Author: Scott Novis
What Difference Does a Game Coach Make?
Answer: All the Difference
One of the great things about GameTruck is that when people see the Game Trailer, they instantly get the concept. I frequently hear things like, “How fun!” and “That looks amazing,” or the timeless favorite, “Wow.”
I know the truck is extremely cool, but, that is not what people buy from us. As sweet as that game theater is, at the end of the day, this is not actually what people buy from us. Remember the story about Laser Tag? Before we offered it as a service, people would call, ask for it, and despite being told, “We don’t offer that.” They would book us anyway. Who does that? Who calls a store looking for one thing and then buys something completely different?
As far as the equipment goes they are completely different. A set of laser tag gear looks exactly nothing like a Video Game Trailer. This caused me to ask the question, “What exactly are they buying?”
It’s not what the equipment is, it is what the equipment represents. The equipment is a physical representation of an outcome. They can see equipment. They can visualize it. But what they really want is a party. And not just any party, they want a GameTruck Party.
And let’s be clear, a GameTruck party is a special kind of party. If you only focus on the equipment, you might miss it. People buy GameTruck parties to celebrate. The outcome they want is a great celebration. A celebration is a form of marking a special occasion or important event by engaging in enjoyable social activities.
From my experience, a celebration is a form of recognition. You are acknowledging someone and elevating them into a position of dignity and respect. They feel validated, seen, heard, and most of all valued. A successful celebration is a confirmation of the value we place on the people in our lives, especially our children.
This is supported by one of the oddities of the GameTruck business. Most parties are not ordered by the person playing in the game theater. They are ordered by parents, by office managers, by school administrators. The event is ordered by someone for someone else.
A GameTruck Party is a gift, a gift of recognition, respect, and socialization. It is a transference of emotion, and things don’t transfer emotions, people do.
At the end of the day, the magic of a GameTruck Party is delivered by and from the GameCoach. The person in charge of the event, of managing everything that happens inside (and near and around) the Game Trailer.
When people say, “It’s about the experience.” This is the experience they are talking about. The experience their child has when they are the center of attention of an adult who cares as much about gaming as they do. They are the focus of their friends and family, sitting at the front, choosing the game they want to play and who they want to play with.
The real magic of a GameTruck party is delivered by the amazing men and women who go to great lengths to:
- Make sure the trailer is clean before the party starts
- Put everything away after the party is over
- Make sure the host is comfortable with the selection of available games (we respect the right of parental choice for is and is not appropriate for their guest to play)
- Help the players negotiate who is going to play what games and when
- Translate the players expressions for the parents (concentrating gamers do not look like they are having fun – but they are)
- And most importantly, making sure the VIP – the focal point of the celebration is feeling seen, heard, and valued.
It’s easy to focus on equipment. We see people do it all the time. They get sucked into comparing this thing vs that thing, this feature vs that feature and they lose sight of what they really want to buy. They want to let their child know how much they mean to them. They want to celebrate.
A great Game Coach makes that all seem effortless, automatic, invisible even. Yet we know it’s real and it matters because we see the tips that flow through our system on a regular basis. We also get the calls from distraught parents who, for the sake of $25 went with another company that cancelled on them at the last minute because their “driver got sick”, or “flaked”, or “didn’t show up” or my personal favorite, “the driver is in jail.”
We never call our staff drivers. They are Coaches. A coach works to grow human potential. A coach is focused on helping you play your best. A coach brings specialized knowledge that will make it easier for you to play the way you want to play.
Drivers are focused on things.
A coach is focused on people.
When people ask, “What does a Game Coach do?”
I answer, “The most important work of all. They turn a party into a celebration.”
And that is what every parent is really trying to buy from GameTruck, and that is what everyone in our system works so hard to deliver.
Laser Tag Tag Gets Your Gamer Outside
Laser Tag’s popularity has exploded as people look for ways to celebrate outside
One of the surprises of 2020 for us has been a tremendous demand for Laser Tag. While people are avoiding large venues where they may be mingling with strangers, private parties that meet the CDC guidelines have been extraordinarily popular during COVID. While video games have been popular, this year we have seen unprecedented demand for our laser tag offering.
The reason is simple.
Parents want to get their kids out of the house.
Perhaps it harkens back to a simpler time when we used to play outside. When I was a kid growing up in the 70’s I remember my parents kicking me out of the house and telling me not to come back until dinner time. I even remember one summer when I raced back into the house after dark and my dad asked, “are you done for the night?” Not breaking stride as I ran to the junk drawer, I shouted back over my shoulder, “Nope just getting a flashlight!” My father’s response? “Okay kid.”
We have learned a lot about parenting (and no I never turned my kids loose like that when they were young) — the image of our children playing outside with each other I do not believe will ever go away.
So let’s take a look at what is making Laser Tag so popular.
This is Not Your Father’s Laser Tag
You are probably most familiar with indoor laser tag. With indoor laser tag, black lights and fog create an otherworld atmosphere where groups of players — divided into teams — compete with each other as they navigate a darkened maze. GameTruck Laser Tag is completely different.
For the Record: Laser Tag is not played in the truck!
GameTruck brand Laser Tag is played outside. If you actually look at the most popular first-person shooter (FPS) games today you may notice something in common with them. They are all played in very realistic environments. The days of hazy otherworldly space battles seem to be over, at least in the video game space.
In addition, at a GameTruck Laser Tag event, only your invited guests can participate. The event is private. You may find this shocking, but most people play it in the front or back yard. Like the old-school game of tag for which it’s named, you don’t need as much space as you would think to play.
The Taggers Are Safer Than You Know
I have a secret, but you have to promise not to tell your kids. Laser Tag units are basically TV remote controls dressed up to look like fancy science fiction blasters. They “transmit” infra-red light (basically an LED blinks on and off behind some optics) and “sensors” pick up the light and decode the signal to figure out where it came from, and who gets the credit for the tag.
The biggest risk the taggers pose is their weight. Seriously. This is why we have a strict no running policy. The rugged aircraft-grade aluminum units are light enough for a six-year-old to hold but they can pack a wallop if you get bumped with one.
Laser Tag embraced social distancing before social distancing was a thing. They are more fun to operate over long distances, and most players realize they are at a disadvantage up close because the software inside the tagger limits how fast you can pull the trigger. Strategy, teamwork, and communication are the keys to success in almost every laser tag game.
Gamers Love it
Kids who play video games, especially first-person shooter (FPS) games like Fortnite, tend to understand Laser tag immediately. They are familiar with the concepts and game modes. The chance to play an FPS like game in real life is irresistible. What’s more, the players are able to experiment with different games. They can work as teams, play individually, or recreate popular video game experiences like infection, or dreadnaught. Our coaches are constantly assessing the newest most popular games. They take away the learning curve so players spend more time tagging each other than figuring out rules.
Summer, fall, winter, spring — gamers play laser tag in all seasons. Each change in the season brings a different feel and a different texture to the experience. Dodging behind trash cans in the summer has a completely different vibe than building a snow fort in winter and defending your kingdom.
Parents love it
Finally, the number one reason Laser Tag has become enormously popular this fall — (nearly tripling demand) is because the kids are outside and moving around. Homeschooling, e-learning, and all that time in front of screens have been tough on everyone. What’s more, many of the public spaces we used to attend may be off-limits or closed. Laser Tag lets you create an active world in the privacy of your own back yard.
Parents tell them that the sight of their kids interacting with friends alone makes it worthwhile. Add to that they are burning calories and stretching their arms and legs as they move from hiding spot to hiding spot, and both parents and players have loved GameTruck Laser Tag. Supervised by GameTruck Staff who act as part referee, part coach, and part technical support, parents can sit back and enjoy themselves and their kids having fun. (Note: Some adults are even known to join in the fun!)
True Story
When I started GameTruck I was dead set against Laser Tag. I wanted to focus on being the best video game party company on the planet. You know how stubborn entrepreneurs can be. Yet, customers kept calling and asking for it. When our booking agents told them it was unavailable, parents still booked with GameTruck anyway.
That affected me in two ways. First, I thought, “Who does that!?” How many times do you call up a company looking for one product only to end up buying something completely different? I had mistakenly thought the parents were buying video game parties — the product we sold them. The truth is, they wanted help celebrating their child’s birthday. While they might have preferred laser tag, the parents wanted a successful celebration from a trusted company more than a specific activity. This insight has driven our company for over a decade and I believe it is the key to our long-standing success. What is the saying? 10 million guests can’t be wrong?
The second effect these customers had on me was much more practical and simple. I asked myself, “Why weren’t we selling people things they wanted to buy from us?” In short order, we added laser tag, and as they say, “the rest was history.”
Laser Tag Get’s Them Moving
The bottom line is that at GameTruck we are committed to doing anything we can to help you celebrate your child’s birthday. In full disclosure, depending upon where you live, some, or all of our services may be curtailed or suspended entirely. These are trying times. I think we are all looking forward to getting back to an open, safe, and free country where we can spend time with our friends again.
During this time of solidarity, however, where we are all making sacrifices to help expedite that day — and you happen to live in an area that allows small private gatherings like Laser Tag, you might want to check this out. Thousands of families just like yours have already found it to be a tremendously successful way to get their kids off the screens and outside playing with friends. I’m not just making that up. Our Net Promoter Score (NPS) ranks as an astounding 92. That is higher than Zappos, Amazon, Enterprise Rent-a-car, and many other national brands. It is certainly the highest score of any video game party company. What that means is 9 out of 10 people would recommend a GameTruck laser tag party to their friends.
Don’t believe me? If you have had a friend who has hosted a Laser Tag party, just ask them. You don’t have to take my word for it.
WHAT YOU ARE MISSING (WHEN YOU DON’T PLAY VIDEO GAMES WITH YOUR KIDS)
While we have expanded our stay at home lives to include as many outdoor activities as possible, it is video games that have replaced TV in our house.
We are blessed in my household. We have every kind of gaming system you can imagine. In fact, people often ask me what TV shows I’m watching during COVID and Truthfully answer, “None.” While we have expanded our stay at home lives to include as many outdoor activities as possible, it is video games that have replaced TV in our house.
While I don’t expect anyone else to go to this extreme, I do think it is important to share the tremendous opportunity you might be missing out on if you are not taking a few minutes to sit down and play video games with your kids. I heard from Jane McGonigal that while 8 out of 9 parents will go watch their child play sports.
However, she also shared that fewer than one in nine will sit down and play a video game with them.
This week my daughter invited me to play Portal 2 with her. I jumped at the chance. Not only because I love the game, but because games like Portal 2 give me several opportunities to connect with Rebecca.
First, I want to encourage her to explore a STEM career. She works hard and gets good grades in Science and Math, and she is extremely comfortable with technology. She has helped set her friends up to play video games, and the other day I through an IT (information technology) challenge that normally her brother would handle. She wanted a PS4 in her room (I have spares sadly), but she needed to separate my account from hers and copy the games over. I told her I would be there to help if she needed it.
She did not.
She went through the gyrations every IT manager goes through downloading updates, patches, copying huge files, having it fail, starting over again. It is enough to make you wonder why anyone wants to do that job. And yet, under her own direction she managed to get it all set up with no help (but lots of encouragement) from me. She was motivated to finish playing Persona 5. I leveraged that motivation to help her learn something about herself. She can tackle hard problems.
Playing a game like Portal 2 together, therefore was not only a chance to bond, but a tremendous change to learn something about problem solving. We could have done the same thing playing Minecraft together, but the point is, I sat back and let her take the lead. Playing together is totally different than going for a walk, or a hike, or tossing a ball around. Those are all great, but it’s hard to see how my kids problem solve and exercise critical thinking in the face of difficult challenges.
In Portal 2, you have to solve these fascinating physics puzzles – Snipper Clips on the Nintendo Switch is very similar. Letting her lead the discovery, and solution finding allowed me to see just how much she has grown up. As Rebecca is a teenager, I did not have to do as much emotional coaching as I did when she was younger. However, there were still moments when I became frustrated with the game and I could role model for her healthy behaviors on how to deal with challenges. I watched her use the same techniques I use. She slowed down, focused on her breath, and blead the emotion out of the situation so she could think. We have a saying, “high emotion equals low intelligence.” When you get calm, you can start to find the opportunity in the problem.
She always found a way through the level, and in truth she does a better job of completing games than I do.
After we would complete a “run” we would spend time talking about design. As a parent, my job is not only to enjoy the precious time together (I can still remember when she stopped holding my hand in the parking lot. Life goes by so fast), but to help build a bridge to her future. I have been blessed that by working in the video game industry I see video games completely differently than most people. Together, we could contrast and compare how games like Zelda create a sense of wonder and awe to how Portal 2 manufactures these “aha” moments that make the game so compelling and rewarding.
However, it would not matter if I worked in video games or not, because really all I am doing is connecting my personal professional experience to the “work” we did together in the game. And that’s the job. I have experiences she does not, and I see things that are not yet visible to her. I can use our shared experience to connect what she is doing now in the game, to what she could be doing in the future. When I hit a vein that resonates (like design work), we run with it. If we talk about something that bores her, I move on looking for connections between her interests and my experience where I might be able to help build a bridge to her future.
While not everyone is blessed enough to have every kind of video game system in their house (and multiple ones at that), just about everyone has a phone and there are a myriad of amazing games on phones. Most computers, including Chromebooks have access to awesome games, but if you really want to have an incredible experience try GameTruck @ Home. The contactless event will drop off a suitcase full of Sanitized Nintendo Switches at your house for a half day or a full day rental. The rates are reasonable (check gametruck.com for pricing and availability in your area). With GameTruck @ Home, you can get the whole family in on the fun and try out some amazing games like Mario Kart, Fortnite, RocketLeague, or Smash Bro’s Ultimate.
Regardless of how you do it, I can’t encourage you enough to make the time to sit down and reconnect with your child using video games. In no other domain of human activity do adults completely abandon kids like video games. I believe we can, and should make the effort, to do better. Your kids will want you there, and they will appreciate more than you know that you made the effort to join them in, “their” world. Plus, you just might get the chance to help turn that “waste of time,” into a bridge for their future. Today more than 200 colleges and universities offer tuition assistance for Esports (competitive video gaming) and 47% of Esport competitors major in STEM degrees.
Who knew?
(well I did, which is why I’m sharing it with you!)
Seriously though, it is more than fun. Building connections, especially in the family, has never been more important.