22. May 2012
This morning CMW and our closest industry friends enjoyed the company of Alex Fleetwood, the founder of Hide and Seek, who spoke to us about social gaming and play.
Hide and Seek is a gaming consultancy that's dedicated to inventing new kinds of play, from apps to real-world games within festivals. Alex enlightened us about the rules of game creation, as well as some examples of outside-of-the-box games that are on the forefront of brand management.
Given that 24% of all UK residents play some form of social game at least once a week (generally a 42%/58% split between men/women, who have an average age of 38), the gamification of products has a huge influence over corporations and the market.
So what does this mean?
Well, if we drop the jargon, we can assume that everyone under the age of 50 is a gamer. That means that a huge percent of the population is willing to engage with a product. (Don't believe us? Check out The New Years Games, Drunk Dungeons, and Hinterland as just a few examples created by Hide&Seek: www.hideandseek.net .)
Coupled with the ability of games designers to use smart phone apps as a gaming platform to unite players, gaming now has the capability to produce a more ambient experience. (Think Disneyland, not Scrabble.)
Creating successful games is often harder than you'd think, however. Let's not forget that the greatest piece of technology could provide too difficult to engage with; sometimes a few pieces of cardboard will do the trick.
So, want to try your hand at the world of game design?
Alex left us with a few words of wisdom: never underestimate the competition, be sure to hire game designers, and don't attempt to sum up a game on a deck (or a blog....) - get out there and PLAY.
If you're interested in finding out more, head down to Southbank this Friday for your chance to experience the world of social gaming for yourself: http://t.co/H037qoxk .
