Invitation to Quote: Primary market research for Welsh Lands and Lore
Literature Wales is seeking to undertake primary market research into the interests and preferences of gamers who play fantasy-themed video games. This research will identify the content and styles that most appeal to this audience, informing the development of our project ‘Welsh Lands and Lore’ that will adapt and promote Welsh myths and legends as the basis for video game content.
Context
Wales has a rich bank of myths and legends, from the medieval manuscripts collected in the Mabinogion to the legendary tales of King Arthur. Wales and Welsh writing have provided or inspired some of the world’s most globally recognised fantasy epics, including The Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Literature Wales has mapped this literary heritage through its Land of Legends website, created with the intention of boosting literary tourism across Wales. The website maps 150 of Wales’ most striking and iconic myths and legends across ten different themes. Visitors can select places and stories of interest and receive a travel itinerary by email. Two years on, the website continues to receive an average of 45,000 annual views, 28% of which come from beyond the United Kingdom.
The development of this website was informed by market research. On behalf of Literature Wales, The Audience Agency surveyed over 3,000 individuals from Wales-based and UK target markets. The results of this survey identified which themes and content would be of greatest interest to potential tourists and contributed towards deciding on the website’s artwork and branding.
However, as well as promoting literary tourism, the website also acts as a hub for collecting many of Wales’ diverse myths, legends, and folklores. We are currently undertaking Research and Development into analysing the commercial viability of adapting these myths and legends into video game content. By learning the interests of gamers who play fantasy and mythology-based video games, we hope to develop assets with Welsh writers, artists and game developers that can meet a demonstrable audience demand and encourage further development of video games inspired by Welsh legends.
We are delivering this Research and Development in partnership with Clwstwr, an organisation committed to fostering a culture of innovation within the Welsh screen sector. It aims to create new products, services, and experiences for screen, be it in the form of game development, media production, or journalism.
About Literature Wales
Literature Wales is the national company for the development of literature. Our vision is a Wales where literature empowers, improves, and brightens lives. We are a registered charity, and work to inspire communities, develop writers, and celebrate the literary culture of Wales. Literature Wales works in Welsh, English, and bilingually across Wales. Our patron is Sir Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials.
Celebrating Wales’ literary culture is one of Literature Wales’ three activity pillars and main areas of work. We strengthen the range, reach and reputation of Wales’ writers to celebrate the best of our contemporary writers and the diverse heritage of Wales. Our rich literary heritage captures this dynamic from previous decades, centuries and millennia. Our contemporary writers shape and reflect this dynamic now, on local, regional, national and international stages. Our writers and readers are essential to a healthy, vibrant, open and self-aware society.
We work with Wales’ established writers to raise the profile and accessibility of our literature. In turn, this increases the perceived value of Wales’ literature amongst our citizens and those of other nations. This work includes working in partnership to showcase our literature and writers on significant national and international platforms, as well as working to stimulate high profile commissions from other organisations.
The Contract
The successful applicant will be tasked with surveying people (aged 18-55) who have played at least one fantasy-themed video game in the past two years. This can be either a singleplayer or multiplayer game, and a list of example titles has been included below. The survey will target at least 1,500 eligible respondents residing in the following countries: UK; Ireland; USA; Germany; South Korea; and Japan.
This survey will broadly ask respondents:
- What appeals to them most about fantasy-themed video games (lore, characters, themes, graphics, gameplay, etc.)
- To select from a range of examples which Welsh myths and legends they are familiar with, and whether they were aware of their Welsh origin
- How they engage with video game lore (reading in-game content, looking up the wiki, reading any source material)
- To rate the appeal of a variety of myths and legends, and explain why
- To rate the appeal of a variety of graphics and prose styles, and explain why
- About their experience of fantasy games derived from myths & legends, and how much have they engaged with these myths & legends outside of the game
The successful applicant must have access to respondents in the above countries who meet the criteria of having played at least one fantasy-themed video game in the past two years. The applicant will also have experience of undertaking market research, ideally relating to video games.
Examples of fantasy games
Singleplayer: Final Fantasy XV; Monster Hunter: World; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; Dragon Age: Inquisition; Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor; Ni-No-Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom; Dark Souls 3.
Multiplayer: World of Warcraft; The Elder Scrolls Online; The Lord of the Rings Online; Runescape; Guild Wars 2.
Timescale & Fee
We envisage the research will start by November 2020 and must be completed by the end of December 2020.
We would like to invite quotes for undertaking this market research. The agreed fee will be paid in two instalments – 60% at the project’s outset and 40% upon completion. We will consider a range of pricing options within your quote, which could include variables such as the number of respondents you will survey and whether you will produce a topline report and/or more detailed analysis of the results.
How to apply
Please submit a quote, along with a short description of you/your agency and information about at least one example of a market research project you have undertaken in the past two years. We would also welcome any information about how you/your agency will access respondents who play fantasy video games from the listed countries.
Please submit this information as a single document, although you are welcome to include any relevant supporting documents or hyperlinks. Submissions, marked with the subject header ‘Welsh Lands and Lore – Market Research Quote’, should be sent to the following email address: post@literaturewales.org
Closing Date: 5.00 pm (BST), Friday 23 October 2020
Literature Wales is supported by the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Government. The Project ‘Welsh Lands and Lore: Video Game adaptation of Lands of Legends’ is funded by Clwstwr.
