Vanishing Point

To celebrate the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft and AMD launched The Vanishing Point, the first global trans-media puzzle game to reward their most enthusiastic, tech savvy consumers. The game spanned four weeks as players worked together to decipher embedded clues in real world events and solve puzzles online to win a trip to outer space.

CHALLENGE
The project’s objective was to engage the hardcore tech savvy audience already familiar with Windows Vista in a hip, mysterious and intellectually challenging way that would cultivate positive brand awareness and loyalty.

To accomplish this, 42 Entertainment designed spectacular real world events with embedded secret messages and codes. These were captured in real time through photographs or video before they reached “the vanishing point” and uploaded to the website. Players searched through this documentation to uncover clues needed to solve online puzzles that were simultaneously unlocked on the website. These events took place in 12 major cities around the US, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, and Singapore.

EXPERIENCE
The game launched mysteriously, with a stealth campaign utilizing Japanese puzzle boxes, USB drives, AMD computers and videos on YouTube. This led bloggers and players to The Vanishing Point website with a countdown to the game’s launch, pointing to a specific GPS location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 200 players arrived at the appointed place during CES to see a Bellagio fountain show suddenly “hacked” by a mysterious puzzle-master, Loki. In the following weeks, more puzzle boxes were unlocked, and players found cryptic clues written in the skies, on architectural projections that transformed world landmarks and coded in a unique fireworks show. Throughout the puzzle sweepstakes, players could also search for information about identity of the puzzlemaster, Loki, and earn the privilege of having their name inscribed on an entire production run of AMD computer chips.

COMMUNITY
Online communities of players developed who worked together to solve the puzzles. They created resources such as forums, photo/video archives, online hints and even web-radio stations that broadcast in real-time during the live events. This created an enormous global media and consumer buzz surrounding the game.

The Vanishing Point Game To celebrate the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft and AMD launched The Vanishing Point, the first global trans-media puzzle game to reward their most enthusiastic, tech savvy consumers. The game spanned four weeks as players worked together to decipher embedded clues in real world events and solve puzzles online to win a trip to outer space. CHALLENGE The project’s objective was to engage the hardcore tech savvy audience already familiar with Windows Vista in a hip, mysterious and intellectually challenging way that would cultivate positive brand awareness and loyalty. To accomplish this, 42 Entertainment designed spectacular real world events with embedded secret messages and codes. These were captured in real time through photographs or video before they reached “the vanishing point” and uploaded to the website. Players searched through this documentation to uncover clues needed to solve online puzzles that were simultaneously unlocked on the website. These events took place in 12 major cities around the US, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, and Singapore. EXPERIENCE The game launched mysteriously, with a stealth campaign utilizing Japanese puzzle boxes, USB drives, AMD computers and videos on YouTube. This led bloggers and players to The Vanishing Point website with a countdown to the game’s launch, pointing to a specific GPS location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 200 players arrived at the appointed place during CES to see a Bellagio fountain show suddenly “hacked” by a mysterious puzzle-master, Loki. In the following weeks, more puzzle boxes were unlocked, and players found cryptic clues written in the skies, on architectural projections that transformed world landmarks and coded in a unique fireworks show. Throughout the puzzle sweepstakes, players could also search for information about identity of the puzzlemaster, Loki, and earn the privilege of having their name inscribed on an entire production run of AMD computer chips. COMMUNITY Online communities of players developed who worked together to solve the puzzles. They created resources such as forums, photo/video archives, online hints and even web-radio stations that broadcast in real-time during the live events. This created an enormous global media and consumer buzz surrounding the game.