Quest for Oil is the first-ever real-time strategy game about the oil industry. The game was launched by Maersk Group and takes the player on a quest for one of today’s most indispensable resources – oil.
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GAMI N G T H E WAY TO AWARE NE SS
CON N EC TING OIL RE SE RVOIRS A N D TA L E N T P O O L S QUEST FOR OI L BY MAE RS K GROU P
“New times call for new measures, and we want to use the computer game to tell the story of an extremely innovative business, which the entire world depends on, in a new and engaging way”
In June 2013, Maersk opened the door to the virtual world of oil exploration through Quest for Oil, a freely distributed gaming experience. The game emerged as a result of Maersk’s own quest to —CLAUS V. HEMMINGSEN, spread awareness about CEO OF MAERSK DRILLING the oil industry and reach a younger, global talent pool. Drawing on their vast experience from the high-tech extractive industries, Maersk tests the strategic and practical skills of the player, taking him or her on a quest for one of today’s most indispensable resources – oil. Quest for Oil is the world’s first real-time strategy game about the industry and is truly innovative in its ability to combine informational and educational elements in a format that appeals to players’ competitive instincts. It’s also a success story on how alternative channels can be used to solve companies’ strategic communication needs. Quest for Oil was developed by Quartz+Co in cooperation with Serious Games Interactive, an awardwinning, research-based developer of games, simulations and virtual worlds.
Over 40 million people have been reached worldwide
EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF GAMIFICATION
Drillers from Maersk playing Quest for Oil. Watch the video online at quartzco.com
With Quest for Oil, Maersk has tapped into the gamification trend and the potential it holds for creating social engagement. Gamification merges usability and behavioural psychology to appeal to user needs, encouraging collaboration and motivation by associating actions with results. Gaming breaks down a process into manageable tasks, but links them clearly to big-picture evolution. Thus, the game can be used for educational purposes both internally in the organisation and externally.
Quest for Oil has been played in over 182 countries
The number of game plays totals more than 300,000
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Maersk’s revolutionary game also caught the attention of highly esteemed international news outlets such as Sky News, BBC, Fox News, CNN, Forbes, Reuters, in addition to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and the Danish television station TV2. CNN, for example, reported how “The Danish energy firm Maersk Oil has taken a new approach to boosting interest in the industry by launching a computer game that sees players fighting it out to retrieve oil from the ocean floor. Maersk launched the game Quest for Oil to highlight the complexities of oil exploration and also to inspire new recruits”. Forbes also featured the game: “Focused on strategy, the game introduces players to a remote corner of the industrial world accompanied by English-accented narration. Choppers tick away overhead, drilling apparatuses rise above the waves, and oil lies locked beneath geothermal maps of the ocean floor, where only the most skilled can find it”. “Most people take for
granted that we have oil and natural gas and not many people understand what it takes to find and produce it. The world’s need for oil and gas is leading exploration into ever deeper waters and ventures, demanding precision and cutting edge technology. It’s a sophisticated, fascinating industry and Quest for Oil offers everybody a glimpse of what oil and gas exploration is all about today”
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3 (1) CNN reports how Maersk Oil is using gaming to recruit workers. (2) Quest for Oil was also heavily featured in Danish news media. (3) Jakob Thomasen, CEO of Maersk Oil, states to CNBC that he hopes to explain the oil industry to the masses and perhaps bridge a skill shortage gap.
EXTRAS
—JAKOB THOMASEN, CEO OF MAERSK OIL
opposition.quartzco.com /qfo
Watch the trailer, learn about the game’s development and educational use. Download and play Quest for Oil.
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