Kate Lynham

King: Candy Crush Friends Saga Live

Play video

“To work out whether Tiffi had enough fish, or to check that the Nutcracker had the right cupcake, immersing ourselves in the Candy World was essential and so the team developed a brand new language to get this job done. To come away from the experience with a world record, was just the cherry on the top of the sweet candy cupcake.”

Kate Lynham, Creative Director, UNIT9

The background

Candy Crush fans can’t get enough of the addictive game, so we wanted to up the ante with the release of Candy Crush Friends Saga. We had to ask ourselves: what’s the biggest, loudest, most jaw dropping way for us to shout about the new game? To set a world record.

The execution

Loads of fans and celebrities gathered at Brookfield Place, New York to see the game illuminated on a 26-story building, thrilling fans and setting a new world record for the largest architectural projection-mapped game ever. Two lucky megafans were chosen out of millions of applicants to unveil the experience.

Before building the real thing, we created a 1:100 scale prototype for testing. We set up a mini version of the system with a single media server and projector so that we could run initial tests on how the game server and projection software would interface.

When it was play time, we applied custom vinyl to the building’s over 300+ windows. This allowed 60% of daylight to penetrate the windows, but prevented 60% of internal light from coming out. This enabled us to achieve a much punchier projection mapped image, with brighter colors and more light.

We worked closely with the King Development team and built two custom levels for the game, which were mapped seamlessly to the building’s architecture. To create intrigue in between game play, we created an additional six minutes of original content, including ambient falling candies.

The results

Loads of people showed up to witness the record-breaking, larger-than-life game play. But countless fans around the world got a glimpse of the feat and raced to download the latest game.