Advertising from a Different Perspective
A Q&A with First Person Plural's Alex Delude about the recently announced title HumanLimit, and a different perspective on in-game advertising.
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We recently had an opportunity to touch base with First Person Plural’s Alex Dulude, to discuss their new advertising technology and upcoming sponsor-supported competitive endurance racer, HumanLimit.
Shawn Snider (GamingExcellence): Hi there, and thank you for answering our questions. First off, can you tell us what you do at First Person Plural? What is your role in the development of HumanLimit?
Alex Dulude (First Person Plural): Hi back. My role at FPP is that of chief creative and technology officer. As such, I oversee the creative content and direction of FPP’s projects, as well as the choices behind technologies and their creative implementation. The idea guy. Otherwise known as that “freaky founder with all the toys in his office”.
Shawn: Can you please describe HumanLimit and the Witness Advertising technology?
Alex: Two very different things. HumanLimit is an endurance competition. A challenge sent out to everyone. A test of toughness. It is set in the modern world. I can’t really tell you what it will look like for YOU, you’ll see why in my Witness explanation. HumanLimit is a free game that will be distributed through our advertising partners, and the user will never have to pay a cent. In fact, part of our approach to advertising in game worlds is based on reward. So players will also win hundreds of prizes, all within the game, as well as have the possibility of simply clicking on objects to receive coupons or freebies throughout the competition. Witness is a real-time content management and verification system that commands and controls the throughput of information in networked environments. In a gaming context, Witness serves you a game whose textures, models, content and even “quests” are based on your specific profile. Your age, location, likes and dislikes etc. This is why HumanLimit looks different to each person. Gameplay fitted to you, instead of the other way around. Witness is not limited to gaming applications; however this is a subject for a later interview.
Shawn: From a gamer’s perspective, what makes HumanLimit appealing? Can you describe the gaming experience that we can expect to get out of HumanLimit.
Alex: To begin with, there are different “stages” to HumanLimit, and each will have a slightly different flavour. At first, you will play online, in a series of racing events with a jaw dropping number of possible directions / storylines, again based on your specifics. All these events and challenges will help you accumulate points, which are used to move your vehicle and driver further along. The attitude of the qualification rounds is one of humor, irreverence and wit taking part in a universe made for you. So the more you play, the more the game learns you as well, and generates a world that is more and more rewarding for you. Of course, as you play you will also be winning prizes from the sponsors. Not virtual prizes, but real world goodies that you are ACTUALLY interested in. A certain number of players with the highest scores will then be invited to a live competition, where HumanLimit really becomes the grueling test of will it is designed to be. I don’t want to give any details on the live competitions, as secrecy is an integral part to HumanLimit’s success. You’ll just have to stay tuned.
Shawn: Now, the same question from a marketing and advertising perspective? What makes the Witness technology appealing to advertisers?
Alex: What makes Witness so appealing to sponsors is its ability to dramatically cut costs all while creating a better and more positive dialog with the end-user of their product. I should add at this point that it is critical to draw a line between advertiser/sponsor and consumer/user. An advertiser tries to get the attention of a consumer in an attempt to sell them product. A sponsor supports users of their product in an attempt to advertise to consumers. Since prizes and promotion are an integral part of the HumanLimit experience, we don’t have advertisers, only lots of sponsors. By ensuring that a lipstick ad is never placed before ME (I don’t use it…duh), the sponsor can be assured that they are only paying for placement to an interested audience. Take some of those savings and put them back into the hands of your users. Witness allows a forward escape back to the golden age of television when sponsors rewarded us with programming. The real time placement and verification aspect of Witness is the heart of why sponsors are praising this so heavily right now. The ramifications of what a sponsor can learn about their product and audience is astounding. Witness is a toolbox that will allow a new generation of interaction between producers of stuff and users of stuff. Remember, we all use something, even if our job is making stuff for others.
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