I love you like a fat lady loves apples
Some years back, games on websites – including most definitely corporate websites – were a big deal.
We web developers argued that they attracted big crowds (traffic, viral, etc) and retained this traffic (stickiness). The game on the same page as the corporate logo also lent street cred to the website and brand; kids playing dodge-ball on the Westpac website or snakes and ladders in the Westfield website ‘kidz zone’?
Yes please said the hip CEO and marketing team!
As the web has grown and matured and changed however, so too has the concept of games on websites; except for websites that should have games on them like game websites and a few ‘cool’ retail brand websites.
We just don’t see games on websites anymore.
Maybe I am a game guy after all?
Perhaps it is because I am not much of a game player that this game - I love you like a fat lady loves apples - resonated so strongly (unfortunately, it needs Flash so desktops only):
It got me playing and playing.
The animation, the quirkiness, the music, the whole hideous thing.
It had a beauty and charm to it that is hard to put your finger on and certainly, the execution is superb.
I’m told that at a certain point (30 minutes), she can move onto bananas and do other tricks.
And the game isn't all that new either; a year old or so.
Which brings me to this blog.
When it comes to websites and digital marketing, ‘Content Marketing’ is all the rage (read Point 10 in this blog I wrote six months ago as some background):
- It is now a mandatory for SEO – Google rewards rich, unique content and penalises junk.
- It keeps people on website longer and allows them to better engage with a website and a brand and its message.
- It improves conversion.
We’re investing in much better imagery, much better information design, interaction and functionality that drives and impacts our content; video, animations, clever-scrolling pages.
If the game I’ve just been playing - hiding in the corner of the office for 15 minutes – is anything to go by, games are and should very much be part of this mix. Not necessarily complex, multi-level games, though interaction that rewards and entertains.
The website holding the game I played doesn’t have a logo, though from what I can ascertain, it was an anniversary present.
Based on comments in Reddit and likes in Facebook, many more than one person has loved the game.
C’mon, get kool again and start thinking about ‘real’ gamification on your website. The rewards could be substantial.
