Introduction

In this case study, we will explore the development of an innovative game concept that seeks to enhance leadership engagement and employee trust within a corporate environment. The project aims to create a unique and immersive experience for associates, enabling them to connect with leadership on a personal level while reinforcing company values and culture. This game concept, tentatively named "Detective Rudy Cauz," is designed to be an engaging, educational, and interactive tool that aligns with Walmart's mission and values.

Background

In response to the growing importance of employee engagement and trust in leadership, Walmart sought a creative solution to connect its associates with corporate leadership. The inspiration for this project was drawn from the "digital clones" featured in the 60 Minutes Holocaust Article. These digital clones, representing Holocaust survivors, provided a deeply immersive experience for viewers. The goal was to replicate a similar level of engagement for Walmart associates, enabling them to understand, trust, and connect with their leaders more effectively.

Audience

The target audience for this game is all Walmart associates.

Primary Goals

1. Increase Trust in Leadership: Foster a sense of trust and reliability in leadership among associates.

2. Understanding Leaders: Enable associates to gain a better understanding of their leaders and their roles.

3. Personal Connection: Encourage associates to establish a personal connection with their leaders.

4. Enhance Engagement: Increase overall associate engagement with leadership messaging.

5. Model Leadership Qualities: Showcase leadership qualities and encourage associates to adopt and recognize them in themselves and others.

6. Preserve Leadership Ideas: Archive influential leaders' thoughts and ideas for future generations of associates.

7. Ongoing Communication: Create a continuous channel for leaders to communicate with associates.

8. Promote Walmart Culture: Reinforce Walmart's core values and cultural pillars.

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Leadership Qualities & Walmart Values

The game is designed to align with Walmart's core values and leadership qualities, including authenticity, personability, visibility, approachability, openness, transparency, and honesty. These values will be woven into the gameplay and interactions.

Educational Component

The game incorporates a learning component where associates can examine leaders' responses to tie them into Walmart's integrity pillars and leadership qualities. This helps associates understand and reinforce the company's values and leadership attributes.

Risks

• High PR Risk: Utilizing a chatbot or AI for conversations poses a risk of providing erroneous or problematic answers, which could negatively impact the company's reputation.

• Leader Availability: The availability of leaders for ongoing support and filming is crucial for the success of the project.

  
  

Technology Considerations

• Volumetric Free-View Video: Utilizing advanced technology, such as volumetric free-view video, is an option but may be costly and require support from a video team.

• CGI and Animation: CGI and animation should be used judiciously, considering the serious nature of some topics.

• Traditional Video: While traditional video is a viable option, it may pose challenges in terms of leader availability for ongoing shoots.

  
  

Ideate

Game Concept: Detective Rudy Cauz

Detective Rudy Cauz is an interactive video game designed to engage associates with leadership in a novel and educational manner. The game revolves around investigating issues in a store, improving store performance, and enhancing relationships with associates. Here are some key features:

• Interactive Problem Solving: Players investigate store issues, conduct interviews, and uncover root causes to improve store performance.

• Learning Retention Meter: Associates can track their learning progress and retention throughout the game.

• Relationship Building: Building positive relationships with associates is crucial for unlocking additional quests and improving store performance.

• Fail States: The game includes fail states with cooldown periods, emphasizing the importance of identifying root causes.

• Non-linear Quests: Quests can be tackled in a non-linear fashion, allowing for flexibility and variety in gameplay.

• Side Quests: Object investigation leads to side quests, enhancing the player's engagement and problem-solving skills.

• Cutscenes: Microlearning videos and cutscenes provide additional context and insights into leadership qualities and Walmart values.

Script Development

Working back with our content designers I developed a process to test and iterate on their initial scripts. Mapping out conversations in Twinery gave us the ability to really test and iterate on these complex conversations. It also made it really easy to collaborate with each other, since these types of conversations don't follow a traditional linear model.

Game Development

This was a huge undertaking for one person with only minimal experience with game prototyping. I had to fulfill multiple roles of programmer, modeler, lighting specialist, rigging and motion, and much more.

I was able to get a good start with some character assets that only needed minor adjustments to hair and clothes, and finished them off by modeling and texturing custom Walmart vests for each of them.

After I got them rigged (full body + facial) I started adding animations and working out how to do the lipsyncing for the conversation.

I even experimented with mocap solutions for the speech.

Getting the UI elements the way I wanted them proved a challenge.

Summary

The development of Detective Rudy Cauz presented an exciting opportunity to revolutionize leadership engagement and associate trust at Walmart. By combining innovative technology, immersive storytelling, and educational elements, this game concept has the potential to create a lasting impact on associate development and organizational culture. As the designer and developer of this project, I had a unique opportunity to shape the future of leadership engagement at Walmart.