Gokko Land", a "door to society" for children

(We spoke to...)
Kids Star Inc.　representative director (i.e. someone chosen by the board of directors from among the directors to actually represent the company)
Mr. Masahiro Hirata

The clue was a "work game" that my own children were crazy about.

Editorial: Can you give us a quick overview of "Gokko Land"?

Hirata: Gokko-Land" is an application that allows children to experience jobs in the palm of their hands. It is not often that children have the opportunity to actually see and learn about their parents' "jobs" and the "work" being done in the world. This app aims to provide an opportunity for children to play "games to experience various jobs" on their smartphones and tablets, and to spark their interest in "society" and "work. By having sponsor companies pay a usage fee, we develop and operate games featuring those companies, and users can play them for free.

The main screen of "Gokko Land. More than 30 jobs based on real companies can be experienced.

Editorial: This is a very unique application. Can you tell us about the genesis of its development?

Hirata: Originally, my son was playing with "work experience apps" from overseas, and while watching them, I thought that if we made an app that allowed children to experience work in a more realistic way, they would think, "I actually want to try this job. That was the impetus for the development of the app.

Editorial: What kind of application did your son do?

Hirata: What he was playing was the "clean up your room game". I think it is a very interesting phenomenon, but until then, no matter how much I told him, "Clean up your room! but after he started playing that game, he started to take the initiative to clean his room, and even started saying, "I want to vacuum the room. So, we believe that "Gokko-Land" is a game in which children experience success through the "simulated experience" of playing a game, and then develop a "realistic impulse" to "try it for myself! We hope that this will lead to a "realistic impulse" of "I want to try it myself!

To help children become interested in "real life" (real work)

Editorial: So the game is tied to the real world (the real world).

Hirata: For example, in a game offered by a confectionery company in "Gokko Land," children can experience "cake topping," and when they are served pancakes as a snack, they want to put some toppings by themselves. They also said that they felt satisfied when they gave the toppings to others and they were pleased to receive them. There are many examples, such as KidZania, that combine the "simulated experience of various jobs for children" with "actual corporate brands," but many of them are too far away for children to visit. I think that parents and guardians will be pleased to be able to experience this on their smartphones or tablets.

Play screen of "Gokko-Land. Realistic reproduction of "real job descriptions."

Hirata: Then, there are several restaurant companies that provide games to "Gokko Land" and hold "events where you can experience work at actual stores," and children who have played "Gokko Land" want to participate in those events! and there is a phenomenon that they tell their parents that they want to participate in those events. Until now, it has been the norm for parents to find events and have their children participate, but now we have a flow of "children discovering events on their own initiative and motivating their parents". This will be a very big "incentive" to participate in events.

Editorial: No parent can refuse to participate in such an event when asked to do so by their child.

Hirata: Gokko-Land" enables both "event notification" and "application for participation. We have heard that the number of applicants for corporate work experience events has increased significantly, and that nearly 50% of the event participants came through "Gokko-Land". We would like to continue taking on the challenge of drawing out such "active action from children" through games.

External links such as "Event Registration" require "Parental Confirmation" system.

Editorial: It is a game that has a very positive impact on children!

Hirata: This kind of service would not have been possible in the days when there were only mobile phones and PCs, and I believe it is only possible now with the spread of smartphones and tablets. Companies that provide games to "Gokko Land" also consider this service not only as a "branding and marketing effect" that delivers information directly to children, but also as a "part of CSR activities" that supports children's growth through "work experience.

Because it is a "children's game," there are certain aspects that need to be addressed.

Editorial: How is the development of the "Gokko Land" game done?

Hirata: We are very particular about the content of our games in order to incorporate "educational elements" and "a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment for children. We always ask children to play the first version of a game after it is created, and observe where they seem to lose interest and where they press the home button to quit the game. Children feel and move differently from adults more than we realize, so this step of thoroughly refurbishing the game through the "children's test" is essential. For this reason, we have a variety of people cooperate with us as monitors, including myself, children of our employees, and children living in our neighborhood.

Editorial: How long does it take to develop each game in "Gokko Land"?

Hirata: We spent one to two months just for the test play and renovation period. I don't think it will work unless we can make the game more satisfying and fulfilling for the players, and not in the sense that "it's for children, so it should be easy to play.

Editorial: What do you mean by "a child's sense of satisfaction and accomplishment?"

Hirata: It is whether or not there is a "feeling of having done it right by yourself. For example, if the game is a "cake making experience," the question is, "Does it make the player feel that he/she has made the cake by him/herself? One specific method is to "add customizable elements," but if everything can be customized, the game will become too difficult and children will not be able to complete it, so we adjust the balance between these elements. What we particularly value is the "sense of accomplishment," and when children complete a game and say, "I did it! and go to show their parents when they complete the game, we have discovered during the development process that we can judge that there is a sufficient sense of accomplishment in the game.

Mr. Hirata talks about his commitment to the development of "Gokko Land.

Editorial: Why did you include "multiple games" in an application called "Gokko Land?"

Hirata: Since the users are children, it becomes difficult for them to look around at the "various games (jobs)" if they have to open the game apps separately. On the other hand, if multiple games are contained in a single app, children can freely look around at the various games in the app. As a result, we receive some comments that the app is "large" or "heavy," but we still want to prioritize "ease of play" for children.

Children, parents, companies, everyone will enjoy "Gokko Land".

Editorial: How many downloads of "Gokko Land" have you received?

Hirata: With approximately 3.1 million downloads, we feel that we have received a certain amount of recognition for an infant app that does not use popular characters. We also have a large number of active users, with over 15 million plays in August 2019 alone. We are currently adding two new games each month and hope to continue this pace while keeping the quality of our games strong.

Editorial: What are some of the comments you have received from users of "Gokko Land?"

Hirata: We have kept an overall rating of 4 or higher on a 5-point scale for more than 5 years on the site where you download the application, and have received more than 10,000 reviews from users. One interesting review reads, "My child started saying 'Welcome! and when they go to the dentist, it's just like 'play land! This is probably because the game is supervised by business people, so even though the game's job descriptions are simplified, they do not lie, and the "sense of accomplishment" and "work flow" are also very realistic. As a result, it is thought that the "simulated experience" of the game created a sense of security and lowered the hurdles to action, which we believe is a major feature of "Gokko Land.

Editorial: I see from the reviews that they are all passionate messages!

Hirata: The comments are a source of encouragement for our employees, and sometimes we even get a hint from a company that they would like us to release a game for them, and we go to that company to sell it to them. Of course, we receive some harsh comments, but they lead us to improve the application.

Reviews of "Play Land"

Editorial: This review is a "treasure trove".

Hirata: Speaking of sales, we often receive requests for projects because the people in charge at a company have children playing "Gokko Land". Since these people know how children play "Gokko Land," the meetings go very smoothly. Many of the games in "Gokko-Land" are for companies involved in the food and beverage industry. This is probably because the game makes it easy to motivate children to want to visit and try the food, and the companies feel that this is effective. A child sees a signboard of a confectionery company and says, "Oh, I know this store!　My store! I know this store! Through the game, children become attached to the company's brand and become more core fans, including their parents.

Editorial: It is a business model that will please children, parents, and companies alike. I think this is a very important point in terms of "making services sustainable."

We also envision holding events and a "company brochure for children" to help them learn more about the company.

Editorial: Finally, let me ask you about the future development of "Gokko Land".

Hirata: We want to create a flow where children can discover what they like and are good at from a different perspective than studying for entrance exams, which will lead to their future. This is expressed in our mission of "creating children's dreams. Based on this mission, we will continue to increase the number of participating companies for "Gokko Land" to give children more options. We are also considering the possibility of holding real work experience events that can travel around the country in cooperation with companies ...... in order to give children a more enjoyable image of "work" and "working".

In addition, since the real feelings of the people who work there are not visible in the "Gokko Land" game, we plan to experimentally create a "company brochure for children" in cooperation with several companies in order to follow up on that part of the game. This will be readable in "Gokko Land," and we would like to include the voices of the people who work there and the gist of the company's activities. We also envision that it could be printed as a booklet and distributed to the children of employees of those companies .......

<After the interview

I had an image of something unhealthy when I heard that people are absorbed in playing games on their smartphones and tablets, but I was very impressed to hear that "Gokko Land" can be an opportunity for people to become interested in "work" in the world and find out what they like and are good at. In fact, I believe that children and their parents can communicate with each other in various ways through the "job experience = work" that they can experience in this game. I hope that many children will have the opportunity to experience this game.

Kids Star Inc. official website https://www.kidsstar.co.jp//
Introduction homepage of "Gokko Land https://biz.kidsstar.co.jp/