THE 1ST-EVER TRANSMEDIA PREQUEL FOR A VIDEO GAME
Reveal Campaign & Transmedia Novel
A CALL OF DUTY CAMPAIGN THAT TRANSPORTED FANS TO TWO ERAS.
To reveal the bold new world of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Armed Mind teamed up with Treyarch's creative team to develop the first-ever transmedia prequel novella.
Challenged to introduce a fresh time period and the technologies and characters who came with it, Treyarch and Armed Mind collaborated for a comprehensive reveal asset to set the stage for the game to come. Our objectives:
- 1) Without spoiling the game’s plot, establish the technological premises that would await gamers
2) Develop momentum and equity in the characters and corporations of the new time period
3) Break through the clutter with a one-of-a-kind written execution
The result was a mind-blowing book told from a whopping three perspectives and spanning three time periods.
Client Activision Blizzard
Project Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Reveal Narrative - "V.E.R.S.I.O.N."
What We Did
- Novella
- Transmedia
- Page Design
- 3D Interface Visualization
- Copywriting
REVEALING THE GAME
The developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 called on Armed Mind to create a key component of the game's reveal: a 150-page transmedia narrative that would set up the world of the game and the technologies key to its plot.
PARALLEL ALTERNATING STORYLINES
By alternating chapters between the years 2037 and 2063, we did more than introduce interweaving time periods. We introduced intricate lore, characters, technologies, socio-economic pressures -- and countless embedded Easter eggs for fans to uncover.
MEDICALLY AUTHENTICATED
Leveraging the expertise of noted neurologist Dr. Baxter Allen, every third chapter included a simulated brain scan of the two narrators through EKGs and fMRIs.
FUTURISTIC ARTIFICE
With dueling narrators and “real-time” scans, our prequel story transcended the traditional e-book to serve as its own artifice -- a futuristic "Compatibility Report" ordered by the eventual protagonists in-game.
HISTORIC SNAPCHAT INTEGRATION
The book anchored Black Ops 3's reveal campaign, releasing after weeks of teaser assets in Snapchat, easter eggs in the frames of trailers, and much more. These clues led to a “secret” URL and a password that unlocked our book for the masses.
EPILOGUE (FOR A PROLOGUE)
As the first-ever transmedia novella in the games space, our V.E.R.S.I.O.N. narrative not only reimagined how Call of Duty could seed its story through new mediums, but how it could engage with fans to drive reach and buzz for new characters, settings, and technologies — franchise-building, through world-building.
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