This Gaming Company Takes an Anti-AI Stance in Latest Ad

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In the age of digital scams, a new threat is casting a shadow over the world of online gaming in the form of bots driven by artificial intelligence.

Mobile gaming platform Skillz, which hosts games like Solitaire, Bingo and Dominoes, is pushing back against these AI bots in its latest anti-AI ad, Adweek can exclusively share.

With the goal of promoting fair play, the ad highlights the threat of AI bots disguised as humans, making it difficult for people to win. The company, with $85 million in first half-year revenue, encourages players to switch to gaming apps with real people.

“As we’re starting to fight this war against [AI] bots, this is a good opportunity to inspire culture and raise awareness holistically on what happens when AI is bad,” said Orit Peleg, vp of brand & insights, Skillz.

Bots have been introduced into mobile games to make sure that players always find a suitable opponent. Last year, seven of the 10 most-played mobile games employed bots, according to app-analytics firm Sensor Tower via the Wall Street Journal. Usually, companies display a warning label to indicate interaction with these bots. However, some companies, such as Avia Games, have been accused of disguising their bots as human players, according to Mail Online reports.

“That is fraud,” Peleg said.

While there have been some strides towards AI regulation, rules are yet to be written to regulate AI bots within companies.

Last month, Big Run Studios and Skillz sued Avia Games last month for an “illegal gambling operation” that “steal(s)” money from human players who are pitted against AI bots, without an explicit warning.

Furious players eventually figured out that they scored much lower in games where money was involved, leading them to leave negative reviews on the App Store, per the Mail Online. Currently, over 12,000 people have filed a complaint against mobile games over being deceived by AI bots, with online gamer protection platform 4 Fair Play

Skillz pits one human player against another by matching their skill level. The gaming company hands out nearly $2 million every week to game winners, said Peleg.

“If we are unable to provide a match for a tournament, we return the money to players,” she added. “We would rather lose money than defraud people.”

Meanwhile, companies that employ these bots pocket the profits, she claims.

“The problem with this industry is that there hasn’t been a clear policy or a standard that mandates transparency when companies use AI bots,” said Peleg.

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Candy Crush’s Immersive Ads Bring Puzzles Into the Real World


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King’s Candy Crush—one of the most popular mobile games in the world—brings the match-three puzzles beyond phone screens for its latest campaign.

A series of ads by agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty London depicts what players love about Candy Crush through the use of practical effects, accompanied by bright colors and oversized sweet props.

“These films are all about immersion,” BBH creative director Adam Newby told Adweek. “Combining as many in-camera effects as possible with a fanatical focus on candy texture in post helped us make you feel like you’re in these amazing candy worlds.”

A spot titled “Whoosh” shows beachgoers sitting on the sand and playing the game at sunset before lines of candy propel them into the clouds. Along with the practical lighting and wind effects, it has an acrobat backflip through the sky.

“Spin” portrays a woman playing the game while waiting for her food at a restaurant, only to be flipped upside down as the candy tiles appear on the ceiling and drop down on other patrons.

“Float,” which will be released in November, follows a player using the game to relax in bed and drifting off into a glowing dream realm filled with giant candies.

“The films speak to different reasons people play Candy Crush, and variations on these films will be used to promote in-game seasons,” Newby said. “Beyond driving people to get involved with these events, the films aim to remind lapsed players why they love Candy Crush so much.”

The initial idea and script for the campaign were developed by Candy Crush’s former agency, No Problem, with BBH London handling the final script development, creative execution and production. The agency worked with King’s in-house team to compose audio tracks for each spot that use sounds from the game and fit with the themes.

The campaign will run for the next 12 months.

CREDITS:

Campaign title: Whoosh, Spin & Float
Advertising agency: BBH (Script development, creative execution and production) (No Problem delivered initial script and ideation)
Media agency: OMD
Production company: Blink Ink

King credits

King senior marketing director: Johanna Gerhold
King brand marketing director: Stephanie Hobart
King associate brand director: Amy Kilty
King creative marketing manager: Ellie Stitcher
King associate creative marketing manager: Jake Bogira
Head of audio at King: Dominique Devoucoux
Audio lead at King: Sebastian Aav
Composer at King: Gabriele Griciute

BBH credits                     

CCO: Alex Grieve
Executive creative director: Helen Rhodes
Creative director: Adam Newby
Copywriter: Katy David
Art director: Simran Sidhu
Planners: Rob Meiklejohn and Jess Garlick
Business lead: Tessa Cranfield
Account director: Atalanta Purce
Account manager: Imogen Brooks
Agency film producer: Kurtison Bailey and Diane Chan
Media agency: OMD
Production company: Blink Ink
Director: Joseph Mann
DOP: Carlos Veron
Producer: Jack Bristow
Editor: Ed Cheeseman @ Final Cut
Post-production company: Absolute
Post-production producer: Sally Heath, Sarah Maerz, Maddie Godsill, Megan Shaw
2D lead artist: Harvey David
3D lead artist: Tony Atherton
Colorist: Matt Turner
Sound studio: ENVY
Sound engineer: Richard Martin
Music composer: Gabriele Gricute, Dominique Devoucoux, Sebastian Aav
Music company: King Audio Team
Transcreation and adaption: Hogarth

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Explore How Brands Can Win at Gaming


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Gaming is more widespread than ever, and brands are beginning to take notice. Brands know that in order to take advantage of this market they need to make meaningful connections with their consumers. Adweek’s newest virtual event series, Crack the Code: Winning at Gaming, explores the ways brands are fostering that connection and capitalizing on data to deliver ads and memorable experiences.

You can watch the full slate of content in the gallery below.

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Doom II RPG is what it says on the label, and it’s ready for PC 13 years later

Chainsaw held up by player character
Enlarge / Doom II RPG isn’t exactly like Doom, but you can’t accuse it of lacking chainsaws.
id Software

“Mobile games” were something else entirely in 2005, a time in which Windows Mobile was a viable platform, the only Apple phone was a Motorola ROKR, and none of them had a shot at running Doom, let alone its sequel. That’s why id Software made Doom RPG, the weirdest official Doom game that is also still a bit fun. A group of fans known as GEC.Inc ported that game to modern PCs, and they’ve finally gotten around to its sequel.

Doom II RPG, the iOS version from 2009, is playable the same way Doom RPG was: with an understanding that you, a person in 2023, will somehow have access to the original, potentially still copyrighted assets of the game. The instructions lead you through setting up OpenAL, then loading in an .ipa iOS file (the Internet Archive has a copy). You can use a touchscreen, most modern game controllers, or just your keyboard and mouse. You’ll then get to play a Doom II that’s not quite like what you’re thinking of when you think of Doom II.

How does it play? A bit awkwardly, unless you’re used to the turn-based, grid-moving, RNG-dominated RPGs of earlier eras. With each turn, you can move in one of four directions, attack with a weapon, or perform some other action, like ripping a toilet fixture off the wall for later throwing (if you’re strong enough). If you end up face to face with an imp, there’s not much else to do except trade blows, hoping the random hit/miss mechanics are in your favor or that you have enough health packs or snacks to hold out.

This makes the broader gameplay a risk/reward exercise. Sure, you have the blue keycard now, so you could move forward in the narrative, but there’s a second path you didn’t take—wonder what’s in there? It could be a chainsaw. You definitely want a chainsaw early in this game since it is far more effective up close, and most enemies will end up in your face.

[embedded content]
Demo of Doom II RPG from the GEC.Inc team.

It’s fun to dip into, though, and as a piece of games archaeology, Doom II RPG is more than worthwhile. You can read John Carmack’s blog post about working on Doom RPG. You can see how someone might decode files made specifically for a Sony Ericcson k800 into a modern PC game. You can ponder whether Doom RPG games take place in the same universe as the mainline Doom 1-3 games, as one Wikipedia editor posits. Most of all, you can see what made sense for a mobile Doom game just before the iPhone arrived and changed everything.

An official App Store version of Doom II RPG exists, but it was targeted at iOS 2.0 and hasn’t been updated for current devices in quite some time. Thanks to some clever, dedicated code warriors, yet another Hell-ridden research base has been preserved with all its bloody contents intact. Next up may be Wolfenstein RPG. (A tip of the hat to PC Gamer, where we initially saw this news).

Listing image by id Software

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1937668




Video Games Are More Than a Hobby. But Do You Speak Gamer?


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Many of us might think playing video games is a fun hobby and there’s not much else to it. But many of us couldn’t be more wrong.

Millions of people are tuning in to platforms like Twitch and YouTube to watch people play games and give commentary. These creators are partnering with major brands and companies, proving the strength and growth of the gaming industry. Creative advisory firm and studio Open World helps companies connect with these audiences, who tend to be majority Gen Z.

Open World is defined as the intersection of youth culture, gaming and marketing. Its mission is to help brands create relatable content that is authentic to the Gen Z audiences they are trying to reach.

Open World is part of the larger agency Loaded that works with brands like Adidas, Chipotle and Netflix. Loaded is a gaming management and advisory firm out to evolve the video gaming industry.

In this episode of Young Influentials, Adweek digital editor and host Colin Daniels sits down with vp of strategic partnerships Nadia Tseng to talk about making the switch to the gaming industry from sports, how creators can have a career in gaming, and how Open World is helping brands reach Gen Z audiences.

https://www.adweek.com/agencies/video-games-more-than-hobby-but-do-you-speak-gamer/




Royal Match Players Become Actual Royalty in Dream Games Ad


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Mobile gaming company Dream Games is promoting its free-to-play game Royal Match with a campaign that showcases the “royal treatment” its players receive.

The puzzle game, in which players help King Robert to restore his castle while winning their own rewards, was the first to be released by the publisher in February 2021.

The multimillion-dollar TV campaign was created by House 337 and released Feb. 13 across the U.K. It will run in 30- and 40-second edits for a two-week period with the aim of demonstrating the graphics and gaming experience of Royal Match to new audiences.

The campaign is the first for the publisher from the agency as it aims to drive downloads and add to its player base, which surpassed 6 million within the first three months after launch. It has since gone on to become one of the three highest-grossing mobile games in the U.S.

Richard Hocking, chief marketing officer at Dream Games, explained in a statement: “We wanted to share the premium experience of playing Royal Match and the enjoyment that can be had to a global audience. Working very collaboratively with House 337, we have been able to bring the idea of ‘royal treatment’ to life whilst showing the joy Royal Match brings to players’ everyday lives.” 

The high-production ad transforms players into royals sitting in the castles and palaces as they play along.

Katy Hopkins, creative director at House 337, added: “Wherever you are, whatever you’re up to, you can enjoy a right royal team with a game of Royal Match. This transformative ability is what we worked to bring to life in this new campaign. Featuring gold-plated harps, floating jewels and topiary horses, this film for Dream Games was created with the help of a dream team including Sophia Ray, Partizan, String&Tins and Black Kite.”

CREDITS:

Client: Dream Games 
Chief marketing officer: Richard Hocking 
Brand marketing lead: Amy Beadle
Executive creative director: Jo Moore
Creative director: Katy Hopkins
Creatives: Nick Coates, Gabby Kohli
Planner: Simon Butcher
Account management: Julian Hough, Katherine Thompson, Olivia Conroy, Stephen Rowe
Agency producer: Tracy Macassey
Project director: Louisa Lewis 
Director/ production Co: Sophia Ray, Partizan
Producer: Annabel Ridley
Editor: Sam Allen
Post production: Black Kite
Sound design: String and Tins
DoP: David Foulkes

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How King Is Growing Candy Crush Through Creator Partnerships


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Gaming publisher King, the company behind mobile phenomenon Candy Crush, will build its use of creators, alongside its YouTube and TikTok strategies, as its focus on creating “niche communities” grows.

Speaking at Social Media Week Europe, King’s director of social marketing and creators Roberto Kusabbi outlined the strategy while discussing the success of the 10-year-old game and its recent Candy Cave initiative to support six creators to realize their ideas while promoting the game alongside.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, the Activision Blizzard-owned company has been leaning into creator collaborations, which recently included working with music artist Meghan Trainor who debuted her latest video for the track “Made You Look” exclusively through Candy Crush in October.

According to Business of Apps data, the game had amassed around 255 million users by 2021 and has reached the release of its 8,000th level. Kusabbi explained that for a platform with a community of that size, social media helps it to retain its player base and keep them engaged while it looks to grow over the coming two years and “finding the next generation of Candy.”

He added: “It’s bringing that tone of voice of when the game loads and says ‘take some time to relax.’ I think that can be a big motivation for people and for our social. It’s bringing out that part of the game into the real world and onto digital platforms and then building those experiences into the game as well.”

One of the key things when working with creators is that their channel and their audience is so important to them.

Roberto Kusabbi, King’s director of social marketing and creators

To enrich the social media experience, the game has been testing across a roster of creators for the last three years. That has become “a big channel” for King as a result, starting over three years ago with small tests to see what exposure could be delivered while understanding the attribution in the process.

“We’re a really fun brand to work with if you’re a creator because we’re so inclusive. We are fun, that is what we stand for… our philosophy is to really let the creators create,” Kusabbi claimed.

Creators enter the Candy Cave

In October, the company began its own U.K.-focused Shark Tank/Dragon’s Den-style competition named Candy Cave, hosted by drag superstar Bimini and judged by creators Amelia Dimoldenberg, Munya Chawawa and Chunkz. The show brought six creators’ pitches to life, including a game-inspired edible “Cup Cake” and a Candy Crush Saga-themed musical. The results then ran through the creators’ own channels, promoting the game using its creator fund.

Kussabi explained that the project was the culmination of three years of work and marked its first foray into long-form entertaining content.

“One of the key things when working with creators is that their channel and their audience is so important to them and if you’re a brand, the last thing [you] want to do is put out something that just says ‘download Candy.’ That’s not really how it can work well,” he admitted as the company sought to engage with the next generation of players. “They can see through it when it’s a fudge and we are trying to make something that is standalone entertainment.”

Explaining how the platform decides which creators to work with, Kusabbi said that “it takes time” with “a lot of rigor” invested up front to discover the right people who will help it reach its targeted desired audience and who fits the brand and vice versa.

Ahead of launching Candy Cave, the company worked with creators to discover how it could best use its creator fund to motivate the creation of content that would be watched.

King

“Once we have got that direction then you have to let the process go and that can be quite scary and quite risky. But I think if you do the rigor upfront, then actually that’s kind of where the actual game-changing work can come,” he said before later praising the work of the company’s legal team for their support in agreeing to the partnerships.

Longer term partnerships with creators are also important, he said, in order to make better content once the two parties understand the audience and the essence of the brand.

The explainer video—running at over 12 minutes—is the platform’s most viewed video this year with 7.3 million views on YouTube in a month, while the resulting creator content has been viewed over 25 million times in the space of weeks.

The three-year process started with “a really small spend” as the team built the business case for the creator strategy through the mantra at King—“test, learn, scale and be really agile”—and developed a vision that would work, stated Kusabbi who added that he is “happy” with the decision to date.

Adweek

Success measurement

The company tracks its brand as a measurement of success with an aim of being front-of-mind for players who engage while traveling or when they have time to relax. Situated within the communications team, the aim is to build coverage of its creator partnerships and social media mentions while also utilizing paid media to drive performance.

He explained that internally creators are classed as “a channel” through, for example, the Candy Crush TikTok strategy, which Kusabbi said is “hugely influenced by creators” which allows it “to shortcut pace” in reaching audiences. He advised that partnerships should be “mutually valuable” and that when negotiating the contract with talent, brands should be honest and direct with the creator about the aim, which will help attribution and also “avoid any nasty surprises” when the final content is produced.

This was true of the partnership with Trainor, which helped to reach her fans and bring them into the game to grow its audience.

Of the different social media platforms, Kusabbi explained the brand hasn’t “cracked Twitter” as it endures its post-Musk takeover acquisition; for King, it isn’t a priority platform like YouTube or TikTok are.

He also said that he sees a growth in “niche” communities as it searches for new places to engage with potential players, with decisions driven through data insights—for example having different content strands tested on TikTok to understand where might be best to place its budget, which it is currently in planning for over the coming two years.

“If a content strand isn’t performing, that’s when we’d look to move that somewhere else rather than pull out the platform,” he added about decision making on platform spend.

Meanwhile, there are plans to scale Candy Cave and similar long-format ideas with the aim to “add fun to audience’s lives” while targeting the next generation of players aged between 25-35 years old.

“Creators are definitely an area where we are absolutely going to be focusing a lot more on, for sure,” he stated, underlining the determination to continue this focus in the long-term.

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Why Pick’em Is Key to Blizzard’s Overwatch League Strategy

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Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League (OWL) is back for fifth season, and in an effort to be a hoot among viewers, it’s using a common sports tool to engage with fans.

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Online Casinos Join the Streaming Wars With Branded Live Dealers

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The streaming wars haven’t been limited to streaming services—there’s livestream shopping, live sports, Twitch (just to name a few) and, as it gains regulatory approval in more places across the U.S., online gambling. That’s because more casino apps are hosting live casinos, in which real dealers shuffle cards and spin roulette wheels as remote gamblers watch and place bets.

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Sonic the Hedgehog Teams With Candy Crush to Promote Movie Sequel

With the imminent release of the sequel to surprise hit movie Sonic the Hedgehog, Activision Blizzard’s mobile gaming division King has teamed with the makers of the film to deliver an in-game event through Candy Crush Saga.

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/sonic-the-hedgehog-teams-with-candy-crush-to-promote-sequel/