ASL?

I would never call myself a ‘gamer’. I have owned a Nintendo, and N64, a couple Gameboys and a Playstation, but these were all things I played for a couple months and got bored with. I’m not a very competitive person, but it does frustrate me to lose, so I tend to stay away from video games and such. What I have always been a fan of though is virtual world games.

My first love, and I promise if I could find the CD I would still play it daily, was The Sims. There was nothing more fun to me than creating little virtual family, and building them a ridiculously ginormous house with gaudy furniture, and make them fall in love, yell at each other, throw up, pee on the floor, or have babies. I always found it so cool that you could customize an entire world to be entirely your own. I had all The Sims versions as well – the original, the second one, all the expansion packs (Sims Dating, Sims Vacation and Sims Pets were my favs!) and of course, the best of them all, The Sims 3. As I got older The Sims seemed to grow with me. I could mimic relationships I was having in real life on The Sims, but make them play out better in my virtual world than in real life, or be really lame and create a fake family with a Sim named Ryan Gosling.

Literally the all time best game. Ever. No question.

When the CD was out of my reach, I world have to result to finding my virtual world fill on the Internet. I began with an account on Habbo Hotel, which allowed you to create an avatar, a room with furniture and even pets, and interact online with other users. You had to earn Habbo points in order to buy new furniture, or you could purchase Habbo credits with real life money (I had no money so this was never an option). What appealed to me about Habbo Hotel was that, unlike the Sims, it was online and you could interact with other people who were playing around the world. That was enjoyable for a while, until it became infested with creepos asking an 11 year-old me how old I was, and if I wanted to ‘cyber’ (cringe). 

A/S/L???

Then there was Coke Studios, or known as Coke Music, which was basically the same thing as Habbo Hotel, but a game that was basically used to promote Coca Cola products. It was almost the exact same as Habbo Hotel, but you could create your own music to share with friends, or play at your parties on the site. Like Habbo, you created an avatar that you could customize and dress up, and the ability to create a room with furniture. On this gaming site, users earned decibels by performing their music and receiving thumbs up from other players, by playing games on the website, drinking virtual cokes found in crates, vending machines and refrigerators, and by filling out surveys. The decibels allowed the player to purchase furniture and other nice things to make their virtual rooms more attractive.

Although the site shut down in 2004, I think Coke was genius for using a virtual world to promote their company, brand and products. Coke was able to look at the success of Habbo Hotel, and create an almost identical game that allowed them to push their products, and collect valuable demographic information by rewarding users with the site’s currency. What I think was more appealing about Coke Studios than Habbo Hotel was that Coke Studios appeared to have a purpose. On Habbo Hotel you seemed to be wandering the virtual world aimlessly, talking to randoms, and begging your parents to buy you Habbo credits. On Coke Studios, you were playing games, and creating your own music in order to earn decibels.

Because who wouldn't want a room decked out in all Coca-Cola branded furniture????

I think this was a genius idea, and it is clear that even today companies are taking advantage of games in order to promote their brand. McDonalds has their Monopoly promotion, Tim Hortons has Roll Up the Rim etc. I know that as a child I was enticed by this gaming process, and I know that I was a loyal Coke fan the whole time. There was nothing like sitting in your bedroom at your computer on a beautiful summer day playing Coke Studios, drinking a virtual Coke, with a real glass of Coke by your side (#winning #healthiestkid #childhoodobesity).