Gamified Public Transportation Experience

12 September 2024

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Event Gamification was approached by a public transport company to develop a unique solution that would increase awareness and use of their metro system. Despite its comfort, ease of use and beautiful design, the metro was not yet the preferred choice of many travellers. The challenge: to create an engaging experience that would increase both the use of the metro and visitor numbers in the shops in the metro stations.

Understanding the challenge

During discussions with the client, we arrived at two main goals:

  1. Increase interest in the metro system and encourage its use.
  2. Increase customer engagement and visitor numbers at shops within metro stations.

We needed to design an experience that would be entertaining, interactive and appealing to a wide audience, while highlighting the unique features of the metro system.

Our solution: an immersive Escape Experience

Event Gamification proposed an innovative solution: a location-based escape game that turns the metro into an interactive journey of discovery. This immersive game guides users through various metro stations, discovering clues and completing tasks as they explore the system.

Belangrijkste kenmerken van de Experience:

  • Location-based gameplay: Players can start the Experience at any station and pause at any time, offering flexibility to explore both the metro and its surroundings.
  • Challenging tasks: Players interact with the architecture, art and station features by completing tasks such as photographing or filming key elements to unlock clues and progress through the Experience.
  • Social interaction and promotion: The Experience encourages sharing on social media by integrating challenges that players can post, increasing the metro’s visibility through user-generated content.
  • Incentives and rewards: Players earn badges by completing tasks at various stations, with in-game rewards such as special offers from shops in the stations providing extra motivation.

Creating a dynamic, layered experience

The Experience is designed to appeal to different types of players. Whether someone chooses to complete the Experience in one day or spread over several visits, the experience offers layered challenges that get progressively more difficult, keeping players engaged.

We also included several creative elements:

  • Sound effects for immersion: Familiar underground sounds (such as announcements and the opening of doors) are used as progress signals in the Experience.
  • Exclusive in-game deals: Special deals from shops in the stations are integrated into the Experience without it feeling commercial.
  • Dynamic gameplay: Players are guided to progress even if they give wrong answers, so everyone can enjoy and complete the experience.

Future adaptation and expansion

For future updates, we have suggested several ways to expand the capabilities of the Experience:

  • Custom branding and creative design: The Experience can reflect the unique architectural style of the metro system and stations, creating a cohesive visual experience.
  • Special events: The Experience can be tailored to live events such as exclusive dinners or concerts in stations to attract even more attention.
  • Collecting player insights: With the right legal controls in place, the Experience can collect user data for future engagement and retargeting campaigns.

Conclusion

This project shows how Event Gamification develops customised, location-based Experiences that both entertain and support strategic objectives. Our gamified experience transformed the metro into an engaging and interactive environment, raising awareness and creating a deeper connection between users and the metro system.

Event Gamification continues to work with clients to create innovative experiences that encourage exploration, build communities and foster long-term engagement.