The game
"Desert Dash - 15th Anniversary Challenge" is a video game created to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of AKJOHNSTON and at the same time tell, through very detailed storytelling, the world of the company, its vision, and its values.
The player, in the role of CEO Austin Johnston, enters the AKJOHNSTON universe rebuilt for the occasion entirely in pixel art. From the interiors of the operational headquarters in California to the exteriors, up to the creation of a dreamlike space, the “bunker,” inside which a team member acts as a guide through the various projects created over time and reproduced in pixel art, which represent the company’s pride and joy.
The player is inside a story: in the role of Austin, they can choose among three different skins (businessman, superhero, or David Bowie). Once he leaves his office, the company van that is supposed to take him to the Coachella Festival forgets about him.
This is where a two-level adventure begins. With an endless game mechanic, the player must run down the street to reach the AKJOHNSTON-branded van. During the run, they must jump, avoid obstacles, and collect coins, but as soon as they arrive in front of the pizzeria, where the company usually takes lunch breaks, they must no longer collect coins but pizza slices.
During the run, the player must also clear Slack notifications that a good CEO always finds on their device. At the end of the street, the AKJ van is ready to pick up Austin on board to continue the adventure toward the Desert Festival.
If the player passes the first level, they will leave the streets of Anaheim, California, to finally get on the AKJOHNSTON van and tackle the highway that crosses the desert. Here, in the second level, among dinosaurs and installations that recall symbols of the area and projects created by the company, the player must navigate a road slalom to reach the destination, where part of the team is setting up something special for the event. At the end of the video game, the player finds themselves in desert traffic and finally, after hours... arrives at the Coachella Festival.
At the end of the video game, the player can see the score achieved in a leaderboard, so that all players can know their ranking.
Objectives
The video game "Desert Dash -15th Anniversary Challenge" was created to celebrate AKJOHNSTON’s 15th anniversary, a company with offices in California and New York that specializes in experiential marketing and production. The project was conceived both for internal use and to show clients and potential clients the company’s ability to communicate using the most original tools, offering an opportunity to increase its brand awareness through an advergame.
Within the video game, characters (CEO Austin Johnston and his two dogs), settings (office, city, and desert), and also client installations have been faithfully recreated in pixel art. These are fully integrated into the video game, in the specially created area, the “bunker,” where the company’s most iconic works are showcased.
