We sold a game idea into Monsanto for the Refuge-in-the-Bag (RIB) technology. Let me explain:

 

The term “refuge” in farming is the term used for a section of a farmer’s land that has to be seeded with non-GMO product. It is federally mandated that farmers must do this. The company producing the GMO seed is required to tell the farmer what percentage of non-GMO seed needs to be planted in respect to their particular GMO product. The reason for this is to rid the chance of the bugs that the GMO product is targeting from becoming immune over time to the technology. This mandate is not favorable nor convenient for the farmer. Monsanto created a product that has a mix of GMO seed and non-GMO seed at the correct percentage, thus making it a one-product solution to the farmer. The farmer doesn't need to buy separate non-GMO seed and everybody’s happy. To create fun, excitement and learning around this product, we created a pseudo- “Guitar Hero” game to help customers understand the product and create word-of-mouth, which is the best form of advertising among growers.

 

As the tractor lays down the seed, the player has to click the corresponding button to that seed, be it GMO (traited) or non-GMO (refuge). As the levels progress, the seed-dropping gets faster and the player must have quick reflexes.

 

The game was an absolute hit on the web and at the annual FARM PROGRESS SHOW, which is is ridiculously large trade show for growers. I was there at the show, and it was fun to see customers actually come back to the tent to check to see if they were still on the leaderboard.