No risk, no fun

A request like this doesn't come along every day: Swiss Re wants to realize an idea that is as creative as possible and use this film or media project to make the 150th anniversary of the Swiss reinsurance company known to the public in the most contemporary - or even better, futuristic - way possible. Central condition in the briefing: The creative idea has to bring the topic of risk and "risk management" closer to the youth in Switzerland and worldwide in a playful and entertaining way. A video as funky as possible in the trendy film language of "today's youth" for a 150-year anniversary? - "Yes gladly, but ...", decided the creatives from the film production Boutiq in Erlenbach after their first proposals and searched a bit further.

"If we're going to be allowed to do something innovative, we want to go full throttle and do something big," explained executive producer Philipp Zünd and director Mike Huber. That was two years ago. Since then, various ideas have been drafted and pitched together with the client around the team of Project Manager Fritz Gutbrodt from Swiss Re. In the end, a classic adventure game won out. Says Gutbrodt: "Millions of young people play games like this. This is a language with which we can address the target audience in an attractive, future-oriented way and without false ingratiation." In the soon-to-be-released game, gamers will be able to immerse themselves in a 150-year journey through time that will last more than two hours. Ana is a teenager from Zurich. In search of her ancestors, the daughter of a family of scientists comes across a mysterious machine. This machine can calculate any risk - determine the "risk of incident", as it is called in technical jargon.

In this game entitled "Perils of Man", what is actually part of the everyday job for the specialists at Swiss Re is explained in a didactically sophisticated and entertaining way. "In terms of effort, our game is probably the biggest ever realized in Switzerland," explains Game Director Mike Huber. The second idea that convinced Boutiq was: "We're not launching the adventure game for the computer, but rather designing the game right from the start as an app that can best be played on tablets.

Pioneering role of Boutiq

That was a big challenge technologically. "There are many adventure games. But there are still very few that also work on a tablet in such an elaborate quality," says producer Nathan Ornick. Technically, a few compromises had to be made so that the adventure game could run "without problems" on the tablet, iPad or even smartphone, because Boutiq wanted to realize "Perils of Man" in 3-D, following the latest trend.

"That was a stinking decision, because games in 3-D are only just emerging. In Switzerland, we are taking on a pioneering role with this project," Huber and Zünd are proud to say. "You've never seen anything like it here before." In order for the game to be played on consumer devices without any delays with a 3-D effect, a solution had to be found with a "low poly" image resolution that still looks like a movie with high-resolution images. These are rendered in real time on the tablets or phones. "Such technology has only recently become possible. Boutiq relied on the Unity 3-D game engine for the implementation," reveals Executive Producer Philipp Zünd. As authors of the game, Boutiq called in additional specialists in Los Angeles, such as writer Stephen Beckner or Gene Mocsy, who previously also gained experience as a game designer at Lucas Arts. For the 3D animation, colleagues in Sweden were integrated into the Zurich project.

The adventure game "Perils of Man" extends over 8 chapters in 25 rooms. Involved in the plot are 40 characters. The total film time - or rather "gameplay" here - is 2 to 3 hours. Philipp Zünd and Mike Huber are convinced that Swiss Re is not taking a wrong risk with such a project. "Just recently, we at Boutiq traveled to San Francisco with the entire project team. There, at the GDC, the big game convention, we got confirmation that such interactive 3-D games have a great future as a new form of communication," analyze Zünd and Huber.

The new opportunity for advertising

Interactive games will also play a very much growing role in advertising. "They offer a platform that is very entertaining and is not only accepted but actively sought out by an ever-growing target group." "Perils of Man," as an anniversary gift from Swiss Re, can later be downloaded for free to tablets via popular app stores. After the launch, a first internal "Family Day" is planned in August. You won't find any direct advertising for Swiss Re in the game. All the insurance company needs is the image gain of having taken a completely new approach to communication with this project.

And as a side effect, the clients hope that by playing with the imaginary machine, which can calculate any risk, the young gamers will also gain an understanding in the course of winning that it is worth considering in each case when making important decisions in life: What influence will this decision have on my future? Is the risk worth it?

Andreas Panzeri

Article in PDF format (images)

Ana's time travel: The Story

Ana Eberling comes from a family of famous researchers and inventors. But she does not know their achievements. They have been a well-kept secret for 150 years. But on her 16th birthday, this changes abruptly. Because with a strange gift begins for Ana an adventurous journey of discovery into the past. Suddenly she finds herself in 1879, in a theater ablaze with lights. In 1918, she is adrift in the South China Sea on a cargo ship with a deadly load. In 1893, she is heading for the famous Ferris wheel at the Chicago World Fair in a gigantic zeppelin. Ana can hardly believe it: her ancestors have invented an impressive method of averting danger. But this presents Ana with a tough decision: Is a predictable world without risk a blessing or a curse for humanity?