Wieden + Kennedy São Paulo Made an 8-Bit Fight Game Featuring All of Its Employees

The Covid-19 pandemic has really limited our interaction with co-workers. You can’t chat with them at the watercooler. You can’t grab lunch with them. You can’t beat the crap out of them near the reception desk, in the garden, in the restroom, or in the agency meeting rooms.

Actually, at Wieden + Kennedy São Paulo, you can accomplish the latter—virtually, of course—thanks to a new 8-bit video game developed by the agency’s entertainment group, which anyone around the world can play on the gaming platform Steam or on the agency’s website.

The game, called WKSP Rumble (click to play), doubles as a self-promotional piece to communicate the agency’s culture to the world, as well as a morale booster internally during a time of social distancing.

Check out a video explaining the game here:

Produced by Nukearts, the game features all W+K São Paulo employees as well as two special guest fighters—agency founders Dan Wieden and David Kennedy. “His name is on the door. Now he’s going to leave his name on your forehead, too,” reads the description of Kennedy’s fight-character.

The characters have special moves that relate to their jobs. For instance, copywriters throwing words, while art directors fight with layouts. There are 11 locations in the game, scattered around the agency.

“It is essential that we pass on our culture internally,” says executive creative director Renato Simões. “We wanted to do that with an internal marketing action that would be the least boring possible. The project also became a way to feel closer to our people and our offices in this year of social distancing.”

“At W+K, everything is about people. And Rumble is a way to introduce the agency, our people, and our culture to the market,” adds fellow ECD Eduardo Lima. “It also allows for a unique, fun and real-time interaction between our team members.”

“We are very happy to release what is the second project of the agency’s entertainment group,” says managing director Fernanda Antonelli. “It is a powerful tool for us to test—in a fun and daring way—the creative and business potential of Wieden + Kennedy.”  

CREDITS

TITLE: Rumble
AGENCY: Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo
PRODUCT: Institutional
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Eduardo Lima | Renato Simões
CREATIVES: Felipe Paiva | José Ferraz | Rafael Melo | Bruno Oppido | Mariana Borga
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Fernanda Antonelli
BROADCAST: Maurício Yamashita | Ricardo Barbin
PRODUCTION: Nukearts | WKE
GAME DESIGN: Alan Bittencourt | Augusto Henrique da Silva | Felipe Paiva | José Ferraz | Rafael Melo | Raphael Schmitz | Thiago Giovanne Dominoni
PROGRAMMER: Alan Bittencourt
CHARACTER DESIGN: Felipe Paiva
SCENARIO DESIGN: José Ferraz
SOUND AND VOICEOVER: Rafael Melo
ANIMATION: Augusto Henrique da Silva | Andy Gorll | Arthur Barros | Chrystian Schmeguel de Oliveira | Denny Fischer | Felipe Ricardo Voigt | Felipe Paiva| Gabriel de Oliveira | Maria Clara Buffara Fretta | Thomas Toniolli
SCRIPT: Rafael Melo
APPROVAL: Eduardo Lima | Renato Simões | Fernanda Antonelli