With "Desert Dash - 15th Anniversary Challenge," Dinobros lands in the United States, specifically in California, at the direct request of the United States itself. But why? Well, AKJOHNSTON, a company specializing in experiential marketing, had a brilliant vision: to use an Advergame to give its users a totally new and, above all, fun brand experience. And what can we say? We accepted the challenge!

With two offices, one in California and one in New York, celebrating 15 years in business required an out-of-the-ordinary approach. We wanted to tell a story, one of those adventures that could really happen when you're immersed in the production and setup of an event. But here's the detail: we did it through a video game!

"Desert Dash - 15th Anniversary Challenge": AKJOHNSTON's enchanting retro game

The player, stepping into the shoes of CEO Austin, finds himself inside the faithful AKJOHNSTON office where, before reaching the Cochella Festival, he can not only change his look for the occasion but also stop by the bunker, where one of the employees will guide him through the most important projects completed over the years.

Once outside the office, we see Austin miss the van that would have taken him to the Coachella Festival!

To reach his goal, Austin will have to jump over obstacles, avoid messages on Slack, collect coins and pizza slices, and only then realize that at the end of the road the van is there waiting for him.

Once aboard the AKJ van, here we are in the famous desert faithfully recreated in pixel art, where he will face frantic traffic. During this phase of the game, in addition to avoiding various vehicles, the protagonist can collect coins and gas cans, all within an environment crafted down to the smallest details. The game's finish line will be arriving at Coachella, recognizable by the majestic Ferris wheel.

We know very well how much fun we had developing this video game, especially from a visual standpoint. We created AKJOHNSTON's entire universe in our pixel art style, faithfully reproducing not only the characters and landscapes, but also the imposing presence of the dinosaurs rising in the desert (we couldn't miss this opportunity!) and even the iconic wheel.