With the rising reputation of cell gaming it’s no shock that you just’ll discover firms in probably the most sudden of locations integrating them into their promotional methods. Other than main heavyweights in food and drinks corresponding to Fanta, it appears that evidently even theme park operators are getting in on the cell gaming craze.
Katmandu: Ethermerge is a straightforward match-2 title being produced by Falcon’s Past and developed in collaboration with Epic Story Interactive. Falcon’s Past are the corporate who run quite a lot of parks and sights together with the 2 of the titular Katmandu parks, one in Spain, opened in 2007, and one within the Dominican Republic which opened earlier this 12 months. And who’ve pursued this newest surge of multimedia promotional methods.
As a part of the promotional technique for his or her model, Falcon’s Past has pursued not solely a Roblox expertise, an e-commerce retailer and an animated sequence, however now additionally a cell recreation.
So what does a comparatively innocuous match-2 merge add to extra conventional strategies of promotion? We discover out extra in regards to the method and rationale behind their cell title from the president of digital media at Falcon’s Past, Jason Ambler.
PocketGamer.biz: Are you able to inform us about what you’re doing? It’s a little bit uncommon to make use of a cell recreation to advertise a theme park.
Jason Ambler: We’re definitely persevering with to advertise our Katmandu Parks via numerous types of promoting and social media activation; nevertheless, we imagine that Katmandu has the potential to be a a lot bigger client model than what has now been established and well-received on the parks themselves.
We view our cell video games much less as a promotional instrument, and extra as an necessary platform extension of our Katmandu model.
Jason Ambler
Our entrance into the world of cell gaming with Katmandu: EtherMerge helps our 360-degree growth technique for the Katmandu franchise, activating the model concurrently throughout all types of leisure, together with media content material, video video games, client merchandise, and, in fact, the themed leisure locations themselves.
In essence, we view our cell video games much less as a promotional instrument, and extra as an necessary platform extension of our Katmandu model; one that permits us to interact with our viewers in new and significant methods.
Merge video games are a comparatively standard style, however why go for this style over others?
We selected to make our cell recreation debut with a merge-2 recreation, as a consequence of its large worldwide enchantment and informal nature of gameplay. As a well-recognized and accessible style, we are able to welcome current followers of Katmandu, in addition to introduce the model to new audiences.
We noticed nice worth in a recreation that gamers may choose up and put down and slot in inside their each day lives and different actions. What’s nice about this format is that Katmandu Park friends can play our Katmandu: EtherMerge cell recreation whereas ready within the queue line at one in every of our sights and even proceed their relationship with the model as soon as they return at residence.
Why did you select to work with Epic Story Interactive on this title?
We had beforehand introduced our alliance with Epic Story Media to assist early Katmandu franchise growth and growth throughout media content material, video games, and client merchandise. Via that alliance, the Epic crew has gained intimate information of our Katmandu model, lore, and aspirations, which is why it made sense for us to collaborate with their recreation studio, Epic Story Interactive (ESI).
Not solely did Epic’s tradition, course of, and methodology carefully align with our personal, however additionally they have intensive information and experience in growing and publishing cell and on-line video games for beloved kids’s manufacturers corresponding to Slugterra, Ben 10 and Beyblade. Whereas ESI has significantly sturdy expertise in Match-3 model video games, EtherMerge was their first foray into making a merge-2 recreation, so all of the gameplay and mechanics needed to be developed from the bottom up.
Who is that this title aimed in the direction of when it comes to age, employment, gender and different demographics?
One of many essential causes we selected to debut with a Merge-2 model recreation is its worldwide enchantment to a really large demographic with a really excessive age ceiling, each female and male, very like our Katmandu Park locations. Contemplating the already broad attain and recognition of merge video games and the inclusive nature of the Katmandu model, we see Katmandu: EtherMerge as a recreation for nearly anybody.
Do you’ve gotten plans for any extra cell video games sooner or later? Are you able to inform us what they’ll be like?
Falcon’s is barely simply starting to understand its ambitions in cell gaming, and gaming usually. We aren’t solely taking a look at additional model extension for Katmandu on this house, but additionally introducing some thrilling new manufacturers and franchises now we have in growth, in addition to new experiences with our licensed companion manufacturers. We might be exploring new recreation kinds, codecs, genres, and goal audiences and are wanting ahead to sharing extra updates on these plans sooner or later.
Do you’re feeling cell gaming is a vital a part of promotional methods throughout many industries, together with theme parks?
Completely. Increasing our manufacturers throughout a number of channels on the identical time is core to our technique, and what we imagine that audiences are craving. Customers and followers wish to join with their favourite characters, tales and types throughout any variety of platforms together with client merchandise, brick-and-mortar leisure locations, media content material, and even, dare we are saying, the metaverse. We have now to be all over the place that they’re.
With cell gaming being the biggest and fastest-growing section of the biggest class of the leisure trade, it’s definitely an enormous a part of our imaginative and prescient at Falcon’s Past as a diversified know-how, leisure, and media enterprise.
