SINGAPORE – October 8, 2013 – Players experienced a real football match with a ‘deadly’ twist in the ‘House of Deadly,’ a ‘virtual meets reality’ football game created by BBH Asia Pacific to launch the Nike Hypervenom football boot in Southeast Asia.
This revolutionary game saw for the first time, the convergence of virtual projection mapping and playing with a physical football, BBH Asia Pacific said in a press release.
Launched on August 3 to 6 in Bangkok, Thailand, at Parc Paragon, the ‘House of Deadly’ is a virtual stadium set up for four days, allowing spectators to experience the game and the opportunity to trial the Nike Hypervenom football boot.
“This is one of the most exciting innovations happening in the gaming and sporting arena. To merge the physical world of sport with gaming is a technical, logistical and creative feat. We wanted consumers to experience the most compelling engagement possible with the Nike Hypervenom boot,” said Miguel Andres – Clavera, Digital Innovation Director, BBH Asia Pacific.
FC Barcelona team members including top ranking player Neymar flew in for the event and tried out the game for themselves.
In ‘House of Deadly,’ players entered a 10x10x5m stadium, fitted with motion detection and interactive projection mapping, an advanced surround sound system and dramatic 3D effects which create an illusion of a real football match with a ‘deadly’ twist.
Players faced wild animals and beasts as moving targets that must be defeated while dodging physical objects in the form of lasers beams, BBH Asia Pacific said, explaining the game:
Once inside the virtual stadium, each player is challenged across a maximum of five levels. The objective is to successfully dribble a real football and hit the targets that randomly appear.
Two ball launchers alternatively throw a new ball on each level. To stay in the game, players have to control the ball and keep avoiding laser beams as ‘defenders’ strike from different directions and deduct agility points when ‘touching’ the ball.
Laser beams track the ball using advanced motion detection technology and increase in number at each level. The game ends when the player either runs out of agility points, time expires, or level five is reached and completed successfully. Players receive an accuracy and agility score in the form of a digital and physical personalized memento.
"We really wanted people to experience football in a different way. Almost as if they were immersed in an epic video game," Andres-Clavera said in the ‘making of’ film.
Byron Brooks, Nike Brand Connections Manager, shared that they began with an experience that was around half the size of a building lobby, in a hallway shape. "So the whole concept was run as fast as you can down this hallway, avoid obstacles. But then we realized especially after looking at footage of Neymar playing and that’s not how he plays," said Brooks.
BBH developed the strategy and creative concept for the game, collaborating with technology partners considered among the world’s best in their fields; Arstic Audiovisual solutions – Spanish specialists in developing audiovisual and interactive technology to create unique marketing and communication experiences; motion graphics partner FutureDeluxe – a creative studio producing impactful creative content for online, mobile and broadcast; and sound FX and composition by Roger Goula.
