Water Cooler Games

by Ian Bogost June 21, 2009

You Drive Like an Old Man

Advergames, Educational Games

Insurance company Liberty Mutual has created Driver Seat, which they bill as "the world's first senior driving simulator." The game strives to recreate the perceptual and reaction limitations of drivers aged 65, 75, or 85 through four scenarios (suburban, wilderness, urban, outskirts) each with several missions. It's a nice idea, ...

by Ian Bogost May 23, 2009

Toilet Training for iPhone

Advergames, Social Games

In my 2007 book Persuasive Games, i discuss a wonderful advergame for the Britvic pacer-drink J2O. The game challenged the player to pee accurately into a toilet after drinking pint after pint of beer. The advertised product, a sort of fancy sugar water, helped with recovery in the same way ...

by Ian Bogost May 19, 2009

1066

Advergames, Educational Games

Wow, another educational game that doesn't suck! Check out 1066, a game produced by Channel 4 in the UK to promote and accompany a television program of the same name, about the Norman conquest. The game is beautiful and quite complex, featuring both single-player and multiplayer battles. If I have ...

by Ian Bogost April 18, 2009

Help the Hooker, Touch the Granny: Crank 2 Games

Advergames

Crank 2: High Voltage was released to theaters yesterday. "What movie?" you ask? I'm not really sure. It features Jason Statham and Amy Smart, and according to IMDB boasts the following plot: Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ...

by Ian Bogost February 18, 2009

Advergames.com Launches

Advergames

Tony Giallourakis announces the launch of Advergames.com, a website that aggregates advergames from around the web. There are already a number of games on the site; since it intends to function as an aggregator, you can expect many more to be added over time (new and old, I presume). What's ...

by Ian Bogost November 6, 2008

Click Archaeology

Advergames, Educational Games

To promote a week of programming about expeditions, from the pyramids to outer space, National Geographic has created an expedition game in which players are tasked to find artifacts which they can exchange for virtual cash. Each night during the week of November 16-23, a different show will air and ...

by Ian Bogost October 24, 2008

Mad Men Jeopardy

Advergames, Casual Games

I missed it, but apparently popular television gameshow Jeopardy! ran a Mad Men category on one of their shows last week. In conjunction with that promotion, Sony (who owns Jeopardy!), created a Mad Men-themed episode of their ongoing online version of the quiz show. The connection is through the thematic ...

by Ian Bogost October 20, 2008

Interstellar Pizza Express

Advergames, Business Games

VISI, Minnesota's largest managed hosting provider, has released an advergame to clarify the benefits of their service offerings to small businesses. In the game, called Interstellar Pizza Express, the player runs a pizza delivery store offering online orders via their website. Each round, the player must make hosting and infrastructure ...

by Ian Bogost October 15, 2008

In-Game Obama

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Political Games

According to the AP, Barack Obama has become thefirst presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game. Nine video games from Electronic Arts Inc., ranging from the extremely popular "Madden 09" football game to the street racing "Burnout: Paradise," feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign. The ads — ...

by Ian Bogost October 14, 2008

Robotron without the guns

Advergames, Political Games, Public Policy Games

Such is how the creator of Consumer CULTure describes the game, which also offers "a satirical middle finger to consumerism and commercialism." The player moves around an enclosed space attempting to avoid an ever-increasing barrage of consumer objects and messages. While it doesn't take on a specific company like Disaffected! ...

by Ian Bogost October 10, 2008

Enjoyment of Advergames Study

Advergames

Researchers at the Missouri School of Journalism have published Enjoyment of Advergames and Brand Attitudes: The Impact of Thematic Relevance, a study of how much people enjoy advergames in relation to how tightly the game couples gameplay to the product advertised. The result? More. Or, in their words, "Designing advergames ...

by Ian Bogost October 8, 2008

Google Ads in Games

Advergames

Dean Takahashi reports that Google will start rolling out their AdSense advertising product into online games, starting with Flash games. No surprise really, and in fact Google's late to the party given the availability of such services already. Nevertheless, Google's size and muscle might be the necessary break to make ...

by Ian Bogost September 29, 2008

Play within a Play

Advergames

I'm sure all our readers will agree that there is not enough mise-en-abyme in videogames. Sure, we have pomo self-referential examples like Metal Gear Solid or Bioshock, but nothing so turned in on itself that you have to scratch your very head to find your way in, let alone out. ...

by Ian Bogost September 27, 2008

Vinylgame

Advergames, Educational Games

Vinylgame is another new title from Molleindustria, this one an advergame for a European PVC industry association. The game was commissioned to explain the organization's 10 year commitment to sustainability. The game is apparently more directed at industry insiders than the general public, and players may find it a bit ...

by Ian Bogost August 11, 2008

Atari Licenses Too Good to be True

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Political Games

Our readers probably know well my interest, even obsession, with both the Atari VCS and licensed games. As Nick and I put the final touches on our forthcoming book on the Atari, I've been doing a lot of final fact confirmation online. In the process of doing so this weekend ...

by Ian Bogost August 4, 2008

You'll wish it had stayed dead

Advergames

To promote Universal Pictures' new film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the studio created an advergame, Chariot Chase Down Game. Go ahead and play it. It's almost as good as the film, which garnered an impressive 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. ...

by Ian Bogost August 3, 2008

Return to Death Race

Advergames

The 1975 film Death Race 2000 inspired the 1976 arcade game Death Race, by Exidy. In the game, players tried to run over abstract figures meant to represent "gremlins" with an equally abstract car. The game sparked the first major media controversy around videogames and violence. In three weeks, Universal ...

by Ian Bogost July 28, 2008

Coupongaming

Advergames

Here's an interesting advergame for the home solar system manufacturer Sungevity. The game is Solar SFUN, and it takes two forms. The first is a trivia game of the usual variety. The second is a Tetris-like puzzle game, in which you try to cover a roof with solar panels. The ...

by Ian Bogost July 3, 2008

Slim Jim's Virtual World of Meat Stick

Advergames, Social Games

Slim Jim, makers of fine dry meat snacks, have a launched virtual world for "people who want to explore their spicy side." This inspired locus, dubbed Spicy Town, is a "wild place where people can create a unique alter ego that’s a little aggressive, insane, adventurous, and mischievous." So say ...

by Ian Bogost June 30, 2008

HGTV Interior Design Game

Advergames, Casual Games

HGTV has a reality show called Design Star, which is apparently like American Idol or The Apprentice but for interior design. They have an advergame up that's actually, miraculously vaguely related to the theme of the show. It's called Design Star Shuffle, and it's basically a reskinned version of the ...

by Ian Bogost June 19, 2008

Half off OMMA Gaming registration for WCG readers

Advergames

If you're interested in advertising and games, you might be interested in OMMA Gaming, a one-day conference on marketing and games in San Francisco on 22 July. You can get a 50% registration discount with the code PERS395, which takes it down to $250 from $500 for early bird (through ...

by Ian Bogost June 12, 2008

Boostin' Nuts

Advergames, Casual Games

Jeep has a new advergame on Facebook to promote the new edition of their Liberty small SUV. In the game, called Boostin' Nuts, the player controls a flying squirrel who needs to land on acorns to stay in the air. Some give more points than others, and others take points ...

by Ian Bogost May 28, 2008

Sun's Identity Hero

Advergames, Business Games

It's been a while since I've seen a thoughtful online advergame. Here's one that surprises on a number of levels. Sun has a new game called Identity Hero, an arcade-action game that features features from the company's Identity Management Solutions, which is apparently some suite of IT management tools for ...

by Ian Bogost May 2, 2008

Me on Advertising and Games in the Guardian

Advergames

If you read the Guardian, you may have noticed that they are running a series of articles and opinion pieces as a part of a self-declared "games week." Richard Bartle and John Kirriemuir already offered great pieces on games and censorship and games and learning, respectively. I wrote a piece ...

by Ian Bogost March 26, 2008

We pwn free games

Advergames, Casual Games, Political Games

PC World's new list of "101 Fantastic Freebies" is out in the forthcoming May 2008 print issue, also available online now. There's a category for games, and I'm happy to say that two of the nine on the list are Persuasive Games titles. One is our send-up of the TSA, ...

by Ian Bogost December 22, 2007

Parking Wars on Facebook

Advergames, Game Design, Social Games

This isn't the first Facebook advergame, but it's the first I've seen that really tries to take advantage of the service's social graph. There is a new A&E television series called Parking Wars, which starts in January. The subject of the show is probably the only division of the police ...

by Ian Bogost December 20, 2007

Spurn-A-Bear

Advergames, Casual Games, Console & PC Games

You know Build-A-Bear? It's a retail store that allows kids to construct custom plush toys by choosing different styles, parts, and accessories. I recently learned via Leigh Alexander that the company is about to release a virtual world based on their gimmick. As much as I loathe these kiddie virtual ...

by Ian Bogost November 21, 2007

Stella Artois 14th Century Brewing Games

Advergames

Belgian brewer Stella Artois has a new ad campaign, and they've published a new website with a complex fictional history of the Stella Artois brewing process, circa 1366. Dubbed "Le Courage," the site combines live-action video with occasional, simple games like trying to balance the (flat) world so the barley ...

by Ian Bogost September 24, 2007

Alternate Reality Games Seminar

Advergames, Educational Games, Social Games

Despite their interesting features, Alternate Reality Games like The Beast and ilovebees really got their start as marketing campaigns. Since World Without Oil, there has been growing interest in using ARGs for serious purposes. Game community Unfiction is sponsoring a one-day event, Embrace the Chaos, to help people understand how ...

by Ian Bogost August 24, 2007

PETA's KFC Anti-Advergame

Advergames, Political Games

I've previously suggested the term anti-advergames, games that critique a company's products or business practices rather than promoting them. Disaffected! is one, as is Molleindustria's McDonald's Videogame. Here's a new anti-advergame from PETA, the animal rights organization, created as a part of their ongoing campaign against KFC's breeding and slaughtering ...

by Ian Bogost August 17, 2007

Microsoft Live Maps lose their bearing

Advergames

We've been a little remiss in our coverage of advertising games of late, and I'm going to try to correct that over the coming weeks. Let's start with Microsoft Live Derby 2007, a browser game agency EVB created for Microsoft to promote the latter's Google Maps competitor, Live Search Maps. Map ...

by Ian Bogost July 25, 2007

Nielsen uses television tech to measure game ads

Advergames

In my new book Persuasive Games, I argue that the advertising industry measures its success not with evidence but with collective hallucination. In the case of television, the ad industry invented a set of (nearly arbitrary) metrics, which all the agencies adopted, and therefore which all the brand managers used ...

by Ian Bogost June 19, 2007

Vintage Vinyl Music Games

Advergames

Boing Boing points to a fantastic site about videogame bonus content on vinyl LP records. You would have to record the proper portion of the album to cassette and then run the cassette in your computer (most of these were Sinclair Spectrum programs). Among the more detailed of these games ...

by Ian Bogost May 30, 2007

Sears Advergames

Advergames

Sears, the department store you probably forgot about, has a set of three new advergames to promote their wares. The first is Rush Rider, in which the player uses a rocket-powered forklift with tractor beam to retrieve and deliver online orders in a warehouse. It's actually pretty cute and the ...

by Ian Bogost May 21, 2007

Games on Amazon.com?

Advergames

Not videogames for sale, but online games. I happened onto the following headline during an impromptu visit to Amazon.com today (click to make it bigger): From the looks of it, you'd think that Amazon had their own online advergames. But when I clicked the links, they just took me to ...

by Ian Bogost April 10, 2007

Advertising and Ecology: Planet Green Game

Advergames, Educational Games, Public Policy Games

Starbucks Coffee and Global Green USA have created Planet Green Game, a game about energy conservation and consumption. The game is set in a hypothetical town called Evergreen. The player chooses a character and transportation mode (foot, skateboard, bicycle, and three types of automobiles, each with different emissions). A ...

by Ian Bogost April 3, 2007

Turning the Tables on In-Game Ad Design

Advergames

Gamasutra has published my latest column, Turning the Tables on In-Game Ad Design. The column takes a new branded edition of Monopoly as an introduction to how designers might consider moderated use of in-game ads design tools rather than just colonizing forces. In addition to promotion, in-game ads and product ...

by Ian Bogost April 2, 2007

Track your Viral Games (in the UK anyway)

Advergames

UK-based Viral Chart is a "viral traffic monitoring tool." In addition to video ads, they also maintain a list of viral games all over the web, aggregating the results together in one report. In addition to the usual advergames, two of the top ten are educational games, Snack Dash from ...

by Ian Bogost February 13, 2007

Monster.com Crap in the Door

Advergames

I frequently get emails from PR agencies hocking their clients lousy advergames. I usually save these up, but I realized that it's been too long since we railed on a crappy advergame. Here's Foot in the Door, from Monster.com, the job ad website. According to the press release, the game ...

by Gonzalo Frasca January 17, 2007

My new column: When advergaming backfires.

Advergames

Remember me? I used to have a life and even regularly post on this blog. Well, I'm still alive and even though my dissertation manuscript is not finished, it's getting there. In any case, Serious Games Source has posted my new column about the infamous 2004 Intel IT Manager advergame. ...

by Ian Bogost January 2, 2007

My new column: Promogames, Another Kind of Advertising Game

Advergames

Serious Games Source has published my latest Persuasive Games column, this one on Burger King's recently released Xbox 360 games. In the article, I suggest that we think of these games as promotions, not advertisements: I give the name promogames to video games whose primary purpose is to promote the ...

by Ian Bogost December 18, 2006

Raiders of the Lost Mouth

Advergames

This is one of the weirdest advergames I've ever seen. Fuel Industries has created a fairly involved graphical adventure game in support of Reach toothbrushes for the Canadian market. The game, Mr. Reach in the Mouth of Mystery, features the Reach mascot on a sort of Indiana Jones like adventure ...

by Ian Bogost December 11, 2006

Preview Bogost's New Book, Persuasive Games

Advergames, Educational Games, Political Games

My new book, Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames, which will be published in spring 2007, now has an official page up at the MIT Press site. This is the major research project I've been working on for the last couple years, and I'm really excited about getting it ...

by Ian Bogost November 26, 2006

Enter the Holiday Advergames

Advergames

There's often a big rush of holiday-themed advergames starting around this time of year. Here's the first one I've encountered: Shave Santa. It's sponsored by the electric shaver manufacturer Remington and the goal is to shave Santa's unwieldy beard. Created by Sway. ...

by Ian Bogost November 20, 2006

Creepy Burger King on Xbox 360

Advergames, Console & PC Games

Thanks to Brian over at Kotaku for reminding us that the Burger King Xbox 360 advergame / promo games are now available. All three feature the creepy King BK mascot. Pocket Bike Racer is a kart-style racing game, Big Bumper is a bumper car game, and Sneak King is a ...

by Ian Bogost November 9, 2006

StrawberrWii Banana Slurpee

Advergames, Console & PC Games

Even though we talk about advergames here, we usually don't talk about videogame marketing itself. But every now and then there's reason to. This morning I awoke to a strange banner ad on my usual visit to CNN.com. For 7-11. And Wii. I can buy a StrawberrWii Banana Slurpee and ...

by Ian Bogost October 24, 2006

Ohmigod, I'm like totally going to the virtual mall

Advergames, Business Games, Console & PC Games

Paul Hemp points us to a Harvard Business Review article on the future of e-tailing in virtual worlds. The article claims that e-commerce is going to shift from web transactions to online simulations of shopping, via virtual malls in 3d worlds. The usual references to American Apparel's store in Second ...

by Ian Bogost September 26, 2006

Right to Bore Arms (and new columns)

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Public Policy Games

Gonzalo and I each have a new column at Serious Games Source, the serious games arm of CMP's popular website Gamasutra. The first installment in my "Persuasive Games" column is up now, titled The Right To Bore Arms, about a new NRA-licenced game. ... By making firearms boring, slow, and ...

by Ian Bogost September 7, 2006

Disaffected! Universal Binary for Intel Macs

Advergames, Business Games

One of the nice things about getting mentioned in the NY Times Magazine is that a lot of people then email you about how they can't run your game. Intel Mac users: a Universal Binary is now available. Please be gentle with our bandwidth; if you have a PPC Mac, ...

by Gonzalo Frasca September 3, 2006

NYTimes: Gaming the System

Advergames

It's really a nice feeling to open the newspaper on Sunday morning and find your friends on it. Ok, I didn't really open the paper but I did open the webpage :) The New York Times runs today a story -Gaming the System- about Ian's Disaffected! It also features Persuasive ...

by Ian Bogost September 3, 2006

Branded Sudoku: Snakes, DaVinci

Advergames, Casual Games

My grasp of the world lessens daily. Today it's curious branded sudoku puzzle books Snakes on a Sudoku and The Sudoku Code. Maybe "branded" isn't the best characterization here -- it's more like sudoku books skinned with pop culture icons. I haven't seen The Sudoku Code, which seems to be ...

by Ian Bogost September 1, 2006

M&M's Goban

Advergames

Almost three years ago, when Mars released the first black and white M&M's, I lamented the fact that they hadn't printed a small goban on the inside of the package, creating a $0.65 game of edible Go. There's still no goban inside the package, but now you can get a ...

by Ian Bogost August 21, 2006

Free Ad-supported Mobile Games

Advergames, Casual Games

One of the ongoing complaints about in-game advertising is the fact that, unlike television, radio, and print, game adverts are not removing or even subsidizing the cost of videogames for consumers. In fact, console videogame prices are rising, even as advertising messages in games are increasing. Who wants to pay ...

by Ian Bogost August 10, 2006

Viacom/MTV buys Atom Entertainment

Advergames, Casual Games

Viacom's MTV Networks division has bought Atom Entertainment, who run Shockwave.com, AddictingGames.com (which we've linked to recently for a few newsgames), AtomFilms.com, and AddictingClips.com. The acquisition price was a respectable $200 million. This is an interesting acquisition for a few reasons. The rest of the world will probably note that ...

by Ian Bogost August 1, 2006

Review of Convergence Culture, by Henry Jenkins

Advergames, Business Games, General

I read Henry Jenkins's new book Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide this weekend. The book is a short, smart, buttery read on a hot topic, and it is sure to draw both popular and academic interest. Jenkins is a multifaceted media scholar, a critic of vaudeville, fan ...

by Ian Bogost July 31, 2006

The OC mobile game

Advergames

Word is out that mobile games publisher Gameloft has released a mobile simulation/dating game based on the hit television show The O.C.. Pocket Gamer reports that the game, still in development, is really a port/skinning of another Gameloft game, New York Nights: Success in the City, an existing (!) sim/dating ...

by Ian Bogost July 25, 2006

In-game advertising, now "interactive"

Advergames

I never tire of mocking the in-game advertising industry. The latest salvo in the ongoing saga is Massive, Inc.'s new "interactive advertisement technology," first deployed in Anarchy Online for Toyota Yaris. Here's the blurb from the press release: The new technology allows players to interact with dynamic billboards in the ...

by Ian Bogost July 21, 2006

CDC: We did not approve anti-videogame ads

Advergames, Health & Medicine Games

As reported yesterday, during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta I learned that the anti-videogame print ads we had previously attributed to CDC (following the advertising trades), might not have been in any way affiliated with the organization. Today the CDC confirmed that the ...

by Ian Bogost July 19, 2006

CDC doesn't villify games, gamers?

Advergames, Health & Medicine Games

Back in February, I wrote about the Centers for Disease Control's misguided attempts to market against videogames and gamers, a campaign titled "Give Your Thumbs a Rest, Play for Real." I first saw the ads in AdCritic and later found the remainder of the series online. Joystiq and others picked ...

by Ian Bogost July 16, 2006

Microsoft offers Massive services to Nintendo and Sony

Advergames, Console & PC Games

As regular readers will remember, Microsoft recently bought in-gae ad network Massive, Inc. A few weeks ago, Hollywood Reporter columnist Paul Hyman reported that Microsoft is interested in Sony and Nintendo using Massive's services, rather than locking its competitors out of the market. From the article, "If there are three ...

by Ian Bogost July 4, 2006

Top 10 Disaffections

Advergames, Business Games, Political Games, Social Games

Since we launched Disaffected! back in January, we've enjoyed a continuous stream of feedback, some good, some bad, all interesting. I've shared portions of it in private presentations, but when I showed the game at the Games for Change Exhibition last week in New York, I reminded myself to write ...

by Ian Bogost June 24, 2006

Rock out Guitar Hero-style with Bratz

Advergames, Console & PC Games

What with the commercial success and popular acclaim of Guitar Hero, it was only a matter of time before we'd see knock-offs. That time has come, and it comes wrapped in a license from Bratz, everyone's favorite sassy, Botox-lipped, fashionista dolls for young girls. Yes, I give you Bratz Groovin' ...

by Ian Bogost June 9, 2006

The Rapture will be Advertised

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Religious Games

Left Behind Games, creators of the forthcoming Left Behind: Eternal Forces, have announced a deal to include in-game advertising via the Double Fusion network. The game is based on the wildly popular book series of the same name, in which believers left behind after the rapture battle the army of ...

by Ian Bogost April 27, 2006

A Merger of Demons, or, Microsoft to buy Massive

Advergames, Console & PC Games

Reportedly, Microsoft is poised to buy in-game ad network Massive Inc. for somewhere in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars. The Wall Street Journal has the scoop, but both sides have refused comment. More coverage at 1up, Kotaku. In case you need a refresher, we aren't very fond of ...

by Ian Bogost April 24, 2006

Lost in Alternate Reality

Advergames

We haven't really covered Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) here, even though a number of the genre-defining ones (The Beast, ilovebees, The Art of the Heist, Last Call Poker) could be described as advergames. The Beast purportedly promoted the less than coherent Speilberg film A.I. ilovebees was funded my Microsoft as ...

by Ian Bogost April 11, 2006

Burger King on Xbox 360

Advergames, Console & PC Games

Rumor has it that market research company Greenfield Online is preparing a plan for Burger King to sell promotional Xbox 360 games in their stores. The games would apparently riff off "the most popular game types," adding the super-creepy Burger King character to an action, fighting, and racing game; customers ...

by Ian Bogost April 3, 2006

Shockwave.com redesign with in-game ads

Advergames, Casual Games

I got word from Atom Entertainment that they have just launched, or are about to launch a redesign of Shockwave.com, which they hope will appeal to a "broader range of online gamers." Apparently they're focusing on three areas now, ad-supported online games, the usual downloadable games, and multiplayer games. They ...

by Ian Bogost February 27, 2006

CDC villifies games, gamers

Advergames, Health & Medicine Games, Public Policy Games

The Centers for Disease Control, which is located just a few clicks down the road from where I live, has a new ad campaign to encourage more active lifestyles. As printed in AdCritic, one of these ads depicts a bunch of overweight baseballers in stained uniforms idle and cookout on ...

by Gonzalo Frasca February 10, 2006

Wanna play Hollywood's porn game? Show me your ID

Advergames

Boing Boing reports on New Line having launched a XXX webgame to promote their new film, Running Scared. The webgame features oral sex but, in order to play it, you need to enter a lot of personal data (a lot of US personal data, so no luck for foreigners). This, ...

by Ian Bogost February 7, 2006

Disaffected Update, T-shirts

Activism Games, Advergames, Console & PC Games

I wanted to give our readers a few useful updates on the state of Disaffected!. First and most importantly, we've rev'd the game to v. 1.0.3 on both PC and Mac. The update fixes several bugs, changes some awkward joystick controls (not the intentionally awkward ones), and corrects a few ...

by Ian Bogost February 2, 2006

Molleindustria's McDonald's Game

Activism Games, Advergames, Political Games, Social Games

Just two weeks after we released Disaffected!, WCG amici italiani Molleindustria have released another specimen in the now-rapidly-growing anti-advergame subgenre, this one a scathing critique of the McDonald's corporation. Visit the "official" website to play. The game requires the player to learn and master all the complex techniques of a ...

by Ian Bogost January 30, 2006

What worries the Virtual Magic Kingdom? Impropriety, but mostly sex.

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Social Games

A little more than a year ago, I mused open-mouthed at Disney's intention to create a Habbo Hotel-like virtual world. Then back in May we announced the launch of the beta of Virtual Magic Kingdom (I was so disappointed they didn't call it Marketingland). We logged over 100 comments on ...

by Ian Bogost January 17, 2006

Persuasive Games launches Disaffected!

Activism Games, Advergames, Business Games, Casual Games, Console & PC Games

I'm happy to announce that my studio Persuasive Games has released Disaffected!, a videogame parody of the Kinko's copy store. The game puts the player in the role employees forced to service customers under the particular incompetences common to a Kinko’s store. It gives the player the chance to step ...

by Ian Bogost December 23, 2005

Agency.com Snowball Fight

Advergames, Casual Games

Another yuletide-themed posting before shuttering our virtual doors for the holiday this weekend. Interactive agency Agency.com has created the Agency.com Snowball Fight, a cute little game in which you throw snowballs at people in a variety of Agency.com-officed locations. The best score come January wins an iPod, but I don't ...

by Ian Bogost December 12, 2005

Another Lousy Advergame: Sharpie Bust Out

Advergames

It's time for another terrible example of an advergame. These are frequent enough that I'm inaugurating a new sub-column under the Advergames topic: Another Lousy Advergame. Sharpie (you know, the permanent ink pens and markers) commissioned the Sharpie Mini Bust Out Game, which is a break-out clone with a $1,000 ...

by Ian Bogost November 26, 2005

New IF work Book & Volume explores consumerism, work

Advergames, Political Games

Nick Montfort, who also blogs on Grand Text Auto, has released Book & Volume, an interactive fiction (IF) piece about one night in the life of a sysadmin for nWare, the curious and increasingly dubious corporate hub of the fictional world nTopia. Nick is one of the foremost authorities on ...

by Ian Bogost November 22, 2005

Samsung Mobile Mystery

Advergames

Perfect Fools up in Stockholm have just released a new adventure/puzzle style mystery game to promote the Samsung D600 mobile phone. As the game starts, a mysterious woman hands you a mobile phone before rushing off. As the player, your job is to discover and use clues on the phone ...

by Ian Bogost November 21, 2005

A few notes on the European Advertising in Games Forum

Advergames

I attended the European Advertising in Games Forum last week in London. WiFi was unavailable at the venue and difficult/expensive to find in the city in general, so I wasn't able to cover the event live. Not that I necessarily would have been able to; it was a rather oppressively ...

by Ian Bogost November 14, 2005

Volvo Drive for Life

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Educational Games

The NY Times reports that Volvo and Microsoft have collaborated on a game for Xbox called Volvo Drive for Life, "a showcase for the Volvo nameplate, three Volvo models and the longtime Volvo brand identity as the car designed with safety foremost." Clearly, this won't be a Burnout clone -- ...

by Ian Bogost October 24, 2005

Best Buy charges to see advertising

Advergames

In a curious move, Best Buy is charging admission to a marketing event. The "IGN Live Event" offers gamers a chance to "Play Xbox 360 for only $15." Here are the features promised for this perverse event: Be the first to play Xbox 360! Play Call of Duty 2 and ...

by Gonzalo Frasca October 18, 2005

European Advertising in Games Forum

Advergames

After NY and San Francisco, now it's time for London to taste a forum devoted to advergaming. And, guess what, our very own Ian will be speaking, so this is your chance to listen to his rants offline! Here's the link that you were looking for. I promise I will ...

by Ian Bogost October 18, 2005

McNintendo

Advergames, Console & PC Games

Thanks to our friends at Kotaku for digging up this nugget (har har): apparently Nintendo is about to announce that free DS WiFi service will be available in McDonalds. Perhaps they will later replace the Playplace with a big pile of beanbags for our increasingly large cheeseburger-stuffed lads and lasses ...

by Ian Bogost October 6, 2005

In-Game Ad Studies are Ads for In-Game Ads

Advergames

A few days ago over on WCG friends' site Grand Text Auto, Nick Montfort wrote about the distrust we may want to have for industry-sponsored studies of videogame demographic shifts. Nick points to long-time industry critic Chris Crawford's recent commentary on recent video game demographic studies. Chris basically argues that ...

by Ian Bogost October 3, 2005

Sting like an ice cream: Sensodyne Boxing

Advergames

The folks at GlaxoSmithKline must have seen the clever boxing parody/advergame by Dannon that we covered a few months ago... because they've created a similar game to support the Sensodyne Food Fear Challenge promotion. For those of you who aren't up on your toiletries, Sensodyne is a toothpaste made for ...

by Ian Bogost September 27, 2005

Innoculate the Viral Marketing

Advergames

I hate viral marketing. Hate it, capital-H Hate it. Here's why. The advertising industry vaguely understands how word of mouth works. They understand memes, although they've probably never heard of Richard Dawkins. They believe they are in the business of creating cultural capital to be disseminated from brain to mindless ...

by Gonzalo Frasca September 21, 2005

Forget advergames. Now you need a full site

Advergames

One advergame is not enough. At least that's the philosophy behind Orbitz' new advergaming site, a place where you can find and play all their banner games... and maybe even win some free trips. Here's the link to the site and here's the link to the NYTimes story (at News.com, ...

by Ian Bogost September 19, 2005

Gas Sipping with Ford/Mercury

Advergames

I can't find the actual game, but ClickZ reports on a new game from Ford/Mercury meant to show how the Mercury Mariner hybrid SUV is more energy efficient than the average SUV. The "Mercury Mariner MyDrive Game" apparently seeks to "train" drivers about how to best take advantage of fuel ...

by Ian Bogost September 12, 2005

INXS Bang the Drum (or, more crap from Kewlbox)

Advergames

Recently, we talked about Jason Oda's Galvanized!, a game created to promote techno act The Chemical Brothers. Last year, we also mentioned Triple Trouble, The Beastie Boys's politically-charged promo game. Here's another recording artist game, Bang the Drum, promoting formerly has-been but recently rediscovered band INXS. The game is, in ...

by Ian Bogost August 18, 2005

Why the IGDA's new Sex & Games SIG goes limp

Advergames, Social Games

Gamespot reports that the IGDA has launched a special interest group (SIG) for sex in games. The SIG even has it's own blog, Sex & Games, which strikes me as a great idea. Here's what they have to say about their goals: The Sex SIG welcomes everyone interested in the ...

by Ian Bogost August 10, 2005

How to hack Massive out of your games

Advergames

Recently I lambasted Massive, our least favorite purveyor of in-game ad placement. Via the MIT Advertising Lab I'm happy to report that a few players of SWAT4 have figured out how the Massive ads get served and posted instructions for how to turn them off. Be sure to read through ...

by Ian Bogost August 9, 2005

Sugar Water Games

Advergames

Since I live in Atlanta, I have necessarily, and probably willingly adopted our heroic ardor for Coca Cola. Coke is often cited as the catalyst for economic development in Atlanta in the early 20th century, and the bedrock of Atlanta's economy today. It's even been called the catalyst for improved ...

by Ian Bogost August 4, 2005

Electroadvergame

Advergames

Now for something completely different. Well-known UK electronic dance duo The Chemical Brothers has their own advergame, Galvanized. The game is quite unique. The player is a sort of... uh... masked space-electronica dude, and you collect Galvanize boxes to increase your strength to fight DJ monsters. You have to avoid ...

by Ian Bogost July 26, 2005

Down with Massive

Advergames

I spoke at the first Advertising in Games conference this spring in NYC, but I'm not able to make the summer event this week in San Francisco. I wish I could go, just so I could spit on all the people from Massive who will be attending. The Wall Street ...

by Ian Bogost July 21, 2005

Prune to Win, the hedge shears game

Advergames

No, it's not a constipation game, although that might be interesting. Prune to Win is a promotional advergame from Fiskars, makers of hedge trimmers, orange-handled staplers, guillotine style paper trimmers, and other sharp metal things. As with the Boiler Game Gonzalo recently pointed out, this is an example of an ...

by Gonzalo Frasca July 19, 2005

Boiler play room

Advergames

There was a time when you had to force advergame genres onto the client's expectations because the only thing that they could afford to produce was a simple, 8-bit style game. Thankfully things change and now it's the other way around! Here we have a clear example: a Mario-inspired platformer ...

by Ian Bogost July 1, 2005

Late night munchies game

Advergames

McDonalds has a cute little advergame running called Race to the Lights to promote their late night and 24hour drive-thru service. The player chooses a music style (pop, hip hop, rock, and country) and gets assigned a corresponding vehicle (coupe, wagon??, van, and pickup). The goal is to drive your ...

by Ian Bogost June 23, 2005

A lousy environmental advergame

Advergames, Public Policy Games

I've been traveling and attending conferences for more than a week, including DiGRA 2005 and Supernova 2005. I gave a paper at DiGRA on political games and a workshop talk at Supernova on games and advertising. More on those later. For now, it's time for a lousy environmental advergame. French ...

by Ian Bogost June 15, 2005

Japanese Finance Games

Advergames, Business Games, Educational Games

Thanks to Serious Games Japan maven Toru Fujimoto for tipping us off to My Dream and Bank, a Japanese Flash-based advergame intended to teach high school students about the basics of finance and starting a business. The game was produced by the Japanese Bankers Association, and according to Toru 100,000 ...

by Ian Bogost June 11, 2005

Beer, Nudity, and Pac-Man

Advergames, Social Games

Surely this must be the first ever advergame that draws a direct correlation between drinking beer and getting women naked. Undress Me is a Flash game with simple inverse-space invaders gameplay, similar to Ferry Halim's Apple Season. The game features the Czech beer Pilsner Urquell, and the player's goal is ...

by Ian Bogost June 6, 2005

Betsy Book on DIY Branding

Advergames

Just in via Terra Nova, Betsy Book has a new paper on member-developed brands in There and Second Life. In Betsy's words, "this time I want to turn the spotlight away from established corporate advertisers and discuss the entrepreneurial activities of several innovative members instead." A must-read for anyone interested ...

by Ian Bogost May 31, 2005

Inhalants are more fun

Advergames

I don't know which is more incredible, the fact that WD-40 has a fanclub or the fact that their fanclub contains a downloadable WD-40 game (I've linked it directly so you don't have to register). It's a 3D game too! The player is cast as a stationary can of WD-40 ...

by Ian Bogost May 24, 2005

Virtual Magic Kingdom Beta

Advergames, Console & PC Games

The beta version of the perverse Disney virtual marketing world thing we previously discussed is now available, although as of 10am EDT this morning the site was "too busy to process my request." Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom is a free online multi-Player game that lets you experience the awesome magic ...

by Ian Bogost May 21, 2005

E3: In-Game Advertising Workshop

Advergames, Game Design

As I mentioned previously, I ran a workshop on in-game advertising during the conference sessions this E3. It was more like an interactive panel session than a workshop, and we covered a lot of ground. We had an analyst (Michael Goodman from Yankee Group), an ad man (Brandon Berger from ...

by Ian Bogost May 9, 2005

Reader feedback: in-game advertising workshop at E3

Advergames

I am running a workshop on in-game advertising at this year's E3. I'd like to ask the panelists to discuss several specific examples of in-game ads and advergames, debating the pros and cons of each example for gameplay, advertising, and other factors. I'd love to hear from our readers about ...

by Ian Bogost May 5, 2005

Sony Armchair Games

Advergames

Sony created a set of rather unique advergames to promote their Wega Engine IDTV. The Armchair Games are all related to TV-watching, including the Ad-Break Toilet Dash, the Sofa Long-Jump, the Grab-a-Snack Hurdles, and the Pizza Delivery Chuck and Catch. The games are simple and evocative, although essentially they are ...

by Ian Bogost April 14, 2005

Live from the Advertising in Games Forum

Advergames

I'm at the Advertising in Games Forum in New York, and for the first time in a long time I'm live blogging. The event was (massively?) sponsored by Massive, Inc., subject of much press and some ire of late for their (massive) push into in-game ad placement. As with my ...

by Gonzalo Frasca April 12, 2005

Movie advergames

Advergames

I love my job. Everyonce in a while, I roam through upcoming movies' websites and look for online games. So far, I haven't done much more than casual research on this trend. I know that Flash games have been around on movie sites for a few years now. Generally, they ...

by Ian Bogost April 12, 2005

Advergames in NYC

Advergames

Following up on Gonzalo's gloom on advergames, I should remind our readers that I will be speaking at the Advertising in Games Forum this Thursday the 14th in New York, the belly of the advertising beast, where I'll be sure to share commensurate cynicism. Massive is the main sponsor and ...

by Gonzalo Frasca April 11, 2005

Product placement is booooring

Advergames

The NYTimes (free reg. req.) talks again about Massive and in-game product and ad placement. From a creative point of view, in advertising terms, this is boring. Simulation is far more creatively challenging than placing a billboard. Of course, the ad industry was never driven by the sake of creative ...

by Ian Bogost March 21, 2005

Dannon Punch-Out

Advergames

Dannon has an amazing new advergame promoting its Frusion breakfast smoothies. Breakfast Brawl is a Mike Tyson Punch-Out parody that pits you against undesirable breakfast heavyweights like Moe Finntop and Dave "A sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich" Jenkins. Yes, you literally fight against a bowl of cereal. At key moments ...

by Ian Bogost March 3, 2005

Throwing Romance

Advergames

Hilton Worldwide Resorts has created Cupid's Catapult to promote their "romantic" resorts. In the game, the player hurls gifts to an awaiting lover on a balcony above. On higher levels, obstacles get in the way. You have to land a significant number of gifts before your significant other takes any ...

by Ian Bogost February 27, 2005

Are casual games a salve for film licenses?

Advergames, Casual Games, Emotion in Games, Game Design, Social Games

With the Oscars poised to air tonight, it seems an appropriate time to meditate on the fate of film license games. I've written before on Hollywood's propensity to use games as a film marketing tool, as have I mused on the dangers of games mixing themselves up with film licenses. ...

by Ian Bogost February 24, 2005

Weird Air Jordan Game

Advergames

Nike has created a weird game to promote their new Air Jordan XX. The game, hosted by Spike Lee, asks the player to answer questions about Jordan -- both the man and the shoes -- in the least amount of time. I'm usually very negative about quiz games but this ...

by Ian Bogost February 21, 2005

Burger Man, the Super Size Me game

Advergames, Social Games

Super Size Me, the popular documentary film about the health effects of a massive fast-food diet, has an official game. It looks like it was a promotion for the DVD release, so it must have been around for a while already. (thanks to Nico) It's cute and has good production ...

by Ian Bogost February 21, 2005

Pepsi-branded Nintendo DS

Advergames, Console & PC Games

I was traveling in Europe and thus a bit disconnected, so this news isn't brand new, but it is branded (that's jetlag humor right there). Anyway, Pepsi and Nintendo have created a cross-marketing campaign around a Pepsi-branded Nintendo DS. The Japan-only console is Pepsi blue and comes with Pepsi-branded earphones. ...

by Ian Bogost February 19, 2005

More Dumb Advergaming

Advergames

As if their singular goal is to agitate me in the aftermath of their shockingly terrible Kotex Bejeweled knockoff, Kewlbox has just released a new dumb advergame. Celebrations Brand Mah Jongg adds Milky Way candy branding to solitare-style mah jongg. Maybe next we can get Advergaming Pac-Man, where the loose ...

by Ian Bogost February 15, 2005

Tampons, meet Bejeweled

Advergames

I couldn't make this stuff up. I've been complaining for a while now about a particularly unfortunate kind of advergame... the sort that takes popular casual games and replaces play elements with branded objects. There was a time when everyone was asking for a branded version of Bejeweled -- M&Ms, ...

by Ian Bogost February 12, 2005

Two Beverage Advergames

Advergames

A little comparative advergaming. (1) as a promotion in Scandinavia this past Christmas, Coke created Nordic Christmas, a set of three advergames. Players were offered the opportunity to win an MP3 player (thanks to Nico). (2) Pickwick Tea is promoting its Afternoon Spirit product in the Netherlands with this advergame. ...

by Ian Bogost January 30, 2005

Advergame Events

Advergames

Two significant advergame-related events take place in the coming months. First, Positioning for Profitability in the Video Game Economy takes place February 24 in New York. Second, The Advertising in Games Forum will be held April 14, also in New York. Both events share the same major sponsor, videogame advertising ...

by Ian Bogost January 12, 2005

Marketingland: Welcome to the Virtual Hypperreal

Advergames

I've talked before about my fondness of finding the planet's highest order simulations, and this one is an amazing specimen. AdAge (click at right for larger version, or see page 4 of the January 3 issue -- thanks Cleo) reports on a free online game built by Disney to celebrate ...

by Ian Bogost January 9, 2005

Kyocera Cameraphone Advergame

Advergames

Mobile handset maker Kyocera has released Red Carpet Blitz, a new advergame promoting their Koi/KX2 phone. The game does a good job incorporating the features of the phone into the gameplay. You play as a photographer trying to capture celebrity photos at a movie opening. You earn more points from ...

by Ian Bogost January 2, 2005

Advergame research roundup

Advergames

Hoo-ha! It's the new year and everybody knows that means it's time for advergame research roundup. Here's are a few choice cattle that I've rustled up and branded from the web and my inbox (Yar, the new year's replete with punnery). Amsterdam-based Down Under Group has announced Down Under Ingame ...

by Ian Bogost December 18, 2004

Retro Advergaming with Coca Cola Kid

Advergames

More quasi-vintage advergame news. I recently visited the World of Coca Cola here in Atlanta and discovered the limited edition Coca Cola red Sega Game Gear, complete with specially created Coca Cola Kid cartridge. It's an impressive specimen of a custom-skinned branded handheld with branded advergame. I'm not sure if ...

by Ian Bogost December 10, 2004

Games Advertising Games

Advergames

Nothing like self-reflexivity to make your day. Videogame retailer EBGames has created Cash for Stash, a web-based advergame that allows players to accrue points by picking up virtual games in a city and dropping them off at an in-game EB Games store. By clearing levels, you can earn coupons good ...

by Ian Bogost December 7, 2004

In-Game Advertising Guide

Advergames

Agency Cocojambo has created the Cocojambo Guide, a service that tries to match advertisers and game developers/publishers. The first issue comes out December 1. Subscriptions are free but require approval via email. ...

by Ian Bogost December 3, 2004

A Real Advergame

Advergames

Regular WCG readers know that we often deride current trends in advergames. That in mind, it's always refreshing to see a "Real Advergame," one that uses something more than the expected associative conventions. I was reading an old issue of the awesome mag Ready Made, I fell upon this terrific ...

by Ian Bogost November 29, 2004

Even Christmas Trees have Advergames

Advergames

I had no idea there was a National Christmas Tree Association. But there is, and they've sponsored a game over at Kewlbox, Attack of the Mutant Artificial Trees. I'm not making this up. According to the press release, NCTA "is using the game to educate players on the positive points ...

by Ian Bogost November 15, 2004

Mai Tais and Exotic Diseases

Advergames

Actually, the game has little to do with either, but now I have your attention. Following in the footsteps of Roller Coaster Tycoon and all the other -Tycoon games out there (including the previous, unbranded Cruise Ship Tycoon), take a look at the "budget release" Carnival Cruise Lines Tycooon. Adrenaline ...

by Ian Bogost November 4, 2004

Chickenfight

Advergames, Game Design

Burger King has a game to go with their new TV ad campaign "chickenfight," which is in turn -- this gets complicated -- part of some kind of crosspromotion with DirecTV. Chickenfight the game has some clever features. It's a mock-cockfight game (with the chickensuited guys from the tv spot), ...

by Ian Bogost October 20, 2004

Nielsen and Activision co-sponsor Collective Hallucination

Advergames

Nielsen Entertainment Media, conjurers of numbers replete, and Activision, skateboard bankers, have partnered to develop tools to create complex fictions of relevance for in-game branding. I offer my perspective on the latest victory for the Razor-scooter-set over in eMarketingIQ, the gist of which is "... The concern is that it ...

by Gonzalo Frasca August 26, 2004

In-game advertising

Advergames

Tom Loftus writes at MSNBC about in-game advertising. The interesting things is that the article describes the attempts from traditional ad measuring companies (Nielsen) in order to measure the "impressions" or number of times players get hit by an in-game add. I find this interesting, because basically what we have ...

by Ian Bogost August 25, 2004

Beer, nudity, and wet towels

Advergames, Social Games

Must be good, right? Swedish spirits company Åbro has made a great little game based on the age-old wet towel in the locker room game (it must be "age-old" right? The ancient Olympics were all nude after all). The company has an ongoing soccer (football for the rest of the ...

by Ian Bogost August 22, 2004

More fun with free speech

Advergames, Political Games

This isn't really about advergaming or political gaming, at least not directly. But it's part of a broader trend in advertising and political speech that very much affects the kind of work we've been trying to do in the space. So, CNN reported yesterday about a man being fired for ...

by Ian Bogost August 10, 2004

Doom 3 gets cute

Advergames

Ok, so it's not deliberate advergaming, but a Hello Kitty flashlight mod for the just-released Doom 3 is pure poetry. A great example of how this brand without a product can turn even this testament to gory realism into chanpon kitsch. Does juxtaposition get any better than this? With an ...

by Gonzalo Frasca August 9, 2004

The Adverblog

Advergames

While not just about advergaming, the Adverblog is about advertising in all things digital. Really useful bunch of links, so give it a try. The author is now on vacation in France (we do not blame her for taking some days off), so unless she's abducted by "Les Visiteurs", she ...

by Ian Bogost August 2, 2004

Japanese have weirder fun with Rice Bowl and Curry House games

Advergames, Console & PC Games

More evidence that the Japanese are having more fun, or at least weirder fun. Two popular Japanese restaurant chains, curry house CoCo Ichibanya and rice bowl chain Yoshinoya both have their own PS2 titles. Yoshinoya should be familiar to many Westerners  — they were everywhere in Los Angeles, and I ...

by Ian Bogost July 27, 2004

The Truth is pretty bad

Advergames, Game Design, Public Policy Games

The American Legacy Foundation's ongoing anti-smoking campaign truth has released a game created by Templar Studios based on truth's "Crazy World" ad campaign. Here's what Templar's president Peter Mack had to say about the game: The game, which is aimed at a wide audience, ages 18-50, was created to show ...

by Ian Bogost July 22, 2004

Me on Advergames

Advergames

eMarketing IQ just published an article about advergames in which I'm extensively (maybe embarrasingly extensively) quoted. You can read the article here. Here's an especially useful bit: But Bogost cautions for those considering this avenue, "It’s not enough to just have your brand in a game. What we see is ...

by Ian Bogost July 16, 2004

Bikini Bounce your way to holiday

Advergames

UK travel outlet lastminute.com has created a rather unique little game, Bikini Bounce, to promote a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Greek island of Kos. To play the game, you have to bounce a miniature vacationer on a beachgoer's bikini-clad breasts to reach vacation-themed bonus objects. Take care ...

by Ian Bogost July 5, 2004

Europe's first advergaming event

Advergames

The Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) has announced what they are calling Europe's First Advergaming Event, to be held July 20 in London. Here's the full release... ...

by Gonzalo Frasca June 30, 2004

The little tractor game

Advergames

How many game researchers/designers are married to Agronomists? I don't know. All I know is that I am one of them. And you can bet that for many years of marriage we did not have much in common on the professional level. Until now. Because John Deere, the manufacturer of ...

by Ian Bogost June 29, 2004

Spille Communication

Advergames, Political Games

You know something must be popular when recording artists start doing it. Well, the Beastie Boys have their own political game, Triple Trouble. Here's what music news site Aversion has to say about it: The game, posted on Capitol Records' web site, makes users get all three members of the ...

by Ian Bogost June 28, 2004

Busy: Games & Painting

Advergames, Game Design, General

Some of you may have noticed that it's been a bit slow here on WCG of late, and here's why: I'm trying to get my new game done for a launch this week, AND I've been moving into my new house in Atlanta. So, I've been making games and painting. ...

by Ian Bogost June 17, 2004

Industry flubs advergaming, again

Advergames, Game Design

AdAge just ran an report on advergames, from their coverage of AdWatch: Outlook 2004 conference in New York. They report that the increasing costs of TV ads are driving brands to consider games, and the increasingly broad demographics of gamers are helping. Despite the trends, the gaming industry continues to ...

by Gonzalo Frasca June 11, 2004

The Return of the "Bored Housewives"

Advergames

They are back... with a vengeance. Here's the AdAge article on female casual gamers (via GameGirlAdvance, of course) ...

by Ian Bogost June 1, 2004

IT Manager Game, now featuring Women!

Advergames, Business Games, Educational Games

Well, the ruckus about Intel's failure to include women in their first go at the IT Management game seems to have inspired them to correct the problem! The new version of the game features female IT managers, staff, and other employees. Welcome to the 20th century. Since I finally got ...

by Ian Bogost May 23, 2004

Create your own cereal box ideology

Advergames, Game Design, Social Games

Ok, it's not really a game, and it's a bit metatextual for this forum, but I'll bite anyway. PBS Kids has a really cool section called Don't Buy It, which teaches kids to think critically about media and become smarter consumers. They recently launched Freaky Flakes, a gadget that lets ...

by Ian Bogost May 3, 2004

Junk-Food Games: Game Rhetoric in the WSJ

Advergames

Big article in the Wall Street Journal today on Junk-Food Games (paid subscription required): "Online Arcades Draw Fire For Immersing Kids in Ads; Ritz Bits Wrestling, Anyone?" Some interesting excerpts: ...

by Ian Bogost May 3, 2004

Do home video marketers prefer games?

Advergames, Emotion in Games, Game Design

Universal has published a new advergame, Go, Fish, Go! promoting the Pay Per View/On Demand release of The Cat in the Hat. It's a Frogger or Chicken-inspired cross-the-road game; you play as the fish in a bowl. The game adds some interesting variations on Frogger, including a low-friction bowl that ...

by Ian Bogost April 26, 2004

Betsy Book on Advertising in Virtual Worlds

Advergames

This just in, Betsy Book has written a massive paper on advertising in virtual worlds, "These bodies are FREE, so go get one NOW: Advertising and Branding in Social Virtual Worlds." I haven't read through it yet, but looks to contain a wealth of material. (via Terra Nova). ...

by Gonzalo Frasca April 20, 2004

AdAge on videogames

Advergames

AdAge.com runs a story about videogames and advertising. It is mainly a panorama on the role of games in our culture, so it is meant to wake-up those old Madison Ave. guys and gals and let them know that games are here to stay (via gamegirladvance) ...

by Ian Bogost April 10, 2004

Waiting for Kyleigh

Advergames

More on the monetizing in-game ads front. I just came across Direct Game Marketing (thanks to Saturation.org), a Pasadena company that purports to, uhm, "synergize new opportunities for customer contact in interactive media." Here's their hustle: Virtual worlds, real customers. Meet Kyleigh McConnel. She's 28 She's urban She's a tastemaker ...

by Ian Bogost April 8, 2004

WSJ on monetizing ad space in videogames

Advergames, Console & PC Games

The Wall Street Journal published an article on Nielsen's new Video Game Ad Tools (paid registration required). Update: you can also read about it via Activision's press release. Nielsen Entertainment and Activision have rolled out a suite of new tools that promise to track the number of gamers who see ...

by Ian Bogost March 29, 2004

Playboy/Chivas Regal advergame promo

Advergames

Playboy and Chivas Regal teamed up for the Chivas Regal Playboy Mansion Sweepstakes (not obscene, but not work friendly). It's an interesting combination of a sweepstakes and a game. I think the intention was to do a bit of associative marketing with Playboy and force the player to encounter some ...

by Gonzalo Frasca February 16, 2004

Anti-dandruff game

Advergames

Head and Shoulders brings you... Mission Refresh, the anti-dandruff game, developed by Miami-based Makinita. Before you click on that link, keep in mind that it is in Spanish (but the game can be easily played anyways; arrow keys and space. Besides, the Instructions are available in English). The game is ...

by Ian Bogost January 30, 2004

The Future of Advergames

Advergames

A couple weeks ago, I fell upon this article on Advergames in MediaPost, covering a coming research report from Gartner. In general, the article is a nice paean to the continued promise of advergames, and it predicts growth in the segment, which is promising. The cited Gartner report suggests three ...

by Ian Bogost January 15, 2004

Sony/EA music crossmarketing deal

Advergames, Console & PC Games

An interesting music cross-marketing deal for "NFL Street" which I guess is a street football game (?). This is particularly intriguing and, in my opinion, deeply deluded: Two songs from the soundtrack, EA said, will be turned into music videos featuring gameplay footage and will be released as singles for ...

by Ian Bogost December 12, 2003

M&Ms Black & White - a missed advergaming opportunity

Advergames

So, here's a fun idea. Mars candy just released special promotional Black & White M&Ms. Presumably you have to "join the Great Color Quest" to help find their colors, whatever that means. But, there's an opportunity for you to turn this promotion into your own advergame. While this promo is ...

by Ian Bogost December 4, 2003

More on the phenomenology of game product placement

Advergames

So, I'm going to reopen the comment thread from a recent WCG discussion of product placement in games. The basic question is simple: do in-game products and ads function the same as in the real world? As I thought about this more, it reminded me of a real world experience. ...

by Ian Bogost November 25, 2003

Branding and bananas

Advergames

Following up on a discussion here on WCG, I wanted to reopen the question of advertising value in advergames. This is something I've thought and written about quite a bit (another reminder to self: post some written material), and my general conclusion is that most current advergames are rather poor ...

by Gonzalo Frasca November 21, 2003

Therapeutic Robot, toy design and advergames

Advergames

Paro is a therapeutic toy/pet for people who cannot deal with a real animal. Obviously, it comes from Japan, land of the rising robots. I have been visiting a lot of toy stores lately, not because I am an early Christmas shopper, but as a way to get a better ...

by Ian Bogost November 13, 2003

Play the Nokia Game to, uhm, see an N-Gage game

Advergames

Nokia has launched a game to promote their N-Gage game deck (and Jussi's favorite Nokia product ;) ). Tha game is a snowboarding game (yawn). Nevertheless, it's a fairly surprising promotion: the game is actually the same as the N-Gage deck game, just run inside a VM in your brower ...

by Ian Bogost October 26, 2003

British Airways, Rubgy, and Power Laws

Advergames, Game Design

British Airways is sponsoring the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and they've just launched an advergame to promote thier sponsorship of the event. The game was hard for me at first, but when I realized I'd misread the instructions I was able to make progress. The mechanics are somewhat complex; the ...

by Ian Bogost October 23, 2003

Banner Ad Games

Advergames

Back in July, a Clikz columnist Tessa Wegert wrote about the recent trend of games in pop-up ads. If you can look past the fact that the column is sponsored by adware kingpin Gator (don't call it spyware, or you'll get sued), you'll see that advertisers who create these games ...

by Gonzalo Frasca October 23, 2003

Advergaming tools

Advergames, Game Design

There are several obstacles that have prevented advergaming from reaching its full potential. Most of them deal with every actor understanding that games require a paradigm shift: it is not about product placement anymore but rather about simulating an experience (more on this later). Still, one of the problems that ...

by Ian Bogost October 22, 2003

Mountain Dew, Object Fetishes, and Cannibalism

Advergames, Game Design

I got an email from Joe Varet over at Groove Alliance on their new game for Mountain Dew. It's a skateboarding game; the player skates around an outdoor arena à la Tony Hawk and collects Mountain Dew products to keep his "Mountain Dew Power" meter filled. I'm actually a big ...

by Ian Bogost October 22, 2003

The Light-sensitive GameBoy game

Advergames, Console & PC Games, Game Design

Konami has released Boktai, a GameBoy game with a solar sensor that uses sunlight to alter gameplay. According to the publisher, the game has a solar sensor built into the GBA cartridge. Certain monsters can only be destroyed by harnessing sunlight. According to game reviewer Gene Emery, artificial light isn't ...