The bugs you capture may even reward you with a money allows you to catch virtual butterﬂies from the real skies off voucher! I think this is a better way of earning rewards as above Japan. The butterﬂies differ by location so trading an actual game of catch is played, rather than just clicking a and other social play is encouraged. button to check-in.

SWITCH2HEALTH REPLAY. I like to sum up this idea as Nike+ for materialistic people. Instead of asking Mom and Pa for that $10 they can earn it Only joking, the obvious target of this device is the young. themselves. More importantly it gives them another reason It gives them an opportunity to earn vouchers to spend on to get active! An Xbox 360 might be the right motivation stuff they care about like iTunes or... Farmville? some kids need.

= 22 hours & 40 minutes = 200 hours S2H - WHAT CAN I BUY? Here’s two examples. Of course you should factor in it costs On S2H.com you’ll ﬁnd other game elements like about $20 to buy the Replay. So technically, if you like leaderboards for the week, month and forever. I’m sure music, you’d have to do 43 hours and 20 minutes exercise some smart kid in the USA has attached one of these to his before you can break even. dog and put it on a treadmill.

NOKIA PUSH. Nokia’s PUSH started as a smart chip in your skateboard As Stuart Wells says in the video, in 5 years time everyone synched with your phone, now it’s moving into snowboards. could have this kit. I should hope so. A great aspect of this The real thing instantly gains addictive elements from their is the fact that from using points and high scores, we’ll virtual counterparts, and gives you quantitative feedback. easily be able to discover new talent in these sports.

EPICWIN. A to-do list with a Lord of the Rings style setting. Genius. negligence yet. Quite the contrary, remembering stuff like EPICWIN turns the real world into the World of Warcraft, that is the point of the app! This is an extreme example of which is possibly the scariest idea I’ve ever heard. Unlike game mechanics in the real world and slightly tongue-in- WOW, no players pets have died of malnutrition or cheek, but it’s really helping some people sort their lives out!

SO IN CONCLUSION: SHOULD I JUST ADD POINTS AND A LEADERBOARD AND BADGES TO MY THING?

NO. Points are meaningless as a motivational force unless the user is enjoying themselves. Points are something that should be accrued in the background while the player is having As a generalisation, men tend to be more inclined to competitive games like you’d ﬁnd on a console. Whereas women will like a more relaxed place and less risk fun interacting with your game. involved. The important thing about games is they Another thing we should note is that should be seen as play. If all you want to do most of the physical rewards from these is earn points from a repetitive activity then games (free coffees, money off vouchers, doesn’t that feel more like work? etc) are really aimed at the young crowd. Typically on a low wage and with lots of Great game design is key to enjoyment and spare time on their hands (which they can it has to be tailored to your target use to play these games!). Why would a demographic. middle aged banker want to play a silly game for a free coffee?

THANKS! (+10 points for finishing presentation)

FROM THE EXPERTS. We work in advertising, we’re no experts on gaming. If you’d like to learn more about game mechanics we recommend watching these presentations. Jesse Schell Visions of the Gamepocalypse. http://fora.tv/2010/07/27/Jesse_Schell_Visions_of_the_Gamepocalypse Jane McGonigal Gaming can make a better world. http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html Seth Priebatsch The game layer on top of the world. http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_priebatsch_the_game_layer_on_top_of_the_world.html Sebastian Deterding Pawned. Gamiﬁcation and its discontents. http://www.slideshare.net/dings/pawned-gamiﬁcation-and-its-discontents

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http://www.linkedin.com	1

FreeForm: Reality Invaders

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