For us and Landsec U+I, the solution seemed tantalisingly simple – bring the masterplan in Fortnite’s UEFN – a platform that offers so much in terms of play familiarity, speed and flexibility for development, and play mechanics that would support the ability for large-scale traversal around the sizable masterplan.

It was important to make this feel familiar to players. We knew that we would have potentially limited time with audiences to allow them to orient themselves around new game interfaces or controls, so a ‘pick-up-and-play’ model was necessary to reduce that onboarding time and maximise the time used for familiarisation with the site’s spatial layout.

We also wanted the associated gameplay to feel native whilst supporting the underlying purpose.  A competitive social game felt closely aligned to the supporting eSports activation from Landsec U+I, so we conceived a teamplay round-based ‘collection’ mechanic that promoted fast-paced play and exploration of the space.

You’ll find grind rails, air jets, wind tunnels, and jumps a plenty, as you compete against the clock to collect as many balloons as possible.  And of course, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to allow players to skydive into the site from a blimp to start their incredible experience!

The game’s inherent requirement for rapid traversal and spatial orientation neatly brings the audiences closer to the masterplan’s layout and the connection to the surrounding city context, making this future space both playable and understandable.