Susan Bonds of 42 Entertainment gives the keynote speech this afternoon.
“Why So Serious?” was a game developed to be played out before the Batman film, The Dark Knight – It would take iconic characters (“Boys have to choose between Batman and Superman,” Bonds pointed out, or so she was clued in- “Batman was tortured, he’s a real man, he chose this (life)…I’m just saying.”)
The audience for the game had to be intercepted correctly. The filmmakers wanted to get out the correct image of the Joker (played by Heath Ledger). Aaron Eckart would be playing Harvey Dent. So they strategically dropped Joker cards and “I Believe in Harvey Dent” cards at comic book stores. Players had to enter their email addresses to have their vote really matter. 20-30,000 fans participated it immediately. Those players then had to reach out socially to get more players. They needed 100,000 to reveal the image of the Joker. Lots of news stories were being written about the game. Finally, the players were able to uncover the picture of the Joker, then it went it away. It was just a black page, but there was another message from the joker that said “See you in December” with his ominous laughter behind it. People who had captured the picture before it faded felt like it belonged to them. It changed the conversation.
A scavenger hunt then happened in San Diego at the same time that ComiCon was going on.
10,000 marked dollar bills led to GPS coordinant. Players linked up with people on computers. They called a phone number revealed by jets skywriting above them. This unlocked the next clue. Players in the field had to dress like the Joker. One lucky guy won and was sent off to be one of the Joker’s henchmen. Other winners got a clown mask from the film.
These games are giant location based puzzles that roll out across the country. Bonds explains they wanted people to find the site creatively. At one point a circus theme with mutilated characters was sent around. People just showed up at a GPS location they were given and were told to ask for a package. They were given a clown cake that said “call me now” and they did. The call makes the cake start vibrating so they have to dig out a Nokia phone and charger and wait for instructions. People are racing around trying to get to the next location. where they unlocked another piece of content. By the end they are directly linked to the film itself- helping Joker escape from prison as played out in the first scene of the film itself.
A second game developed by Bonds, Year Zero, revolved around new Nine Inch Nails music. She and her team sent “back” a “sliver of the internet from 2022.” If you’ve been on music forums it’s hard to get people’s attention. “I Am Trying to Believe,” were the words she sent on this website from the future along with images, including a memorable visual of a hand reaching out. Then players had to connect it to the music directly. So they left these drives around containing a song. Slowly people realized it was a new Nine Inch Nail Song.
Then they found an image in the music. – It was the image of the hand they had seen on the website.
Bonds complicated the game until people were following it carefully and understanding the future world that became a centerpiece for the game.
Later her team developed a game launched prior to Tron Legacy encouraging players to find Flynn called Flynn Lives.
Rock stars and hot Hollywood properties are one thing. So Bonds asks, Can this work with just any old brand?
Enter the Human Preservation Project which focuses on a small company called 5 Gum. With this game (launched this past spring), fans are inducted into the game by connecting the player with a brand on a new level.
You can check it out at SurvivalCode.com, and get in the game.
