In November of 2009, RealArcade was folded into GameHouse to make one of the largest casual games websites in the world. I put together a team of writers, designers and coders to build the user experience that would lead 97% of RealArcade members to voluntarily move their accounts to GameHouse.
One of several teaser ads that led to the RealArcade/GameHouse merger announcement.
Another of the RealArcade/GameHouse teaser ads.
The ad that began running on November 3rd, 2009, when RealArcade and GameHouse became GameHouse.
After merging the two websites, I brought together a team of marketers and creatives to develop the GameHouse brand. Once established, I wrote a rally cry for the brand. This was designed as a call to action for GameHouse employees. It was written to give them purpose. This call to action is why GameHouse employees would wake up every morning. I was subsequently promoted to Brand Manager.
The GameHouse Rally Cry:
The alarm clock tells you when you have to wake up, but don’t get too excited about that shower. It hasn’t been the same since you had to put the restrictor in to save water. You can’t eat eggs – too much cholesterol. That cereal? Too much sugar. Careful when throwing things away – the banana peel goes in compost, but the plastic goes in recycling. That Styrofoam, unfortunately… THAT goes in the garbage.
No matter. Gotta get the kids off to school. Gotta get to work on time. But don’t drive too fast. There’s a speed limit, you know. And there are cameras all over making sure you don’t exceed it. You get to work, and lunch time is coming… but not for you. You’d love to go out for a burger, but it’s your only chance to exercise – and you have to exercise because obesity will kill you.
Society is full of people that don’t think we can take care of ourselves, and they’re making rules – lot of rules. And the rules follow us around everywhere we go. At home, at work, in the streets. It’s constant. You can only take so much before you wonder, “When do I make the rules? Who’s life is this, anyway?”
At GameHouse, we’re working to give you back some control over your life. We’re giving you choice. It’s your time when you say it is, and when you’re here, you can do what you want, the way you want to do it. Under the GameHouse roof, you can come and go as you please, and play the way you want.
GameHouse is your happy place. It’s a safe haven where no one expects anything of you. It’s your time to play… and play the way you want. You want to own the game, and play on your schedule? You can. You’d rather have unlimited access to our entire catalog? You can do that, too. Sure, our games work on a PC. Just got a Mac? No problem. We have a catalog of quality games for that (and the iPhone, too… not to mention other smart phones). Want to socialize and play with others? Play our community games.
You come to GameHouse for many reasons. Maybe you want to escape. Relax. Maybe you want to exercise the mind a bit. Or, you’re just looking to make a friend with someone with the same taste in games. We house only quality games that will take you away, exercise your brain and even just kill a little time. Whatever you’re hoping to find – it’s up to you. We won’t tell you what to do. In fact, we’re hoping you’ll tell us what to do. All lines of communication are open, and we want to know what you want. Talk to us in our forums, our game reviews – offsite on Facebook. We even publish our phone number right on the site so you can call us directly.
We know you’re obsessed with your number one priority – you. Well, you could say GameHouse is a bit obsessed, too... with games. We play games at home. We play them at work. Heck, we play them on the bus on the way to work. We build games for a living. We’ve played good and bad games, but we’ve put only the great ones on our website. You should spend more time playing games, not searching for a decent one. You can try all of the games for 60 minutes before deciding if you’d like to play.
So tomorrow, you’ll wake up and do it all over again. You’ll follow the rules as best you can (and skirt a few here and there). You’ll go along to get along. But to those who find their escape… find themselves, in games, you can rest easy tonight knowing there’s a safe haven. There’s a happy place. A place where you can play on your terms. A place where choice and freedom reign. A place called GameHouse.