Case Description
The Challenge:
Design a profitable facility that enhances a brand who doesn't currently have a storefront.
The Situation:
Virtual Reality currently has a low market penetration due to these four main facts;
the technology is in its early stages of development
it's expensive
the quality of the graphics isn't currently up to the same standard expected from console to tv or desktop game play
because VR is a new development in its early stages, there are fewer selections of games available to play
The Opportunity:
Regenerate EA's market share in the video game industry by leveraging growing trends, including the VR and the eSports arena.
The Solution:
A state of the art architectural concept to take the EA experience to the next level of a fully immersive experience.
Research
The body of research presented included a brand audit, competitive benchmark, positioning, target market and financial analysis.
Gathering a clear understanding of Electronic Art’s position in the market gave us a clear direction for a resolution to the challenges faced.
With a clear direction in mind, we formed an objective for the primary strategy of the facility design.
We parsed through gamer forums online, and chatted 1-on-1 with the gaming-obsessed in order to gather a substantial understanding of our target audience’s demographics, psychographics and ethnography.
The Idea
Finding the perfect place to break ground for the new EA Playground was an essential decision to make for our vision to craft the perfect customer journey to work.
We chose a location just off of the interstate, in close vicinity to some of the other popular entertainment studios on the east coast.
The EA Playgrounds’ architectural concept we developed included art direction, user experience and environmental design and brand strategy of the exterior, interior and digital experiences.
We created mood boards that detailed the blueprints and branded environments for each of the four levels in the Multiplex.
Level 2 of the multiplex included space for community meet-and-greets, game releases, game-player lounging, and 50 VR immersion pods for massive local team play.
Level 3 also includes space for pre-game meet-and-greet, before entering the warehouse VR space #1 or #2, with over 500sq. ft. each of open VR gameplay.
The fourth floor boasts the sleek sims cafe and lounge.
A place to eat and practice your simlish ( not a typo - it’s sims language ), and an after hours club for dancing. Gamers love to party.
The arena is the second space on the plot,
where EA Playgrounds hosts the biggest live local gaming contests,
fit for 250 gamers and 5,000 audience members.
We developed financial reasoning by researching into competitor cost models for reference.
Our team designed a creative presentation deck that worked just like the menu page of a playstation console,
making our client the profiled game player.
MY WORK
In-Depth Primary & Secondary Research
Ideation
Creative Direction
Story-building
Interior Design / UX
THE TALENTED TEAM
Alex Glaum
Ryan Conner
Jacob Steckmann
Viviana Molina
Alexander M. Whiteway
CATEGORY
#facilitydesign
#vr/ar
#gamingresort
#electronicarts