Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Gas Sipping with Ford/Mercury

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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Gas Sipping with Ford/Mercury

by Ian Bogost September 19, 2005

categories: 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 efficiency in the hybrid SUV. Hybrids require slightly different driving styles for maximum energy benefit, and a game seems like the perfect way to demonstrate that process. Here's the description of the gameplay:

Game players win points for "driving" the Mariner Hybrid through a variety of ordinary situations, such as dropping a letter off at the post office or taking a child to school. "Tips" for play tell users they should engage in behavior -- driving at consistent speeds and decelerating smoothly, for example -- that would get them better gas mileage if they were actually operating the vehicle. Between game levels and during game play, the company highlights characteristics of the hybrid technology. When the user accelerates after a stop sign, for example, the game indicates when the vehicle would be running on electric power, and when it would be using gasoline.

~~If anyone can find the game, link to it in the comments and we can discuss it more fully.~~ Update: You can play the game here. Look for the link on the bottom left of the page (thanks Roadwarrior).