As part of DG8003 – Interaction Design for Digital Media, each student was asked to attend and critique three immersive design experiences outside of their immediate academic environment. The project is meant to promote the students finding and participating in professional events in their fields, while keeping a keen eye out for areas of improvement.
The events I chose to attend are the Watch Dogs: Legion game release, the Fisher-Price Museum, and the Adesanya VS Costa fight.
Watch Dogs: Legion, is a new class of open-world game, you can recruit and play as any character! Ubisoft, the studio behind Watch Dogs, pulled out of Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this summer and the marketing material leading up to the release was very engaging, so fan threads and streams were packed going into the launch.
The release party could be streamed from the Ubisoft Toronto YouTube account and was free for everyone. I used a Chromecast hooked up to my smart television and streamed the event on the big screen. The release promised to rival in-person events by including Ubisoft employees, in-game content, and real players – AKA streamers and influencers.
I was expecting content to the tune of Stormzy’s “Rainfall” music video (2020), as seen in, as it was shot in Watch Dogs’ engine.
I also enjoyed, the behind-the-scenes documentary about the project (Ubisoft, 2020).
Release Party Rundown
The first activity was a pre-recoded read through of multiple scenes, performed by a group of developers that worked on the project. The recording was done via Zoom or another video chatting service, which allowed them to participate from home.
I did not see the value in what the read throughs brought to the event; it was noticeable that no one involved had hosting or acting experience and they all seemed out of their element, which was difficult to watch. I think a better option, that would involve the same amount of work, would be having the development team narrate over gameplay and talk about the process behind making it. This would give the developers a chance to talk about what they are passionate about, in a format the viewer is comfortable with, and would have created more cohesion in the event.
Next, there were some in-game walk-throughs. Ubisoft sent out an early copy of the game to certain influencers, so they got a head start at mastering the levels and could show off how they play. This part of the event was fun because it gave the viewer a look into what they can expect in the game – unfortunately, this section was frustratingly short and fell flat. I feel like there was a lot more that could have been done in this area – including a livestream “first look” at the game, where a streamer plays for the very first time, or more conversation about what they enjoy in the game.
Finally, a Ubisoft employee who moonlights as a DJ, played a set of house music with a light show that incorporated the songs’ music videos. The main success of this portion of the event was that I had a good time. When I hear a beat, I have to get up and dance, so this part of the event was effective for me – but it was still me dancing alone in my apartment and cannot be compared to the vibe that would come from an in-person release event and dance party.
Ultimately, the presentation was disappointing. Ubisoft is known as an innovative company, their new game is a ground-breaking concept, and all of the promotional content leading up to the release was - I am sorry for lack of a better word – “hype.” It is extremely hard to rival in-person events, no matter how fun your virtual plan is, and I think Ubisoft tried too hard in convincing viewers they were going to enjoy the event, instead of putting their effort into creating interactive and engaging activities that viewers will naturally be drawn to.
References
Ubisoft (Studio). (2020, October 28). STORMZY – RAINFALL (FEAT. TIANA MAJOR9) [BEHIND THE SCENES][Video file]. Retrieved December 02, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm8v9z28PYY&t=7s
Stormzy. (2020, October 22). STORMZY – RAINFALL (FEAT. TIANA MAJOR9). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrDcTGvp7o
