Case Study: ChannelBee: Sledging Game
What the client wanted:
Having established an excellent reputation for providing companies across any number of industries with successful viral games in the past, T-Enterprise has a history of results that few other companies can match. As such, we attract big projects with tight deadlines on a regular basis and our partnership with Channel Bee was no different. Created by Tim Lovejoy and owned by Simon Fuller, the site is now a hugely popular Internet TV site and was looking for a game to commemorate the 2009 Ashes cricket test series between England and Australia. Channel Bee approached us to design and develop the game, which we were happy to do.
Our UK based games design and development team had the task of designing The Ashes Cricket Sledging Game based on very precise specifications and requirements. The client knew exactly what was wanted and T-Enterprise was happy to build the game in line with the information given. The game was to be hosted solely online but was to have an interactive element to it whereby users could create their own game for their friends to play. This was a little different to those sporting games that we had made before but we threw ourselves into it.
The fundamental idea behind the cricket viral was that the person creating their own game would enter the name and email of the friend they wished to play against. The name of the friend would appear on the shirt of the batsman, which is the character that he or she would play. The idea would then be to hit the ball when it was bowled at you for the opportunity to taunt Australian bowler, Brett Lee. Should you miss the ball then he would get to sledge you, a trash talking tactic that he is famed for. As a result of our UK based games design and development team’s extensive skill set, we were able to cater for such extensive and specific requirements within the given timeframe.
What T-Enterprise did:
T-Enterprise’s UK based games design and development team maintained active contact with the Channel Bee representatives throughout the development of the game to ensure that we were on track in terms of catering for their requirements and their vision for the game itself. Although given scope for both design and development, our deadline was tight and so it was necessary to work long hours in order to get the game up and running on time.
Channel Bee invited our comments and suggestions as well as encouraging the flow of ideas to enhance the game wherever possible but the requirements and specifications that were provided gave us a definite direction in which to take the game in. However, it was necessary to work with the Channel Bee team to be able to integrate the game effectively with their existing database to ensure that the game’s data entry did not disrupt their daily business and thus the website overall.
What T-Enterprise delivered:
T-Enterprise actively worked with the representatives of Channel Bee to finalise the details of the game following the receipt of their specifications. We communicated with them throughout to ensure that our design and development team remained on top of their requirements at all times. When the viral game was delivered on schedule, it incorporated
- The game, as per the specifications we received and complete with Australian and English accents to strengthen the sound effects
- A faultless share function to enable players to send the link to their friends
- Full and unrestricted cooperation with the Channel Bee technological department to ensure full and effective database integration free of charge
Launched on Friday 7th August, the game was incredibly well received and was immediately deemed a huge success. Not only did it draw on one of the most topical cricket test series in history but it also drew the viral attention that Channel Bee desired. As such, it has helped them to achieve exactly what they wanted to and they are incredibly happy.