To launch excitement for the most out-of-this-world reality show ever, our marketing team ventured into the pixelated universe of retro gaming. Our mission was to craft an immersive augmented reality experience that would transport fans across a beautifully art directed 8-bit cosmic adventure from the red carpet to the red planet. Our goal was to design an pixelated masterpiece that captured audiences with it’s retro-gaming nostalgia fused with the thrill of modern AR gameplay technology.
Our overall plan was narrative driven and needed to be built across 3 different levels of gameplay. The goal was to have our 8-bit space odyssey begin with celebronauts walking the red carpet, where they would receive a star-studded welcome from mission control: The iconic William Shatner. Starting with Level 1, celebronauts would then blast off into the pixelated heavens where they would have to navigate their way through bright fluffy clouds, avoid dark cumulonimbus, and attempt to collect as many Grande Latte Trophies as they could. After players conquered each level's summit, they would have a chance to bask in the limelight by striking a pixel-perfect pose for the ever intrusive paparazzi. Next, players would then reach for the stars on level 2 where they would need to skillfully maneuver through a treacherous 8-bit asteroid belt, avoid breaking FOX’s broadcast satellites, and gather Star Power Trophies. Finally, to complete their mission, players would be dropped through the Martian atmosphere where they would have to cautiously avoid the hazardous rocky terrain, dodge local alien life forms, and collect Cosmic Camera Trophies.
While in the planning phase of bringing this 8-bit augmented reality filter to life, we developed a strategy to tackle the biggest challenge: Collision detection. The ability to determine player/object collisions was paramount to the project’s success and because native collision detection capabilities were absent within Tik Tok’s Effect House, we innovated a method to track the position of both players and objects within each of the the 3 levels, and when an object overlapped, it triggered various events. Depending on predefined criteria, players could either pass through objects, leap off them, initiate specific animations and sound effects, or modify the score. To maintain optimal performance, we tracked only the objects currently visible on the screen, ensuring efficiency and responsiveness.
Another major challenge that we faced revolved around level progression. Seamless transitions between levels demanded the temporary suspension of user interaction, the loading of new graphics, and the repositioning of characters and playfields. Attempting all these tasks simultaneously often resulted in buggy behavior. To address this issue, we constructed each level as an independent module, offering a self-contained gaming experience. As one level concluded, it was seamlessly hidden from view, and the next level was unveiled. User control seamlessly transitioned to the new module with a simple switch. This compartmentalized approach also provided the flexibility to make per-level modifications without affecting the overall functionality of the game, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted gameplay.
With over 700,000 views and ranking among the top 10% of TikTok creator effects, The Stars on Mars game surpassed our expectations, igniting a wave of amusement, enthusiasm, and intense anticipation for the premiere of FOX’s most comic reality show ever. Even in the face of some timeline constraints, game development challenges, and promoting this 8-bit masterpiece, we successfully launched this technological achievement which ultimately largely contributed to the overall promotion of our show week over week.
