Unless you've been living under a rock for the last decade or so, then you're probably well aware of just how much of a success the whole genre of escape room games has been over the past twenty years. With teams of players in competition with each other to solve clues and escape from a theme room within a set time, they has become the go-to entertainment event for both teams of individuals and families. Even more so, today we're seeing escape room games being used by businesses, whether to aid recruitment or as a means of team building. One thing is for sure though, and that is that escape room games are constantly reinventing themselves with the aid of new technology and evolving themes.
It was recently revealed that Ford has decided to make use of the escape room concept in the marketing of their new all electric Mustang Mach E1. The idea here is to use the game as a means of controlling various elements about the car in order to create an immersive and interactive experience for the would-be customer.
A recent press release trumpets the fact that they have managed to gamify the Mustang Match E1 user experience within the concept of the escape room game. As you can imagine, almost instantaneously, the whole automotive media industry started singing its praises, what with this being a cutting edge and strong move from one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers. In fact, many media outlets wondered why other vehicle manufacturers haven't yet jumped on the same bandwagon. What’s probably even more interesting is the fact that Ford has a renowned conservative management style. The very idea that they would embrace new technologies and then demonstrate them using the gamification found in escape room games, is probably what boils the minds of media pundits.
That’s Not A Real Mustang
Being a fan of the original 1960s Mustangs we can understand why everyone would want to escape from the new Mustang Mach-E! After all, anyone who knows anything about motorcars would crave after the original real Mustangs. Not even the petrol-driven more modern ecoboost models will cut the mustard. We supposed that the management at Ford saw a good idea to make use of escape room games as a means of encouraging greater interest in their electric car. The funny thing about this marketing is that Ford already produces a car called the Ford Escape. So it would be much better to use escape room games, and certainly more gimmicky, if they placed one within this vehicle. Then people could use an escape room to escape from their Ford Escape!
If we read through the press release it talks about how the game allows “elements of the car to create an interactive experience.” Apparently you're going to be taken on a secret mission as a sort of spy with the idea being to deliver a secret item. When you're sitting in the car, audio prompts for various tasks come over the vehicle’s speaker system. By making use of the hands-free tailgate, the electric seats, the headlights and the air conditioning system, you're able to activate the game and use these as tools to trigger various actions at relevant points throughout the gameplay.
We should point out that outside of the speakers, no other controls will function if the car is in motion. Well that’s a relief! Nevertheless, Ford does mention that you can play the game as you’re actually driving down the street. This seems like an accident waiting to happen. Also, the players can exit the vehicle at any point without necessarily losing the game. The escape room game itself comes as software installed on an iOS device. This interacts with the new Mustang Match E’s Apple Carplay System. Ford actually developed the hardware and software internally.
But Why?
Some cynics might say that playing an escape room game like this, with your all electric Ford Mustang Match E is a great way to pass the time whilst it's charging. Another point is that, with the car already having voice commands, then the game will simply be another voice nagging the driver. “This is a bit of fun that has a serious side, as it shows just what could be possible with the technology we have in cars today,” explained Carsten Starke, technical expert in interior materials & customer experience, Ford Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford of Europe. “Having the ability to create interaction between vehicle and driver could open up new ways to explore other possibilities in the future, like an interactive owner’s manual or even driver coaching.”
As of the time of writing, this escape room game concept for Ford is still a working concept and it hasn't yet been offered to customers. Right now the software comes from the research team at Ford's Emerging Technology and Innovation Group as well as the loT Research Team developing this project. The general idea is to showcase that gaming can lead to customers becoming more familiar with the functionality of the new Ford. Of course, there are many luddites who buy a car solely for their transportation needs. The last thing on their mind is to have a game being played by your own vehicle.
Just because You Can Do It, Doesn’t mean You Should
For any of you Americans reading this, you should keep in mind that the program is being developed by Ford Europe. So there's a very good chance that it will not cross the pond to North America. We're not quite sure how Ford will decide whether this project is successful or not. But nevertheless, we feel that it marks some sort of beginning when it comes to developing the possibility of interaction between a driver and a vehicle. In truth, this sounds like a totally dystopian future. With something like this, there is a sense that Ford is trying to be cool. But it comes off in the same manner as if your dad was trying to be cool by sucking in his belly and wearing a loud Tommy Hilfiger shirt. To that end, it's probably best that escape rooms are left to be played as escape rooms rather than being shoehorned into a vehicle.
