HEAD BLOG

Smash Authority with THQ

Take a look at the latest Head First project – Red Faction Guerrilla and let us know what you think? Does it make you excited about the game? It’s certainly iconic and acts as a call to action – not just to smash authority but to grab the demo, and this, for me, is what’s really interesting.

It may sound strange, coming from an agency which prides itself on having created high octane imagery for video games over the past ten years but advertising and design isn’t just about the creative. You only have to walk into your local video game store to realise there are a LOT of games just shouting at you with their bright colours, moody tones or intricately detailed narrative illustrations. How do you make a choice in a crowded room? Do you head for the prettiest or do you go in forearmed with knowledge? And what if you are a parent who knows that little Joe has a PlayStation 3 but frankly doesn’t have a clue beyond that?

Marketing, good marketing, should inform the consumer regarding two primary things: 1) the nature of the game and 2) a reason to pick and play. Most games will do the former to varying degrees of success but as for the second… well how do I know Call of Duty is a better game than Medal of Honour?

And so, back to Red Faction. You’ll have noticed that it gives some space, some juicy space in fact, over to the message “download the demo now”. That’s a call to action worth printing. It’s telling us to try it for ourselves. And as we are, increasingly, connected we do want this try before you buy approach. Research may differ on whether it’s better to offer a one level experience or a hands off trailer but the fact remains that people are more willing to shell out £40+ for a game once they’ve had some taste of it. Guiding your consumers to this taste using every form of media available can only be a good thing.

Of course this doesn’t generally target our non-gaming parent and so doesn’t aid their informed choice but I think I’ll save that doozy for another day