Газпром нефть шельф х Лайфхакер: "Арктический детектив" - веб‑квест о Приразломной и Арктике

Objective

Gazprom Neft Shelf sought to build awareness of Arctic offshore operations and the Prirazlomnaya platform among Russian audiences while elevating the status of oil industry professions. The company partnered with Lifehacker to present complex technical and environmental topics through an engaging interactive narrative experience rather than conventional corporate communications.

Solution

The project combined three game mechanics—visual novel storytelling, knowledge quizzes, and hidden object gameplay—in a location-based web quest. Players assumed the role of Semyon, a boatswain from the Prirazlomnaya platform, navigating real St. Petersburg landmarks to locate a missing Arctic puffin named Bering. At each location, players solved Arctic-themed riddles, answered trivia about the Prirazlomnaya platform and Arctic ecology, and discovered hidden objects to unlock subsequent destinations. The visual identity was developed by illustrator Irina Saldina; the experience included an original audio album titled "Prirazlomnaya. Na Sever ot 66°33′44"N" featuring industrial sounds and Arctic wildlife recordings.

Results

The campaign reached over 1.3 million people with more than 38,000 unique players completing the full experience. The project received the Silver award in the 'Best PR Project in Energy' category at the 2024 Press Service of the Year professional competition, with judges commending how it made 'narrowly specialized topics engaging and unconventional.'