We were floored when we found out that our most famous Go Game alum and Gamification Guru, Jane McGonigal was going to be delivering the Keynote for TechEd! SAP is looking seriously at how game mechanics can be integrated into work, and who better to describe its virtues than Jane? And who better to build a game, and give attendees a hands-on tutorial in all things game-y than The Go Game? We’ve followed Jane’s career arc with great interest and enthusiasm over the years. She’s been a great flag-bearer for our industry and we like to think that we played a small part in her development as a game designer! It was so timely to have her encourage all the attendees to play Knowledge Quest the night before it kicked off. We’d spent the previous 2 months building a robust game engine that would host up to 5000 players at any given moment.
The design of the game was a slight departure for us. We included some of our fun scavenger-style and creative missions (wouldn’t really be a Go Game without them), but they took a backseat to the SAP-centric, content-driven challenges that made up a large part of the game. The attendees (few of whom knew one another) were there to learn about what’s new at SAP - and it’s a packed 3 days. We literally saw dudes with their heads on fire.
Nothing gets people more psyched than Game of Thrones-inspired Quests, Battles, and Skills. It is known. Teams protected dragon eggs, rode with the Dothrakis, challenged other teams to duels, and fought on behalf of their House and sigil. Interactions with actors dressed as Westeros characters and city-specific challenges helped players immerse themselves in the storyline. We knew players would want to tap into their arsenal of trivia knowledge so we put them to the test. Fans rose to meet our challenges, including re-enacting famous scenes using their fingers or re-writing the theme song with kazoos and beatboxing. In short, people had a rippin’ good time.
