"Megalomaniacs" is a card game that creatively blends entertainment with advanced analytics, offering a unique experience by quantifying the personalities of 54 notable public figures. Developed collaboratively for the international art collective FUPE and marketing firm TD Reply, the game leverages the Digital Brand Equity (DBE) method to assign measurable scores to each figure's brand persona. This approach involves analyzing vast amounts of online consumer interactions, using over 300 million data points from the English-speaking internet to rank and score the personalities on attributes like power, vision, delusion, and modesty. The game's design is inspired by the 1980s classic 'Top Trumps', engaging players in head-to-head battles featuring CEOs, politicians, and celebrities, with the aim of outscoring each other to win the entire deck.
The unique feature of Megalomaniacs lies in its methodology for determining the scores of each figure, which sparks intriguing discussions and comparisons among players. For instance, players might debate the "power" score of Jeff Bezos versus Vladimir Putin, or compare the "vision" of Elizabeth Holmes with Kylie Jenner. This quantitative approach to comparing diverse personalities is a significant aspect of the game, making it not only a source of entertainment but also a reflection of real-world perceptions as captured through extensive data analysis. The game showcases an innovative blend of entertainment, data science, and social analysis, providing players with a novel way to engage with and reflect on the personas of influential figures in our society.
