SAN FRANCISCO—The concept of gamification doesn’t only apply to Fortnite players. The same types of engagement tricks and tactics used in video games are also used to influence consumer behavior. Plus, gamification can help break down complicated topics and help folks stay engaged, including event attendees.
Digital experience studio Red Paper Heart recently produced a one-day immersive experience for Google, taking the complex topic of cybersecurity and turning it into a game and educational experience for attendees at the Bloomberg Technology Summit, which was held June 22 at SVN West in San Francisco.
The 820-square-foot installation was designed to showcase Google Chrome’s enterprise security capabilities. With a playful arcade game experience, event attendees were able to develop a better understanding of how Chrome helps them protect their enterprises against cybersecurity threats.
Players were immersed in a sea of flowing files that they had to protect from cybersecurity threats using a Google Chrome window on a large touch table, while the 20-foot-long LED feature wall acted as a companion piece, displaying scores and reacting to activity in real time. Through collaborative gameplay and touch interaction, users had 30 seconds to neutralize as many threats as they could.
“People at conferences are often overwhelmed by information overload and would simply pass by didactic attempts to educate on cybersecurity,” explained Zander Brimijoin, co-founder and creative director of Red Paper Heart, about why this gamification concept works. “But the prospect of a playable game is much more appealing on your quick conference break.”
He added that various data points were infused into the design of the immersive space as well. The installation also featured a quiz game using Chrome Enterprise security data, which was designed to help educate attendees on the current state of cybersecurity, emphasizing the need to use a secure browser to protect data and critical infrastructure across a business.
Even though there were less than 400 attendees at the event, 600 games were played over the course of one day. TSV Sound & Vision handled the installation’s AV and fabrication, and Ohrenkunst was tasked with sound design, all in collaboration with Bloomberg Media Studios.
Brimijoin explained that the agency incorporates game mechanics into most of its work in order to get people to participate. He added that the team is probably most well known for its Game of Thrones Sword Experience, where fans could swing Arya’s training sword at targets and burst them open to reveal a portrait of themselves in the style of GOT. The installation was presented at SXSW and Comic-Con San Diego in 2015.
Red Paper Heart also created an experience for Clif Bar: a running gamelike interaction designed to elicit responses from marathon runners about the reasons they push themselves to run. Runners could write down their running mantra and watch as the mantras transformed into a forest path they could run through.