How do you bring a TV asset (Robo Dog) to life and allow it to react in real time with audiences through gamification? Our challenge – to help users experience the joy of having their own Robo Dog pet – was accentuated by the fact real time 3D online is still fairly limited when compared to film and TV. Add to that the request to retain as much of the original fidelity of the TV spot Robo Dog as possible while adding even more detail and ability, and we were all hands on deck.

We kicked off by proposing a detailed system of interactions and activities based on fundamental gamification principles to create an engaging casual activity that audiences could enjoy. To get to this point we first had to explore, then break down, the fundamental aspects and goals of the user experience before mapping them out in detail. How do we get our audience to interact with this experience intuitively without a lot of tutorials or documentation? It needs to feel like play, not learning. What kinds of activities translate well to the AR space? How can we give the pet a personality that reacts to input in real time?