Content agency Somethin' Else recently collaborated with interactive theatre production company Punchdrunk to create an immersive app game for Absolut vodka. The app, Silverpoint, is part of the launch campaign for the Absolut Andy Warhol limited edition bottle, and features some of the artist's blotted-line 'Silverpoint' drawings, which are precursors to his 1986 Absolut painting.
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The game sets up a mystery, with the disappearance of Chloe and invites the user to unlock different levels to discover her fate. What starts off as a simple yet addictive mobile game, gradually engages users in unexpected ways. It uses the gamut of mobile technology, according to its creators, although the exact details of the functionalities built in are a tightly guarded secret.
The game mechanic is not new, according to Michelle Feuerlicht, executive producer for digital and creative lead on the collaboration at Somethin’ Else. "However, the way we worked with Punchdrunk is something we believe no-one has done before," she comments. "
"It was a collaboration where the game and story developed in tandem. Technology is at the heart of how you progress through the game, and we personally have never seen this sort of technology used in this storytelling and gaming way before."
Technology is at the heart of how you progress through the game
One of the main challenges was ensuring the game felt like a seamless experience. "Usually with games you set out the goal and how the game works right at the beginning," explains Feuerlicht. "We didn't want to do this because the way the game works unfolds as you play it. So getting the user experience right was a challenge.
"While we have tested it thoroughly, it will only be in seeing and hearing the audience reaction that we will really know what worked and what didn't. There were also challenges in telling a story through a casual gaming medium that is not usually used in this way, but we think we have managed to find a nice balance that doesn't disrupt the gaming user experience."
Words: Anna Richardson Taylor
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