Outstanding Website

Imagine if your toys could come to life in a video game yet still live in our world. Meet the Skylanders, the next generation of action figures that our team and Activision bring to life on Skylanders.com, the digital home of the new video game Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure.

Mixing physical and digital play to create a magic moment for kids, Activision outfitted the Skylanders toys with brains for a cross-platform experience. Powered by RFID technology and a memory chip, each of the toys remembers its in-game experiences and works seamlessly across major video gaming systems, including the PC. The interactive website includes original creative art and 3D animation that brings to life the characters and the magic moment when kids realize that their toys can come to life – starting in a kid’s room, placing a character on the portal, and transporting the character into the game.

As Activision’s digital partner, we developed the creative strategy, design direction, and development of Skylanders.com. We created custom portal animation, as well as elemental worlds where the characters would “live” and all the designs for the Universe – a virtual world where kids can also play online, with or without their Skylanders action figures. It’s a new type of multi-modal, cross-platform game experience: one that blurs the lines between offline and interactive play.

Contributors:

VP Creative:	Anthony Yell
Art Director:	Cris Strittmatter
Lead Designer:	Ji Eun Kang
Flash Animator:	Dustin Mershon
3D Animator:	Manuel Mazaira
Flash Programmer:	Casey Klebba
Lead Site Developer:	Greg Nettles
Program Manager:	Ross Plank
Group Account Director:	Kevin MacLean, Jay Tannenbaum
Information Architect:	Lwee Tay

SAPIENT

Location: USA