Branded Entertainment--Game Addiction

BP Gas Mania Keep your customers happy!

Play this free game now!!

I admit it. I am totally and helplessly addicted to those little casual games you can find on the internet. As long as it's free. As long as it doesn't require massive "twitch skills" and as long as I can get the game concept in five seconds or less, I'm there. I recently fell in love with this little branded entertainment gem from BP. The graphics are fun and cute, the brand graphics are integrated in a delicious way, and the game play has just the right difficulty level and ramp to keep you playing for over an hour. The little song (which stuck in my head for DAYS) did a terrific job of getting the marketing message across in the background without being TOO blatant. And why do I keep playing? Well it's one of those multitasking "get ten things done at once game" where you have to manage to keep an increasing number of customers happy at a faster and faster rate. I am utterly unable to manage this IRL (in real life). However, in the game, I was multitasking like a GENIUS. So there you have it, good brand integration and fantasy fulfilment. What else could you ask for?

The one ID man.

LOL Cats and Baseball Bats and Little Gals Named Ivy

I've been spending a fair amount of time in LOLcats land. Specifically in the world of icanhascheezburger.com I know, I know, I'm really coming pretty late to the party, as LOLcats are hardly new. For the few of you who DON'T know, a LOLcat is a picture (quite often of a cat) that has had a funky, sarcastic, beat poetry-type caption layered over. Usually the caption is in a white sans-serif font. These pictures are kind of fun to look at and sometimes solicit the viewer to LOL. But the truly fascinating thing about the LOLcats phenomenon particularly on the icanhascheezburger site is the unique culture that has evolved around this seemingly simple meme.

First and foremost is the pidgin language of "kitteh speak" grammar and spelling. This language evolved organically around the pictures and includes simple spelling substitutions i.e. kitteh, mah, bukkit. Unique grammatical constructions also evolved such as:
"I can has...?"
"My _____ let me show you it."
"Invisible __________"

And over time, unique plot lines also developed, most famously involving the LOLrus and his missing bukket.

But beyond the pictures, and their funny captions, an entire society has grown up in the comments fields. Including rewards (If you are first in line to comment on a given picture, you are typically rewarded with a song and a beverage) and punishments (If you are first in line to comment and you do not include a witty comment about the picture, but instead say something lame about being first, you are likely to be censured and receive a "low burger rating.) and entire evolving plot lines between the characters.

The Universe has become so rich, that n00bs (newbies) may refer to an entire LOLCats dictionary with over 100 vocabulary entries, just to help them figure their way around.

What is perhaps most interesting about this, is that the vast majority of these transactions are based on TEXT. No pictures. Just people using their imaginations.

Hmmm. And that's exactly what I'm going to ask you to do gentle reader. When it comes to linking baseball bats and little girls named Ivy into my story, I'll ask you to use your imagination...