"The biggest difference in how we built the experience was who built it. Rather than collaborating with traditional digital vendors, we scoured social media for the best builders in the Fortnite metaverse and hired them."R/GA and Momentum Worldwide
Q: Tell us about your initial moodboard, wireframe, or prototype. How did things change throughout the process?
A: We went through multiple rounds of design for the stadium, but quickly realized the stadium looked too real. It lacked the fantastical aesthetic of the Fortnite metaverse, so we began adding whimsical and out of the ordinary elements like waterfalls in the stands, and a beach on the sidelines of the field to visually feel like the stadium belonged in another world.
Q: What influenced your chosen technical approach, and how did it go beyond past methods?
A: The biggest difference in how we built the experience was who built it. Rather than collaborating with traditional digital vendors, we scoured social media for the best builders in the Fortnite metaverse and hired them. Shride, Pimit and MakaMakes, collectively known as Team Beyond, worked closely with us to design and build the experience using the elaborate world-building tools in the game, creating stuff that hadn’t been done on the platform.When did you experience a breakthrough or an "a-ha" moment during this project?
The “a-ha” was when we identified a strategic crossroads between Verizon 5G, Fortnite and the situation with Covid. Verizon’s claim to 5G is that they “Built it right,” and Fortnite had launched a mode giving people the opportunity to “Build” their own worlds. There was also a need to build a solution for millions of people during the Super Bowl. This common mission between the brands led us to the idea of building a stadium using Verizon 5G.
Q: What web technologies, tools, and resources did you use to develop this?
A: As we dive into the metaverse, the strict definition of coding sometimes blends with new nuanced skills that can be described as creative platform hacking. In our case, the project was developed in Fortnite’s world building tool, which was pushed to the absolute max by the builders team.
Q: How did you balance your own creative ideas and technical capabilities with a fair representation of the client’s brand?
A: Verizon powers the technology that moves the world forward, so when we looked at how we could create such a massive experience we knew the only way we could achieve this was through the power of 5G’s low latency and speeds. The connection between Verizon’s services, gaming and sports was natural.
Q: How did the final product meet or exceed your expectations?
A: Thanks to our partners and new building tools, we were able to create something that has never been done before in record speed. Epic, the developer of Fortnite, loved the project and made us the first brand to be featured in the game’s Hub, which contributed to the unfathomable number of visitors – 40 million fans coming together and making it the most attended Super Bowl in History.