Interest is growing in gamification, the use of game techniques and mechanics to engage and motivate. Future predictions suggest that this interest will continue to grow especially in the use of games to change individual behavior. The challenge lies in creating a campaign that is engaging and personally relevant so audiences will voluntarily spend time with it. Humans have been playing games in various forms since the days of the caveman, and competition is deeply ingrained in the human psyche. Fast forward to the modern era with the significant free time that people have today, and gaming has become a hugely popular and tremendously profitable industry. With this wide acceptance of gaming and the emergence of the technology available through the internet, smart phones, and tablets people have become more open to game mechanics in other parts of their lives. Frequent flyer programs, Starbucks, and Nike+ iPod are just some examples of how people around the world are accruing points, leveling up, and earning rewards. As a result, gamification is becoming a powerful tool through which organizations teach, persuade, and motivate people.

1. Marchant, Stephanie
IMC 619 Week 5
Page 1
Interest is growing in gamification, the use of game techniques and mechanics to
engage and motivate. Future predictions suggest that this interest will continue to grow
especially in the use of games to change individual behavior. The challenge lies in
creating a campaign that is engaging and personally relevant so audiences will
voluntarily spend time with it.
Humans have been playing games in various forms since the days of the
caveman, and competition is deeply ingrained in the human psyche. Fast forward to the
modern era with the significant free time that people have today, and gaming has
become a hugely popular and tremendously profitable industry. With this wide
acceptance of gaming and the emergence of the technology available through the
internet, smart phones, and tablets people have become more open to game mechanics
in other parts of their lives. Frequent flyer programs, Starbucks, and Nike+ iPod are just
some examples of how people around the world are accruing points, leveling up, and
earning rewards. As a result, gamification is becoming a powerful tool through which
organizations teach, persuade, and motivate people. (Camaret, 2013)
Looking past the hype, what gamification does is appeal to people’s natural
desires for autonomy, self-expression, achievement, status, social connections and
even altruism.
The starting point for gamifying a campaign, service or product is consumer
insight. What emotional needs are the customers getting out of it? Are they socializing
with the product, feeling secure about their future, using it to achieve a personal goal?
Present an activity or challenge that expresses that, give great feedback and
encouragement, make it easy for customers to share their progress, and make it
progress gradually so it doesn’t get boring. (Clicklabs, 2013)
Gamification doesn’t mean creating a video game or requiring a new budget;
instead, its principles can amplify what is already being done. Because it amplifies what
is already valued, the result is an increase in conversion and retention rates. And,
sometimes, gamification can be used to prepare for the inevitable.
Swarms of zombies are reported to have entered a Kiwi home, leaving a trail of
dangerous hazards for humans in their wake!
The Zombie Apocalypse has come to your neighborhood! Defend your
home and keep your family safe using home-made defenses and traps.
Improvise ways to take down zombies using household hazards and keep
your family out of danger. Solve puzzles to create traps and find the cure
for the zombie plague. (InGame, 2013)
Thankfully these zombies aren’t real – they’re characters in ‘Safe House’, a free
video game, developed by InGame and supported by New Zealand’s government-
owned Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). (Accident Compensation
Corporation, 2013) Safe House is a twist on zombie survival games, but players don’t
have any guns or traditional weapons, so they must figure out how to use everyday
household objects against the invading zombies. The game is also full of little surprises
for experienced game players to discover.

2. Marchant, Stephanie
IMC 619 Week 5
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Features include:
 Five houses to defend from simple home to mansion
 Use household items as traps
 Craft special weapons and traps to evict zombies
 Play as either Mother, Father, Son or Daughter
 Complete bonus quests for cash
The project was launched as a public service announcement of sorts. The
game’s ultimate purpose is behavior change and injury prevention. Safe House is a
‘serious game’ that shows people of all ages the consequences of hazards and falls
around the home in an engaging way. It’s both a fun game and educational.
Safe House was one of the winning ideas proposed during ACC’s 2012 Idea
Nation competition to find innovative ways to reduce falls around the home. Every year
over 10,000 New Zealanders have a week or more off work because of a fall around the
house, and falls cost the economy over $1.8 billion dollars a year. Safe House is
available for iPhones, iPads, Android phones, Android tablets, and on the website:
http://www.safehouse.co.nz/about/. (InGame Limited, 2013)
The Safe House game was an attempt to explore innovative ways to encourage
people to take more care. Research shows that games don’t just communicate
messages, they make people experience those messages. This is a key difference that
sets them apart from other types of communication. The growing popularity of video
games means they provide ACC with a potentially powerful medium for communicating
injury prevention messages.
Figure 1 Screenshot from Safe House

3. Marchant, Stephanie
IMC 619 Week 5
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With Safe House, ACC and InGame are targeting people in the 20-40 year-old
age bracket, because contrary to popular belief, it’s not just older people and the very
young who get injured at home. Research shows the average age of New Zealand
game players is 33 years old. Of course, Safe House is first and foremost a game, and
InGame Director Stephen Knightly says it’s been designed to be both exciting and
challenging to play. (Accident Compensation Corporation, 2013)
Safe House is an example of gamification done well, with a high level of
entertainment value, from which a positive association with the message is delivered.
This medium can be a powerful venue if game play is intertwined deeply with the
message, in this case, preventing home injuries under the guise of a zombie
apocalypse. Rather than license a run-of-the-mill game, customized advergames that
integrate features, functions or competitive advantages of a service into the game are
more engaging. (inGame, 2013)
The best marketing methods are those that directly involve the audience. And
the involvement should be enjoyable – not a forced annoyance like clicking incessantly
to get rid of pop-ups. Through gamification, organizations can engage users,
encourage them to join a community, drive active participation, share with friends
outside the community, and even recruit friends to join the community. Gamification
enables an organization to turn participants into fans, and fans into evangelists.

4. Marchant, Stephanie
IMC 619 Week 5
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References
Accident Compensation Corporation. (2013, November 23). Accident Compensation
Corporation. Retrieved from Accident Compensation Corporation:
http://www.acc.co.nz/
Accident Compensation Corporation. (2013, November 4). Zombies trash Kiwi home...
clean-up now underway. Retrieved from Accident Compensation Corporation:
http://www.acc.co.nz/news/WPC119664
Camaret, V. (2013, September 4). Advergaming: The New Advertisers Toy? Retrieved
from Digi-Vibes: http://digi-vibes.com/advergaming-new-advertisers-toy/
Chang, R. (2008, October 16). 'Advergames' a Smart Move, If Done well. Retrieved
from AdAge: http://adage.com/article/madisonvine-case-study/advergames-a-
smart-move-blockdot/131786/
Clicklabs. (2013, November 23). Branded Games. Retrieved from Clicklabs: http://click-
labs.com/mobile-gaming/branded-games/
InGame. (2013, November 23). Safe House. Retrieved from iTunes Preview:
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/safe-house/id670822307
inGame. (2013, February 27). Want Engagement? Try some Gamification. Retrieved
from inGame: http://www.ingame.co.nz/2013/want-engagement-try-some-
gamification/
InGame Limited. (2013, November 23). About Safehouse. Retrieved from Safehouse:
http://www.safehouse.co.nz/about/