Initially released in 2023, Diablo IV, has been followed by a series of other expansions that have all led to the final battle against - The Lord of Hatred. While loyal, core gamers will return to finish the story, many others have moved on to other games. So we needed something to wrest the attention of gamers away from other titles and come back to battle one of the franchise’s greatest villains.
Hatred has returned. Hidden in the darkness for years, Mephisto is finally coming out of the shadows – on gaming’s biggest stage, The Gaming Awards. To do it, we had Mephisto, interrupt the ceremony as a 40ft animated projection, trash talking the host and gaming personalities, spreading hate to the crowd before kicking off the worldwide premier of the trailer.
The Game Awards is a showcase for the best games of the year and, more importantly, a launchpad for all the new games coming out in the future. It is a crowded stage with games of all levels battling for attention. So we wanted to create a massive disruption in the middle of the show to both re-introduce Mephisto and draw captivate the audience prior to the launch of the new cinematic reveal trailer.
To bring Mephisto to life, we created a 40-ft, custom three-dimensional hologram that rose out of the ground and interacted with the audience by calling out and pointing to people at the crowd and at home.
For the technical execution itself, we used Holonet technology, three 50K projectors and lighting to create the illusion that Mephisto emerged from the ground and was talking to the audience.
When the animation finished the holonet rose to the rafters while sound design and lights distracted the audience before the reveal cinematic came on screen.
