Nike Animal Instinct

Gamifying retail

To add excitement to the latest AirJordan drop, Nike wanted to build a gamified way for fans to engage with the brand in the lead up to the shoe’s exciting release. Nike was organising an online raffle process for purchasing the shoes, and wanted the game to serve as an engaging way for customers to enter into the draw.

We were tasked with building out a game that would entertain users and provide them with a journey into the raffle entry form page. The game itself needed to be fun, intuitive and mimic the level of excitement that surrounded the launch of the new AirJordans.

Exploring new technology applications

Working from a design concept produced by Space Between, we created a proof of concept to test out the technology and develop a feel for how the game should operate.

We used HTML5 Canvas to build the game, as its real-time graphics rendering capabilities allowed for smooth animation with each re-rendering of the browser. We also integrated MP3 assets for in-game sound effects, and used sprite sheets to facilitate the animation. Once we had completed the proof of concept, the game was then tested internally at Tundra and by the design team at Space Between for feedback and finesse.

Creating a realistic gameplay

In the gameplay, the user is represented by a small Jeep, which has to dodge obstacles in its path to collect AirJordans. To make the game engaging and easy to play, it needed to feel real and manipulable, giving the user a sense of gravity and feedback from each of their movements.

Following the feedback from our proof of concept, we undertook extensive research into game development methodologies, focusing on gravity, velocity, and friction elements. We then built the background animations, player controls, and obstacle generation to make the game feel like it mimicked the real world, as opposed to animation in a purely linear sense.

We also implemented a live system, to give the user more options in each game, and made the obstacle generation more random, to add further excitement and encourage repeat play.

The launch email promoting the game had a high open and click through rate, driving a large portion of the database to engage with the game. Game completion rates were also high, with minimal drop off.

Due to the positive reception of the game, Nike and Tundra are looking for opportunities to work on enhancements and further iterations of the experience for future campaigns.