Nightjar - THE video game you play with your ears

The unique flavours of 5 Gum are designed to stimulate the senses of 15 – 24 year olds like never before. We needed a launch idea that would do the same. These youngsters spend a huge proportion of their time gaming. So we decided to give them a video game the like of which they’d never played – one without any video. The Nightjar is a spaceship devoid of power being sucked into a black hole. You the player are on a rescue mission to the dead spacecraft. Yet as there is no power there are no lights. You have to negotiate around 13 levels of increasing dangers (including brain-sucking aliens) by sound alone - including the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch in your ear as your guide. It is a terrifying adventure that leapt to the top of the App Store charts and is regularly cited by them as one of the most original games to play. Among the awards won it actually received 2 nominations at the BAFTA Interactive Awards, beaten only by the multi billion dollar behemoths Gears of War and Assassins’ Creed.

Role: CD/Writer

The game was launched using graphic posters in OOH and social from leading contemporary designers. Many of the OOH were actually stolen as mementos (most likely by keen gamers of dedicated Cumberbatch fans).