Game On! What Video Games Can Teach Us About Succeeding in Business

Icon. E3. Warcraft. If you don’t recognise at least one of the above terms, you’re likely not one of the 69% of adults that are regular gamers. But you should, because games are everywhere and can teach you some valuable lessons about digital success.

It’s been calculated that World of Warcraft players have spent a collective 5.9 million years playing since its launch in 2004 – how’s that for a digital experience that builds brand loyalty? The just-ended E3 Electronic Gaming Expo was able to attract 70 000 visitors, over two-thirds of the attendance of the Mobile World Congress. And Angry Birds is a sublime example of brand partnership in action.

It’s clear that gaming is not restricted to the home or the arcade anymore. With consumers going digital at record speeds, there’s no better place from which to take inspiration than the realm of gaming. And I’m not just talking about slapping a few isolated gaming mechanics on an app and calling it a day.

If we take a closer look at gaming, beyond the eye-popping graphics and amazing 3D environments, we see many examples of digital mastery at work. The conceptual frameworks and gameplay elements of today’s top games inherently require that players learn quickly to manage limited resources, respond to stressful situations and problem solve in real-time, factors to keep in mind for any company looking to survive the digital economy.

Here are just a few things that businesses can stand to learn from gaming:

Press ‘A’ to transform learning

Ever noticed how easy it is to pick up a game? Educational specialists have known for years that games appeal to the natural way that humans learn best – through engagement, interaction, repetition and reward. Digital transformation has a high learning curve, so why not use the same ‘immersive tutorial’ model to accelerate change within organisations and society?

Taking this even further are the limitless possibilities of relatively new technologies like VR and Augmented Reality, further improving learning and skills development in lifelike simulations. Consider the possible applications of this technology in South Africa, where skills are scarce and teachers are under-resourced. Even the most far-flung and understaffed schools could plug their learners into world class educational simulations, all with a single VR headset.

Forget graphics, it’s the story that counts

We’re all suckers for a good story and few know that better than game creators. I’m not just talking about the in-game plot either, but the narrative that publishers create over their major releases. Most decisions around game purchases are made long before the game even hits the shelves.

Consider the latest instalment in the Uncharted series launched earlier this year. The marketing, akin to a blockbuster movie release, was merciless, focused and took place across multiple channels. The game’s marketing team used the emotive aspects of the game – the final adventure of the main character, Nathan Drake – as the main selling point. It worked. Uncharted 4 broke sales records.

Uncharted 4 Trailer

This laser focus on the evaluation stage of the digital journey can also be woven into product launches. Consider a strong, consistent focus on the progress achieved since the last product, rather than the nuts and bolts of the next. Inviting consumers to join a company on their quest to innovate and perfect the product that their customers buy, effectively creates a customer for life.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

While game marketers are busy creating hype, the final product itself must live up to these lofty expectations. This is why, during this evaluation stage, developers are busy undergoing rigorous testing, re-testing and debugging, based on consumers’ behaviours, desires and expectations.

Video game design is a naturally iterative process. Developers are given the space to experiment and fail, tweaking their product according to play-testing, until they develop a product that is able to hit the ground running with an excellent user-experience and minimal issues.

This same approach is critical for digital businesses that want to both capture and meet high customer expectations. Make sure you put in the back-end work so the final experience lives up to the front-end promises.

This doesn’t mean it necessarily has to be perfect – no first-to-market experience is completely free of bugs, and some ongoing ‘patching’ will always be necessary. But a launch can make or break a product, which is why iterative design is so important in advance.

Have you experimented with ‘next-level’ gamification in your business? Do you see a space for serious games in your industry?