With online game, museum goes viral

The game menu of the QiGame

The QiGame, designed by Submarine for Tropenmuseum Junior

In the past few months we have been working with the Tropenmuseum Junior (TMJ) in Amsterdam to devise a social strategy for their upcoming exhibition ‘Qi of China‘ (the website is unfortunately in Dutch only). The exhibition is aimed at children in the age of 6-13, and tells the story of China and Chinese culture through active participation. Children can learn how to write calligraphy, try martial arts and join a Chinese chef in the kitchen. An accompanying book further illustrates the riches of China.

A novel part of the exhibition is the existence of an online game. The QiGame is produced by Submarine, an Amsterdam based  cross-media production company. On their website they describe the game as follows:

Together we looked for innovative ways to let children to experience a number of key cultural values in Chinese culture. The stakes were high. And where TMJ turns a museum visit into a complete and immersive experience, Submarine has developed a narrative game concept that offers a new gaming experience. The games are accessible and fun to play as well as innovative in terms of design and gameplay.

“TMJ asked game producer Submarine to translate the main idea behind the museum exhibit to a game experience. QiGAme is an online game that, as you play it, lets you get acquainted with some of the elements that define Chinese culture, such as Chinese characters, the subtle balance of yin and yang in Chinese food, acupuncture, Feng Shui, Kung Fu, the Chinese Dragon, and the concept of ‘Qi’.

Together we looked for innovative ways to let children to experience a number of key cultural values in Chinese culture. And where TMJ turns a museum visit into a complete and immersive experience, Submarine has developed a narrative game concept that offers a new gaming experience. The games are accessible and fun to play as well as innovative in terms of design and gameplay.

The game and exhibition are designed to complement each other. We expect this will have a positive effect on the number of visitors of both projects. The QiGame is an extension of the exhibition at TMJ. Visitors of the show and players of the game build up their Qi by correctly executing a series of Chinese activities.”

The Pearl and the Dragon are the main characters of the QiGame

The Pearl and the Dragon are the two main characters of the QiGame

Non-fiction has been responsible for connecting TMJ and Submarine with Dutch social network Hyves. With more than 8 million profiles, Hyves is the biggest network in the Netherlands. And with Hyves as partner, players of the QiGame will be able to login with their profile and invite their friends to play the game too. Furthermore, children will be able to share their highscore on Hyves, and challenge others to beat their’s. This connectivity feature is expected to generate more attention for the game and engagement with the music, and experiments with the viral possibilities of social networks and online games.

The QiGame will be available online from 9 October. The game will be presented at this year’s Cinekid Festival on 20 October. Read more about the QiGame in Parool of 22 September 2009.