Marketing Mayhem is a joint collaboration between the University of Roehampton, ORT France and the UK Higher Education Academy. The scenario is the first of what we hope will be many, designed to help students develop a keen understanding and sensitivity to (often hidden) ethical issues that regularly arise when working in business.
The game uses 3D Animation technology to tell the story of Anna, a marketing manager who has a target to meet. It consists of 5 levels, which evolve within different 3D environments – Anna’s office, a park, a party, and the home office of Matt (the party-giver). The story narrative is related via comic book pages, which appear when the user activates certain clue items – there are a total of 10 comic book pages in the game and users meet the comic book characters as they move around the game.
The user sees things through Anna’s eyes as they walk through the different levels picking up clues, which either cause an incrementing of points or are required to proceed to the next level. After each level the user completes a short multiple choice or fill-in-the-blanks quiz before moving on to the next level. Anna is presented with some difficult choices to make to achieve her business objectives and, based on user choices, she proceeds through the different levels to reach a final conclusion.
On completion of the game the user’s total points are given. All information collected from clues is released after completion of each level for the user to access outside the game. There are a total of 5 possible conclusions in this particular game and the user is allowed to return to complete as many different paths as they choose to see other conclusions and accrue more points.
Learn about business ethics with the business game Marketing Mayhem. Journey with Anna as she tries to get the subcriptions she needs to reach her marketing target.
What will you choose to do to help Anna achieve her objectives?