Interactive Hug

With the cross promotion of Movies, Television Shows and Video Games – we’re collectively watching the maturing of what I call the Adventure-Experience site. I’ve noticed many of these types of sites have been popping up lately on The FWA and such. They’re going to become more common and keep getting better, so I’ve made them the subject of today’s post.

An Adventure Experience site, is one that leads the user through a story either in a linear manner, or in a style that allows the user to choose their own path. The intention is for the user to feel as though they’re traveling their way through a custom adventure. We recently finished an Adventure-Experience site for Paramount, below I’ve share some of what I learned along the way.

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Eagle Eye Experience created by Red Interactive Agency, 2008

Examples of ass-kicking adventure experience sites:

• Hotel 626, doritos promo
• Breaking Bad, tv show
  
• Haze, video game
• Assasins Creed, video game
• Saw 1, movie

Elements that every Experience site should have to successfully engage the user:

Compelling script.

• All the smoke and mirrors in the world can’t hide a weak story. If the user isn’t interested in what’s happening next, they’ll click away mighty quick. Either retell the beginning of the story for the movie, show or game being promoted, or create a new script that mirrors but isn’t identical, so the user can play a parallel reality.

The illusion of user control.

• It’s far too much work to create a handful of different storylines so the user can choose their own path to the end. The best balance is to create a linear experience with options along the way for the user to diverge slightly, giving them the feeling of a custom experience.

Five Moons Plaza on dvd download grizzly park free

Rewards.

The Forgotten Ones aka The Tribe full

• The user needs an incentive to play. Challenge a friend, unlock content, special downloads, etc. Something to keep them pushing forward when their focus starts to waver.

Map and/or percentage done.

• Users always need to have some sense of completion, so that they feel oriented and can decide whether it’s worth it to continue playing.

Intense audio.

• Good Sound Effects are key in every site but especially so in an Experience site. Make them intense and constantly changing with the pace and mood of the adventure.
• Instead of bringing every sound effect into Flash and syncing them up separately, use software like Adobe Soundbooth to mix a loop of ambience containing multiple subtle sfx. There should be peaks and valleys.
• Try using a new soundtrack for each change of scene. Each one should suit what you suspect the users reaction will be.
• Use a voice-over, it will add so much. There will always be parts where the user has to read – having the script narrated can make the difference between a boring and engaging site.

Video/motion

• If the Adventure Experience is for a video game, you’ve got your work cut out for you because you can use gameplay footage. If not then you need to get video assets or find excuses to create motion yourself. In the case of Eagle Eye, we created a 3d map for the user to traverse between each transition and we scripted a shaky parallax in each scene so the characters and background would never be perfectly static. Small efforts like this will make all the difference.

Pacing.

• Make sure there are build-ups and climaxes. The user should be kept guessing as to what will take place next.
• While the user is engaging in one scene, ensure the next one is pre-loading in the background. Keep them moving forward with as little load time as possible.

Snappy graphics and animation.

• One of the biggest challenges you’ll face with the Adventure-Experience site is keeping it exciting. Usability is always your top priority but, a good portion of the users will only partially be paying attention to the storyline, so you need to give them more reasons to hang out.