Building engagement through gaming

Gamification has emerged as an unconventional yet effective way for organizations to motivate and engage their people. Read on to discover how Pixel Alliance, a Mantu brand, developed a murder mystery game to boost team spirit and engagement through a crisis.

Energizing teams through gaming

The global gaming market was estimated to have generated $196.8 billion in 2022, with 3.2 billion people playing video games worldwide. Today, businesses are truly starting to catch on to the power of this market, with brands advertising on gaming platforms like Twitch, while others are investing in virtual real estate for the ultimate game experience – the metaverse.

While the gaming industry is rife with corporate marketing opportunities, it also has a lot to offer people placed at the core of organizations, as team video gaming can strengthen companies’ internal relationships.

In fact, a study by the National Center for Biological Information found that playing video games in the workplace was an effective team-building strategy, leading to high levels of engagement among workers. As increasing employee engagement has become a priority for many organizations in the post-pandemic workplace, this finding is incredibly relevant.

Why is team engagement important? Well, a lack of engagement at work has been linked to high turnover rates, a decrease in productivity, and an increase in error-making.

Recent studies have indicated that pro-social video games can also increase players’ levels of empathy. This emotional intelligence skill can have a profoundly positive effect on the way people communicate across all relationships and settings. Indeed, a workplace with empathetic communicators is key for a healthy and positive work culture.

But how can organizations roll out team video gaming experiences?

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the pivot towards working from home, one of the largest banks in Europe saw gaming as a way to re-engage their workers. It was a priority for the bank to transfer the fun dynamic atmosphere found at their business offices to their people’s homes, through an unexpected and fun team-bonding experience. They thus hired an events company to create a customized game for the bank’s talent community.

The events company created a three-level murder mystery game. The game began by placing users at the gates of a Gothic mansion: players were asked to solve a riddle (answer found in the game announcement invitation) to unlock the gate to launch the game in earnest.

Upon entry they discovered a murder had taken place. Players then had to watch videos hidden around the mansion to uncover clues that would help them advance in the game.

The bank’s talent community played the game for three weeks in total. Additional levels were unlocked in the second and third weeks, giving players new clues to help them progress in the game. These clues would eventually lead them to uncovering the murderer.

Each level of the game was timed, and players competed to find the answers to clues as quickly as possible. Although users entered the game individually, they were also divided into teams: the team whose players completed the game in the shortest span of time were the real winners of the game. To succeed, players needed to assimilate information quickly, think strategically, and problem solve.

To ensure the game turned out as spectacularly as possible, the events company collaborated with Pixel Alliance to develop the actual game experience. The Mantu brand provided their technical expertise to bring the game to life. 

Companies are not expected to have the capacity or expertise in-house to leverage the new opportunities gaming experiences can bring to them. If organizations are interested in creating customized game experiences to drive engagement and team collaboration, working with digital and game experts is an easy way to see results quickly. Team video gaming may just be the right approach for increasing team performance for many organizations.