Apply Or Die
Open the game- Brand
- Knowit Experience
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Lead Gen & Recruiting
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Andrea Claussen
Objective
Knowit Experience Oslo was hunting for developers, designers, analysts and consultants in an overheated job market, where a standard CV-and-cover-letter process felt effortful and interchangeable to candidates. The agency wanted to lower the barrier to applying, hand candidates a sense of control over the process, and let its inclusive, flexible culture show through before a single interview happened.
Solution
The candidate lands on applyordie.no to a retro title screen — "APPLY OR DIE," chiptune music, a mute toggle and a single START button. Pressing it drops them into a choose-your-own hiring quiz instead of a form: pick where you'd want to meet Knowit Experience (a park bench under a tree, an office building), what you'd drink (an energy drink, chocolate milk), and which animal you feel most like — lion, monkey, dog or cat. The real questions hide behind playful ones: "what's your superpower?" is really their field of work, "what skillz do you have?" is their core competencies, "what's your backstory?" is their education. A final round collects work experience, name and contact details with the necessary consents — and finishing the playthrough is the application, submitted on the spot.
Results
More than 200 applications since the platform's 31 October 2022 launch, including over 100 in the first week alone, resulting in several new hires.
- 1
The game opens on a retro title screen with an "APPLY OR DIE" logo, a sound toggle, and a single START button, framed by hand-drawn scenes of a park bench and an office building.
- 2
Tapping START launches a run of illustrated multiple-choice prompts styled as lighthearted icebreakers: the player picks a meeting spot, a drink, whether they're a morning or night person, and which animal best matches their personality, each option paired with a short character description.
- 3
The same question-and-choice loop continues, but the prompts shift into recruiting territory dressed in game slang: a "superpower" question captures the player's professional field, "skillz" captures core competencies, a "backstory" question captures completed education, and a follow-up captures work experience.
- 4
A final screen collects the player's name, contact details, and consents, then submits the full set of answers as a job application to Knowit Experience, with data retained for 24 months through recruiting platform TeamTailor.
