Brief

Create an immersive playground within the Nike House Of Innovation, located at the Nike NYC Flagship store, that gives visitors a first-hand experience of the newest Nike product addition; Joyride Flyknit running trainers.

Approach

We set out to inspire hysterical laughter and fun with this project, whilst demonstrating the performance capabilities of Nike’s new range, the Joyride Flyknit; enter an industrialized Wonka-esque digital ball pit with high impact collaborative games inspired by childhood play and agility ladders for up to three simultaneous users.

Impact

The result was an unforgettable brand experience that was played by thousands of users in the Nike store, promoting sales of Joyride shoes. The social output meant user’s experiences were shared tenfold online, as well as the installation being featured in Creativity, The Drum and Little Black Book.

Client

Nike

Brand

Nike

Capabilities

Direction / Software Development / Design Creative Coding / UI & UX / Animation

We teamed up with Nike’s North America Retail Experience Design Team to collaborate on an installation for their flagship store in NYC that celebrates the unique performance benefits of the new Nike Joyride product line.

The Nike Joyride Trial Experience playfully and scientifically explores Nike’s latest innovation; The Joyride Flyknit Running Shoe, through three immersive games that inspire running, jumping, bouncing, and explosive laughter.

The experience takes the form of a ‘Testing Facility’; a structure outfitted with a reactive floor that creates a playground for three games. The games are specifically engineered to create a visceral experience of the product’s benefits and innovative design, awarding players with digital beads, which accrue in a giant interactive digital ball pit.

Upon arriving at the Nike New York flagship store, visitors checked in, were outfitted with a pair of Joyrides and then made their way through three immersive games wherein they accrued beads and points to determine the winning player. Their experiencewas captured on camera and pushed to a unique system developed to generate social content that could be shared minutes after their experience.

In addition concepting and developing the three games featured within the experience (including all visuals, animation and developing the visitor check-in, tracking and social sharing system) The Mill designed and animated screens across the entire NY store in-line with the gaming aesthetic to keep the vibe alive.

The Games:

Busy Beads

  • Shoe Feature: Responsive and Lightweight
  • Modeled after Track & Field (NES Power Pad) the object of the game is to stomp on your assigned color spot as quickly as possible to accrue beads. The faster you go the more beads you earn. Every 15 seconds the hot spot moves to a new location on the floor and the players must scramble to get there to keep going.

Skip and Squish

  • Shoe Feature: Impact Absorption
  • Modeled after “Floor is Lava” each player must traverse from one end of the floor to the other leaping from one bead island in their designated color to the other.

Cushy Kicks

  • Shoe Feature: Personalized Cushioning
  • Modeled after “Pong” players kick virtual beads around the floor trying to score on their opponents.