..Taaantaatarataantaantaaaaa… (ad libidum, it should be a literal representation of the Imperial March, Star Wars style baby!)
Ouu yeah, it’s finally ready to go!
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Trackback..Just came across an interesting article about Harpooned, a game that embedded an anti-whaling message, and that i “studied” when facing my advergaming exam.
It’s an interesting article in game development perspective, lots of inspiring thoughts.
In particular, you can read about the public reaction to the game.
The public response to the game fell into 4 basic categories:
1. People who played the game, got the message and approved. This made up around 90% of the responses.
2. People who were appalled by the blood and didn’t play the game. These were often the most vocal responses, and invariably they were opposed to whaling, but didn’t realise that the game was satirical. These were a very small, but vocal minority.
3. Young males who were attracted to the game because it was violent. Often they didn’t notice or care about the message within the game at first. However this group are internet-savvy. They like to post their impressions online and read other people’s comments. I was delighted to see many in this group who started to engage in serious discussion about whaling, after at first only being attracted to the game because of the blood and gore.
4. Pro-whaling responses from English speaking Japanese people. Usually these were along the lines of “Australians kill kangaroos, so you can’t tell us what we can or can’t kill”, “Whaling is our traditional right” or “If we don’t kill the whales they will eat all our fish”. I have had some very interesting discussions with these people and I’m grateful for those who have taken the time to present their side of the story.
Read more: Link to the article.
Comments rss Trackback..originally thought as an academic project, the production of this game became something different, something real.
The main idea, when i started, was a vague “to study Advergaming“.
..Suddenly I realized that if I wanted to brand a company via a game, I had to have a very deep understanding of the organization i was dealing with, to efficiently identify which values and which messages to communicate via an interactive application.
..This process brought me through a long period of analysis of the history and identity of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the organization chosen as topic of the advergame.
This allowed me to create a campaign motivated by a real issue, pushing me towards the necessity of finding a concrete solution to the problem I chose to face.
What fascinated me about this project was the nature of Advergaming itself.
I consider this marketing strategy to be an often misunderstood and underestimated one, which can reveal itself incredibly powerful, if developed properly..
| Most of you have just heard of these guys on tv news, without paying to much attention.. You know, those gangs of punks, driving inflatable boats at near-miss distance from whaling vessels, holding banners representing “eco-terrorist thoughts”..?
Ok, the guys I worked for (..or better said, worked with) are the evil cousins of them. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-violent no-profit organization, who aims at protecting marine animal wildlife via direct action. In the case of the issue concerning this project, this direct action takes the form of physical obstruction of whaling operations, justified as enforcement of the international commercial whaling ban disregarded by the Japanese government. |
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| Using a loophole in the treaty, in fact, year after year the Japanese whalers carry out whaling operations under the false pretense of being “researching” the cetaceans. Where diplomacy and international pressure fails in enforcing the international moratorium on commercial whaling, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society takes a stand to protect biodiversity, and to face the illegal poachers. | ||
| The player will play the role of an anti-whaling activist, opposing the whaling operations.
Initially she will be asked to document the situation but, keeping faith to the real course of events, when faced by the ineptitude of governments and their games of power and economical interests, the goal of the game will pass progressively from the will to Expose the poachers, to the will of Confronting them. This can be seen both as challenges the player will face, and also with the fading mood of the history, fading towards a more and more dramatic struggle. This progressive deepening of the intensity of the story will essentially provoke emotional immersion in the game, enhancing the possibilities of successfully communicate a message embedded in the story. |
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| ..and this is where the magic happens. Emotional immersion will hopefully ease the chance of having the player embracing the set of values pushed by the game (carefully chosen to communicate a message positive to the brand).
Moreover, interaction with the game will enhance the retention of this message, in a much more powerful way than other more classy forms of advertising. A last attempt to make this application useful for the organization, is the idea of embedding a last playable level unlockable only on the main Sea Shepherd website. This will close the gap between the casual gamer and the organization, in a situation in which the player will suddenly realize that the history she is immersed into is actually real, and that action and information is at one click of distance. |
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Bababa the game was developed in Actionscript 3, putting particular effort in developing a program with a flexible and pondered architecture.
Working alone, I preferred to organize my available time into multiple sprints, with the recurrent production of prototypes widely tested in both quantitative and qualitative manner by relevant representative of my target group. This allowed me to focus on the usability of the game, in the intent of enhancing it’s entertaining potential, improving the chances of both a viral effect and the retention of the message due to the repetition, seen as replay value.
And yeah, i had some kickass good time doing this stuff..! 
..handed in wanting for more!
Comments rss TrackbackA quick video made to represent the experience given by the advergame, if developed a step further..
Comments rss TrackbackOh yes, you read it well.
The scary moment of having to begin to design the graphic user interface is arrived, brought more by deadlines than by motivation..
(yes, i do hate designing stuff SO much)
Nevertheless, here a quick preview of what’s going on behind the scenery.
The levels are ready to be dispatched, those which i chose to develop (just a more polite way to say that i didn’t code the last one yet.. 
)
So, here ye go, some graphic beauties!
edit: ..ah, sorry for the misleading ultra mega spectacular tweet.. just fishing visitors, you know, business.. 
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Ok, here finally the moment in which everything begins to come together getting the form of a game..!
Here follows a script of what’s going to happen in the game, how and most importantly why.
Comments rss TrackbackI’m currently working on the functionality that will allow you to take pictures to the whaling vessels.
This will be one of the first challenges, teaching the player how to navigate the zodiac.
The camera in fact has a very short “range”, and this means that the player will be forced to drive very near to the vessels, dodging icebergs and avoiding to crash against the enemy ship. This requires good control over the throttle, making the player understand the enhanced control over the vehicle if managing the speed appropriately.
The player will have only a limited number of possible shots, in order to make the function more challenging.
When activating the camera a target will appear, indicating the point that the camera is directed to. Getting targeted by a watercannon will influence this function, making it more difficult to aim the right spots.
A new prototype will be posted on Wednesday..!
Comments rss TrackbackOtherwise take your time to keep reading through..
You can finally try the latest prototype, with the following improvements:
I also changed some settings of the gameplay: Now the zodiac will seem to have more inertia. It feels like driving a Camaro in Need For Speed.. It’s a pleasure to send it in drifting
Try the game and comment what you think..! 
Comments rss TrackbackWhat a better way to test a new control mode than during a stealth antiwhaling operation on pitch black Antarctic waters..?
This version has some new stuff: Read the rest of this entry »
Comments rss TrackbackLots of user testers begged for a different control mode.. Well, here you go.. ye pirates!
The new version allows you to drive the zodiac entirely via keyboard, while still permitting you to use the mouse if you want more control over the vehicle.
..and don’t forget the stilish effect of driving with one hand like a real cowboy!
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