At play - Cluedo by flickrgrit

Play with me:engaging withthe new engagement

Aleks KrotoskiFuturesonic08: Future Culture30 April 2008

In the beginning…

compete

break

win

beat

challenge

solve

And then came the internet.And the bloody words changed.

friendship

exploration

governance

community

money is cheap and resources are plentiful

collaborationentertainment

engagement

(break)

Courtesy of Sir Bruce at MMOGChart.com

These virtual worlds are going somewhere…

A New Media roadmap

Playing with the web

Games are sooooooo engaging• Hours of eyeballs. Sticky sticky sticky.• They suck people into the world so much that people

will pay LOADS of money for things you never actually thought a normal, mentally stable person would pay for

How do they do it?

• Dangling carrots: they make you care• Immersion and presence: they make you feel part of it• Gamer trust: you share things• Social flocking: you follow

Games.

What are they?Goal-orientedTeamworkPlayful

How do they engage?A job well donePeer pressureMutual experience

Social networks.

What are they?PlaygroundsPresence toolsSelf-expression

How do they engage?PopularityPresenceIdentity

Virtual worlds.

What are they?Community-orientedCollaborativePlayful

How do they engage?Peer pressureMutual experienceSkill development

Three areas of digital engagement

How do they make money?

Games.

SubscriptionAdvertisingIn-world exchange

Social networks.

Advertising

Virtual worlds.

SubscriptionAdvertisingIn-world exchange

:) = $

Converge me, baby

Data capture crackdown

So much data…• Behavioural data• Activity data• Data businesses want

Let’s play nice

Aleks Krotoski

Aleks@toastkid.comblogs.guardian.co.uk/gamesguardian.co.uk/technology