An Interactive Gaming Tutorial
The Quest Begins: My First Video Game
Yesterday, I continued my quest to get a handle on interactive gaming. A combination of art and technology, gaming and the principles of gaming are playing a critical role in the future of marketing and my understanding of social media. They help build brand and community. They are highly interactive, immediate and lend themselves to hours of engagement.(Check out a previous posting on gaming that I did.)
Earlier in the day, I sat down with Hector Pages, COO of Brandmovers.com (blog), an online games, contests, sweepstakes and loyalty promotions firm here in Atlanta. He showed me an interactive game for a wireless communications provider. This “advergame” asks users to look at two very similar pictures and pick out the differences, The goal is to build customer engagement. These games yield a great deal of customer data, email lists from users who opt in, and a small cadre of very loyal brand ambassadors.
While it goes without saying that the game needs to be fun, it also must be consistent with the brand and part of a wider marketing strategy to be successful. As Pages said, “Games don’t live in isolation.”
Thrust Interactive Developers
In the afternoon I met up with Lukas Bradley in the refurbished garage behind his house, which also serves as the home for Thrust Interactive, a gaming studio. As his team of developers looked on amusement, Lukas gave me my first gaming tutorial. A bit disoriented at first, I burned through a an hour of Portal, a single-player first person action/puzzle video game. It was immersive and yes addictive. It makes me wonder how I will find the time to do everything else I want to do in life.
Let me get back to you.
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