"The Letter" is an online game experience created by ARA for our client NOvAA,a body governed by public law, appointed by the government to represent the general interests of the AA profession. The online game was created to generate interest among highschool and college students for the profession of accountant.
In "The Letter" we follow a group of 4 young people who start a tv production company and sell a new tv format at a business fair in Cannes, France. When visiting the website you are then hired as they accountant and have to solve 5 different tasks in order to finish the game and be eligable to win the prizes. The project combines photography, video and design in an interactive way to capture the audience.
I was involved in this project as the main designer of the look and feel of this project and animator of the motion graphics included in the game environment. Since the main prize was an all expenses paid trip to Cannes, the style of the game had a sophisticated, fresh and summery feel with lots of transparant elements mixed with bright colors and watercolor textures.
In "The Letter" we follow a group of 4 young people who start a tv production company and sell a new tv format at a business fair in Cannes, France. When visiting the website you are then hired as they accountant and have to solve 5 different tasks in order to finish the game and be eligable to win the prizes. The project combines photography, video and design in an interactive way to capture the audience.
I was involved in this project as the main designer of the look and feel of this project and animator of the motion graphics included in the game environment. Since the main prize was an all expenses paid trip to Cannes, the style of the game had a sophisticated, fresh and summery feel with lots of transparant elements mixed with bright colors and watercolor textures.
The Letter - Demo Video
On set at the photo and video shoot for "The Letter" with photographer Oscar Seykens
On the homepage of "The Letter" visitors can register to play the game, get some information on the story and the characters in the game and see which prizes they can win. We also included a tell-a-friend option to increase traffic.
Once the visitor is signed up and logged in they are introduced to the characters by a short video and then they get re-directed to a page where they can track their progress in the game. There is an option to play the game at once in full or play it scene by scene. The player's progress is saved in their personal account. The different scenes mirrored the tv show experience which was a direct link to the story of "The Letter".
When starting a new scene the visitor gets to see an introduction, which is either a video or slideshow, in which the task the player has to solve is explained. The characters sometimes directly adress the player by using video combined with motion graphics.
After receiving their assignment the player is transferred to a desktop where he can choose from 4 different folders containing information and clue's about each character that help the player to figure out the awnser to their task. They can also flip through a digital magazine, take notes on a notepad for future refference, etc.
The user can also switch back to the scene where the characters sit around their boardroom table and can be interviewed. The video interviews, which are interactive, can also be used to obtain clues to solve the assignment.
The user can also switch back to the scene where the characters sit around their boardroom table and can be interviewed. The video interviews, which are interactive, can also be used to obtain clues to solve the assignment.
Once the player completes their task they can confirm the solution to the case in the solution screen
We also created a custom design for a page on the biggest dutch online community website "Hyves", similar to Facebook. On that page people could become friends with the project, get information about the game and the proffesion of accountant and recommend it all to their own friends and family.
The client also has it's own magazine, AA-magazine, which had a big feature article on the game. It was handed out in schools and accountancy related companies to generate interest.
At job fairs we created a visual that was printed on a paper bag containing a croissant which we handed out to visitors. The bag contained an action code where people were directed to the website. There they coul fill in the code and see if they had won a mini laptop. We choose to use a croissant bag to reffer to Cannes once again, since this was the starting point of the game.
And finally a design for a newsletter that was sent to contacts of the client and people who had registered for the game to keep them informed about the game
All in all the project was highly succesfull and a great tool to show people the diversity of tasks of an accountant. We managed to reach a large audience and many people signed up for accountancy related studies.
The game also managed to win several prizes, both for it's design and for it's creative way to reach people in the recruitment market.
The game can still be played at the following link: TheLetter.nl
All in all the project was highly succesfull and a great tool to show people the diversity of tasks of an accountant. We managed to reach a large audience and many people signed up for accountancy related studies.
The game also managed to win several prizes, both for it's design and for it's creative way to reach people in the recruitment market.
The game can still be played at the following link: TheLetter.nl
